Overview
School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA)
School Drug Education and Road Aware (SDERA) aims to contribute to the well-being of young people in Western Australia by supporting schools and the wider community in the provision of best practice resilience, drug and road safety education.
School Drug Education and Road Aware was formed in 2003 as part of a unique strategic alignment forged by the State Government. The School Drug Education Project (established in 1997) proved a model of good practice with which to align Road Aware (established in 2003). Resilience, drug and road safety education initiatives are the critical elements in this cross-sectoral organisation, involving all three education systems and sectors in Western Australia and several community agencies.
What SDERA offers regional areas
SDERA has been successful in accessing school staff and delivering professional development across the vast state of Western Australia. This has been largely due to the network of Regional Organising Committees (ROCs) that have been established since 2000. Between 2000 – 2005, these networks consisted of volunteers. This volunteer network comprised of school based staff, local police, Community Drug Service Team members and RoadWise representatives, who all had a role in formulating professional development, information and events based on local needs.
In 2006, 11 part-time regional project officers were appointed in the following regions: Albany, Bunbury, Esperance, Goldfields, Kimberley, Midlands, Mid West, Narrogin, Peel, Pilbara and Warren Blackwood. These regional project officers are responsible for both drug and road safety education. The established networks of ROCs will continue in their volunteer capacity with the support of their regional project officers.
Who funds SDERA?
The Drug and Alcohol Office (through the Department of Health, Western Australia), the Australian Government (Department of Education, Science and Training) and the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (through the Road Safety Council of Western Australia) fund various aspects of School Drug Education and Road Aware.
