The Parent Hub - Planet Youth Highland

The third NHS Highland Health Improvement/Planet Youth Small Group session for parents and carers is this evening and you can still sign up to come along!

Session Aim: For parents and carers- A small group session looking at the law and consent in relation to young people and relationships. Please email siobhan.leen@nhs.scot to register for the session.

At the end of this session you will be able to:

• Identify laws around young people and sex
• Identify how young people understand and practise consent
• Identify barriers to consent and how to discuss it

We are so excited about our first Small Group parent and carer session on Thursday 18th from 6.30 to 9mpm online.

You can either register via Turas, or if that is a pain, just email me on victoria.clark5@nhs.scot and I will add you to the group and send the meeting link over to you.

These will be super relaxed, conversation based sessions, so why not come along and give it a bash?

If you enjoy it - there are others booked in over the next few weeks! If you don't - tell us how we can improve. We are always glad to have feedback.

There are further details in the post below this one about how to register on Turas if you prefer that was of signing up.

We are delighted to announce the launch of our small group learning sessions.

These sessions will be super informal, purely for parents and carers and be held in the evening to make it easier to attend.

We will look at issues affecting young people and how parents and carers can support their children around these issues.

Come along with a cuppa to a safe space where you can join in as much as you like or just sit and listen if you prefer.

The first session will be The adolescent brain and risk taking behaviour and we are holding this on Thursday 18th September from 6.30 to 8pm

You will need to create a free Turas account using this link :Turas | Sign up

After you have done that, you can register for the session using this link: Health improvement : speakeasy taster webinars | Turas | Learn

We will cap these sessions at 25 so that they are small groups. If there is a desire we will schedule more sessions.

We also have the following sessions coming in September and October:

• 25th September - Young People, relationships and the online world
• 2nd October - Healthy relationships, consent and the law.

We are delighted to offer this free session for all parents and carers across Highland.

The session will be held online on Tuesday 90th September from 7pm to 8.15pm. Please register using this link: Parents Bespoke Workshop Booking | Ygam

When Planet Youth was first developed in Iceland, one of its core strengths was the active involvement of parents and carers. It’s widely recognised that parents and carers are the most influential figures in a young person’s life. But the real power emerged when they came together—not just as individuals, but as a parenting community. This collective approach helped build a shared understanding around boundaries and expectations, which in turn strengthened the protective factors that support young people as they grow into adulthood.

Just as importantly, it created a network of support for parents and carers themselves. Talking to others who are facing similar challenges can offer not only comfort, but also fresh perspectives and practical solutions. After all, parenting is easier—and more effective—when we do it together and support one another.

One of the most effective tools that helped parents and carers build a strong parenting community was the creation of Parental Agreements. Across each school year—from primary through to high school—parents came together to agree on shared boundaries and expectations. These agreements promoted a nurturing, safe environment for all children and families.

It might sound like a big undertaking, but like most meaningful change, it started with small steps.

The first step? Getting to know the other parents in your child’s class or peer group. Of course, that’s easier said than done with the pace of modern life—but we’d love to know: is this something you’d find helpful?

For a starting point you can look at the Parental Agreement that the first Planet Youth Highland Parent Group created in 2021.

What would need to be changed to make this relevant and of use to parents and carers in 2025? Please let us know. You can write your thoughts and ideas in the Ideas tab or just add to the comments box below 👇🏽

Growing up in Highland - Parental pledge

This pledge looks to bring parents together to make key decisions which affect their children’s wellbeing. There often isn’t a lot of guidance on these issues, a collective community agreement can be much stronger than trying to make all of these choices on your own. For example, when other parents decide to buy their child a mobile phone, this will likely influence when you buy your child a mobile phone.

Spend quality time with your child every day. Spending time with you child can be a protective factor against substance use. Those who spend more time with their parents throughout the week and during the weekend are less likely to use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs (substances).

Help out with schoolwork, take part in sports groups and show an interest in their hobbies. It is important that young people are encouraged to keep engaging in quality supervised, structured activities that interest them as they get older.

Encourage two or more activities per week. Young people who are busy and engaged in high quality activities are less likely to use substances and it is also beneficial for their overall physical and mental wellbeing.

