At CAP, we firmly believe that delivering an alcohol-free childhood for children and young people cannot be achieved by just one organisation. It happens when communities, schools, retailers, parents and young people come together with one common goal – to reduce underage drinking. Our new animation explainer captures that journey, from challenge to collective response, to outcomes that benefit children, families and neighbourhoods.

‍

‍

Seeing the starting point

The story begins with a simple but powerful insight: children and young people who are exposed to alcohol harms early on or live in settings where drinking and misuse is normalised, face greater risks to their health, their relationships and their futures. CAP recognises that the environment around under-18s is incredibly important. What they see, what’s available and how adults respond have a huge impact and this sets the context for why action must be local, multi-faceted and ongoing.

‍

The role of partnership

Our animation emphasises how CAP’s unique strength lies in creating partnerships – local authorities, policing and licensing, retailers, schools, youth services, parents, and the children and young people themselves. These partnerships don’t just gather data: they meet, plan, and act. They support training for retailers, they design diversionary youth activities, and they build age-aware community messaging. These collective partnerships are at the heart of our Theory of Change: when key people and organisations collaborate around a shared ambition, they can shift the local “alcohol ecosystem”.

‍

Actions that build change

In our animation, you’ll see the sequence of actions that CAP supports mapping local conditions, training and supporting licensed premises to refuse under-age sales, engaging young people in positive alternatives, educating parents and carers, influencing local policy, and tracking the changes. By layering these interventions, CAP aims to change the behaviours, norms and supply patterns around young people and alcohol use.

‍

Outcomes and ripple effects

When the environment shifts, so do outcomes. Our animation shows how reduced supply of alcohol to children and young people, fewer opportunities for unsupervised drinking, and stronger adult and peer messages all contribute to fewer young people drinking frequently, fewer alcohol‐related anti-social incidents, and in turn, safer and healthier communities. CAP’s statistics already reflect this. For example, our 2024-2025 Annual Report shows a 63% reduction in regular drinking among 13- to 16 year-olds in areas where CAP partnerships operate.

‍

Sustained impact

CAP aims for sustainable change: shifting practices in retail, embedding training for staff, routinely offering youth diversion activities, establishing parent/carer knowledge, and creating local monitoring mechanisms. Over time, our animation frames how these shifts can become embedded so that the local culture around alcohol and young people moves for the better.

‍

Why this matters

Our animation is more than just a visual aid: it’s a call to action. It invites each local partnership to reflect: “Who are we working with? What are our actions? What changes do we expect? How will we know we’re making progress?” It speaks strongly on how CAP’s approach is built on evidence, collaboration and practical action. It shows that tackling underage drinking is not only about telling young people “no”: it’s about shaping a supportive and protective environment.

‍

Next steps for CAP Partners

Share our animation with your CAP partners to ensure everyone is on the same page and everyone can see how their role fits in with the bigger picture: a society in which communities work in partnership to ensure that children do not drink alcohol and where young adults display responsible attitudes towards alcohol.

‍

Watch our short animation here to find out more.