Parent, carer and guardian information sheet: focus group discussion
What is the Theatre in education project?
It is a project to learn whether using drama productions - as part of Personal, Social, Health and Economics (PSHE) education - help prevent young people trying or using illegal drugs. The aim to understand how drama productions change knowledge and attitudes of illegal drug use and their ability to make informed decisions. The project is being run by East Sussex County Council, the University of Brighton, and secondary schools. It is funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research.
Participation
All secondary schools in East Sussex have been invited to take part in the project. Your child has been invited to take part by responding to surveys about the theatre performance at their school in March 2025. We are also inviting parents, carers and guardians to attend the theatre production, followed by a focus group, to hear your views about the impact of theatre-based education as well as your views on young people’s knowledge and attitudes of drug use.
What is a focus group?
It is a conversation between a maximum of 12 parents/carers/guardians with Researchers on a specific topic. We will audio record the conversation and write it out afterwards.
What does the focus group involve?
We will be collecting information on your views as a parent, carer or guardian about the school-based theatre production as well as your perception of young people’s knowledge, attitudes and experience in drug taking. The information we collect will help us understand the possible impact the theatre production could have on drug prevention efforts and help shape future PSHE education.
Focus groups will be conducted either face-to-face or virtually (using the secure University of Brighton Teams application).
You will not be asked to share any identifying information (for example, your name or any other personal details). We will only ask for your initials in order to link your responses when we transcribe the audio recording of the focus group (which will deleted once we finish transcription). Likewise, you will not be asked to share any identifying information about your child/children or other children.
Your identity and that of your child/children will therefore be confidential, and your responses will not be linked back to any individual or school in any reports or publications.
The theatre performance will last no more than an hour. The focus group discussion that follows will last 60 minutes. As a token of appreciation for your time, parents and carers who take part in the focus group will receive a £20 Love2Shop voucher.
Who collects this information and who will have access to it?
Researchers from the University of Brighton and East Sussex County Council will lead the focus groups. The data that is collected will be stored on a secure, password-protected database managed by the University of Brighton. Only approved researchers at the University of Brighton and East Sussex County Council will have access to the data for analysis.
Although focus group discussions are confidential, any disclosure about drug use, criminal activity, actual or threatened harm against self/others will be passed to school safeguarding lead who will take appropriate action in line with the school’s safeguarding policy.
We ask all participants to respect the confidentiality of focus group discussions and not share what is discussed outside the group. However, as this is a group discussion, we cannot guarantee that other participants will maintain confidentiality.
How is the information used?
The data will be analysed by researchers at the University of Brighton to understand the effectiveness of the Theatre-in-Education project. The findings may be:
- written as a report for members of the research community to understand the impact of the theatre production
- published in academic journals or presented at educational conferences
- shared with schools to enhance future education programs
- presented in a short film which will be available to the public.
The data is anonymous. Meaning that no information will identify individuals in any publications or presentations.
You will hear about the results of the research via your child’s school. Reports will also be available on the East Sussex Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (www.eastsussexjsna.org.uk) website in autumn 2025.
Do I have to take part?
Participation in the focus group is voluntary. If you decide to take part, you will be asked to provide your consent. You can withdraw at any time without giving a reason. Depending on when you choose to withdraw we may not be able to withdraw your information since it will be anonymised in the written version of the recorded discussion (using a false name). We would therefore still use the information you have provided up to that point.
Can I refuse to give this information?
Yes, you have the right to refuse participation or to decide not to provide specific answers. This will not affect your child’s participation in the Theatre-in-Education programme. If you have questions or concerns about the information collected, please discuss them with the Researcher.
How is the data protected?
To ensure compliance with GDPR and data protection regulations, only data that is necessary for this study will be collected. All information will be stored securely and managed in line with the University of Brighton and East Sussex County Council data protection and information security policies. For further details, please see the privacy notice at: Privacy policy Parent & Carer Focus Group Discussions
Who has reviewed the study?
The study has been reviewed and approved by the Cross-School Research Ethics Committee A at the University of Brighton and by East Sussex County Council’s Research Governance Panel.
Questions about the research
If you have questions, concerns or complaints about the project, please contact Professor Jörg Huber Professor Jörg Huber or David Bishop. You can also contact the ethics committee that reviewed the project, the Cross-School Research Ethics Committee A, and the Chair, Dr Lucy Redhead.
If you need this information in an alternative format please ask your teacher or contact Gemma Faithfull by email or call 07922 574718.
What happens next?
If you would like to attend the school-based theatre production and focus group, please look out for communications from your child’s school about dates, locations and instructions for joining.
Thank you for taking the time to read this information sheet and for considering being part of this important project. Your input will help improve PSHE education for young people.
