Fiona Spargo-Mabbs

Fiona Spargo-Mabbs founded the drug education charity the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation in 2014. Her younger son Dan had died after taken an accidental overdose of ecstasy at an illegal rave, and she wanted to do everything she could to try and prevent the same fate befalling another young person and their family. Having started her working life as an English teacher, she brings to this work a wide range and depth of experience from many years in education at operational and strategic management levels, both locally and nationally, specialising in work with parents and families.

As well as working directly with young people, parents and professionals herself, Fiona is also regularly asked to speak on various national platforms and in the media, and is closely involved in policy work with government, police, academics and other agencies. She chairs a national working group addressing the issue of young people’s exposure to drugs on social media, with members including Instagram, TikTok and Snap, along with National Police Chief’s Council, National Crime Agency, Home Office, DHSC, Ofcom, academics, Children’s Society and other organisations working to protect children and young people online. She is also a member of the Home Office Reducing Demand Programme Board responsible for the strategic delivery of this strand of the government’s drug strategy, From Harm to Hope (2021).

The DSM Foundation aims to support young people to make safe choices and reduce harm, through increasing their understanding of the effects and risks of drugs and alcohol, and improving their life skills & resilience. They work with young people, parents, teachers and professionals, in schools, colleges and communities across the UK. They deliver workshops for students and parents, and provide drug education resources and training to teachers and other youth professionals. Their commissioned verbatim play by Mark Wheeller, I Love You, Mum – I Promise I Won’t Die, has been studied and performed by young people around the world, and has toured as a Theatre in Education production since 2017. In September 2022 it will become a GCSE Drama set text on the Eduqas syllabus.

Fiona’s first book for parents, I Wish I’d Known: Young People, Drugs and Decisions – A Guide for Parents and Carers (Sheldon Press, 2021) won the Gold Medal for Parents and Families in the Nautilus Book Awards 2022, with more information available at https://www.dsmfoundation.org.uk/more-information-for-parents/i-wish-id-known-fionas-book/ Her most recent book, Talking the Tough Stuff with Teens (Sheldon Press) is broader in scope and was published in December 2022. More information can be seen at https://www.dsmfoundation.org.uk/more-information-for-parents/talking-the-tough-stuff/ She is author of the drug education chapter in Developing Quality PSHE provision in Secondary Schools and Colleges (Bloomsbury Education, 2022). She has also done a TEDx talk, called ‘Why drugs education is vital’ which is at https://www.ted.com/talks/fiona_spargo_mabbs_why_drugs_education_is_vital

Fiona’s passionate commitment to do all she can to prevent what happened to her son happening to anyone else drives everything she does. She was awarded an OBE in the 2023 New Year Honours List for her work with young people.