Young People and Substance Misuse Treatment in England: What the 2024/25 Data Tells Us

Each year, England's National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) publishes data on how many children and young people are accessing substance misuse treatment services. The 2024/25 data — covering April 2024 to March 2025 — shows the highest number of young people in treatment for several years, and contains important information for parents, teachers and professionals working with young people.

It is worth emphasising what treatment data does and does not tell us. These figures represent young people in contact with services — a figure that depends as much on service capacity, referral routes and awareness as it does on the actual prevalence of use. The true number of young people experiencing problematic substance use is almost certainly significantly higher.^[1]

The 2024/25 Headline Figures

The 13% year-on-year rise to 16,212 is the largest single-year increase recorded in recent data and brings treatment numbers back toward levels not seen since before the 2010s. NDTMS analysts note that this reflects both genuine increases in need and improvements in referral practice and service capacity following a period of under-resourcing.^[1]

Which Substances Are Driving Referrals?

Cannabis remains by far the most common primary substance among young people entering treatment in England, accounting for the majority of referrals year on year. Alcohol is the second most common primary substance, with alcohol-related referrals remaining a significant proportion of the young people's treatment caseload. Other substances recorded include Class A drugs, volatile substances, and — increasingly — novel psychoactive substances including nitrous oxide.^[1]

Who Refers Young People to Treatment?

Understanding referral routes is important for professionals, as it highlights where identification is happening — and where gaps remain. Referral sources for young people's substance misuse treatment typically include:

• Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) — a major referral source, reflecting the significant overlap between substance misuse, criminal justice involvement and CCE
• Schools and colleges — education staff are often the first to notice behavioural changes linked to substance use
• Children's social care — including young people on Child Protection Plans or in care
• Self-referrals and family referrals — increasing as awareness of services grows
• GPs and health services — particularly for alcohol-related presentations
• Police — including through Triage schemes and Liaison and Diversion services

Schools remain an underutilised referral source relative to their reach. A young person in school five days a week is observable in a way that no other professional has access to — and early identification through education has been shown to lead to better treatment outcomes.^[2]

Warning Signs: What Parents and Teachers Should Look For

What Schools Must Do: Statutory Context

Under Keeping Children Safe in Education 2024, substance misuse is identified as a safeguarding concern where it places a child at risk of significant harm.^[3] This includes situations where a young person's substance use is being exploited by others (such as county lines operations), where use is linked to self-harm or mental health crisis, or where the home environment involves parental substance misuse that affects the child.

Schools should have a clear drug and alcohol policy, an identified lead for substance misuse concerns, and a pathway for referral to local young people's drug and alcohol services. The DSL should be made aware of any pupil for whom substance misuse is a concern — even where it does not immediately meet the threshold for a Section 47 enquiry.

What Parents Can Do

• Have regular, low-pressure conversations about substances — not lectures, but genuine two-way dialogue. Ask what they know, what they've seen, what their friends are doing. Curiosity and openness are more effective than prohibition.
• Don't panic if you discover use — an angry, frightened response often drives substance use underground. Respond calmly and focus on understanding, not punishment.
• Seek advice early — FRANK and local young people's drug services can advise parents as well as young people, and can tell you whether what you're describing warrants a referral to treatment.
• Don't investigate alone — if you believe your child is being supplied or exploited, contact your DSL (if the child is in school), children's social care, or call the police on 101.