The purpose and benefits of ‘drop-ins’

A ‘drop-in’ located on a school site has a multitude of purposes and benefits:

• To make services accessible to young people that assure confidentiality and are at the point of need

• To offer early intervention for issues concerning young people

• To improve pupil involvement in their own well-being by encouraging them to take ownership of their physical, emotional and sexual health

• To empower young people to seek advice from appropriate adults to enable them to make informed decisions about their health and well-being
• To improve pupil attainment and school attendance through early interventions which address young people’s concerns and needs
• To increase access to appropriate services in the wider community and to make young people aware that these can be accessed without parental involvement
• To reduce the barriers to young people who don’t feel confident to seek advice 

Additionally, ‘drop-in’ services are a powerful way for schools to tackle government and local health priorities in the areas of:

• tobacco, alcohol and other drug use
• obesity
• eating disorders
• sexually transmitted infections
• teenage conceptions and getting more young parents to participate in education, training or employment
• stopping smoking
• bullying, including homophobic bullying.
• Emotional well-being