Reduce the amount of time your child is out late, especially unsupervised Being out late is a risk factor for substance use. Knowing where your child is, is a protective factor. Local parents agree that 9pm is the latest time for S1 pupils to come in.

Sleep is essential. Follow guidance from Sleep Scotland S1 recommendation is between 9 to 11 hours. Great resources on sleep can be found at sleepscotland.org including advice for other ages. Planet Youth data highlights that many young people are not getting enough sleep.

Get to know your child’s friends and their parents Getting to know your child’s friends and their parents is a key protective factor and can help form a supportive community around them. This can allow for easier conversations between parents. It can also benefit children whose parents may not be as involved in the local community

Internet access. Use guidance and parental controls thinkuknow.co.uk is a great resource for parents and young people on internet safety. Evidence suggests that if a child spends a lot of time on screens during childhood it can affect many important aspects of their life. Things like sleep, healthy weight, behaviour, and learning can all be impacted.

Don’t buy alcohol, cigarettes, e-cigarettes for young people under the age of 18 Sometimes parents think that buying a small amount of alcohol for your child will provide them with a ‘safe’ amount of alcohol. However, we know that young people often access more alcohol alongside what parents may supply. By providing even small amounts of alcohol, parents show their child they are more accepting of alcohol use and drunkenness. Local Planet Youth data shows that young people whose parents disapprove of alcohol use and drunkenness are less likely to use alcohol or get drunk. The same applies to smoking, vaping and drug use.

Keep a look out for bullying. See it, report it Young people often use substances for the same reasons as adults. We know that those who are bullied are more likely to use substances. Dealing with bullying as soon as it arises can help young people feel safe in their school and community, which is a protective factor. Build your child's confidence and self esteem Young people who are confident in making their own choices and feel good about themselves are more likely to make positive decisions around alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

Build your child's confidence and self esteem Young people who are confident in making their own choices and feel good about themselves are more likely to make positive decisions around alcohol, tobacco and other drugs

Speakeasy supports positive, accurate communication between families and children around all aspects of growing up, relationships & sexual health through our work with parents and carers.

In Autumn 2025, we will be offering a menu of sessions to help parents and carers explore lots of different topics:

• Puberty & Bodies
• What Children Need To Know
• Answering Difficult Questions
• Useful Resources
• Keeping Children Safe
• Off & Online
• The Role Of The School
• The Adolescent Brain & Risk
• Pornography, Sex & Technology

Is this something you would be interested in? If so, please either email the team or leave us a comment in the comment box below 👇🏽

Following the initial pilot of Planet Youth in Highland from 2021-2024, we are now expanding across Highland.

At the start of 2025 we began to contact secondary schools across Highland to have conversations with them about the benefits of becoming a Planet Youth Partner School. Initially we had planned to add on 5 new schools for the next 2 year cycle, however we had 8 schools contact us and ask to become involved and we are delighted to now have 13 Planet Youth Partner Schools across Highland.

Over the next few months we will be contacting the primary schools within the associated schools groups around these new partner schools to start to build relationships as our focus is on early intervention and prevention. If you run a Parent Council for one of these schools or for one of their feeder primaries, we would love to hear from you.

The 13 Planet Youth Partner Schools are:

• Tain royal academy
• Golspie high school
• Dornoch academy
• Thurso high school
• Wick high school
• Lochaber high school
• Plockton high school
• Invergordon academy
• Alness academy
• Dingwall academy
• Inverness high school
• Culloden academy
• Nairn academy

From Charlene Hercher of the East Sutherland Drug and Alcohol Recovery Service:

Alcohol and drugs are being increasingly used by young people throughout Sutherland and the rest of Highland, trends reported currently are:

• Alcohol in the form of dragon soop, flavoured ciders, and alcopops.
• Drugs in the form of cannabis (grass, green, bud), cocaine (charlie, ching, snow, marching powder) ) and Ketamine (Ket, baby food).
• Confirmed drugs circulating Highland - illicit benzodiazepines and other sedating drugs that contain synthetic opioids.

See following links for further information and support options.

Please download the HOPE app on your phone.

• Highland Alcohol and Drugs Partnership
• Crew - Drugs information
• Confidential advice from FRANK
• Highland Substance Awareness Toolkit – Information source on the use of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes
• Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs - A Parent's Guide