St Dunstan’s College hosted its second groundbreaking conference for members of the education community, exploring issues around adolescent addiction
St Dunstan’s College in Catford, south east London, hosted its second annual conference, exploring issues facing young people. The ‘Let’s Talk About… Adolescent Addiction’ conference brought together heads, deputy heads, pastoral leaders and professionals from both state and independent schools, alongside charities and community groups working with young people. The event, hosted at Mansion House, followed last year’s inaugural conference, which discussed pornography and how we deliver sex education.
Opening the conference, St Dunstan’s Head Nick Hewlett said: ‘Young people have always taken risks. They have always wanted to drift into behaviours and actions that engender the risk of addictive habits. As I am sure we will hear about today, their brains are hardwired to do so. Indeed, you and I can all look back to our own childhood, no doubt, and recount choices and behaviours that we would rather forget. Some might argue that there is nothing new in young people wanting to experiment with alcohol, with drugs, with vapes, with gaming – all part and parcel of growing up. Except it is different”.
Nick Hewlett went on to outline how the opportunities for risk taking are more prevalent and accessible than ever before in the online world. Other factors, including increased mental health issues among young people, feed into this landscape of risk taking.
The programme speakers at the conference included consultant addiction psychiatrist and Director at Staying Safer Professor Adam R Winstock, The Wellbeing Hub founder Alicia Drummond, founder, CEO at The Talk About Trust Helena Conibear, It Happens Director Zoe Shuttleworth, Head of Education and Engagement at the DSM Foundation Asha Fowells and former professional cricketer, author and Director of GAM-Ed Patrick Foster.
St Dunstan’s is planning two further events in the autumn for students and parents, and a third ‘Let’s Talk About…’ conference will take place in 2025.
St Dunstan’s College stdunstans.org.uk
Further reading: Young Gamblers – what parents and educators need to know
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