Schools given new drugs guidelines

TWO OUT of three primary schools and one in five secondaries still have no official policy on how to deal with children caught with drugs, ministers said yesterday.

New government guidelines urge all schools to draw up plans for drugs education and for disciplining drug-takers.

They reinforce advice from Estelle Morris, the School Standards minister, earlier this week that schools should think twice before expelling pupils found with drugs unless they are involved in dealing.

Ms Morris's remarks provoked attacks from headteachers and Conservative MPs but the guidelines differ little from those issued three years ago by the previous government.

The updated document emphasises that it is up to heads and governors to decide what to do, but says: "Some schools are ... moving too quickly to exclude pupils more or less automatically, and are failing to address the needs of those involved. Others may have overly simplistic policies which do not take full account of the complexities of the situation or the effects on pupils."

Permanent exclusion, it adds, may make young people more vulnerable to exposure to drugs. Temporary exclusion may be a more appropriate punishment.

In practice, the guidelines say, schools are using expulsion only for pupils repeatedly caught with drugs and for dealing.

Schools do not normally use drug-testing. If they do, the document argues, they should have the consent of pupils, and of parents where pupils are under the age of 16.

Police should be informed whenever pupils are caught with illegal drugs but the extent of police involvement should be worked out between local officers and schools.

Charles Clarke, the Schools minister, said: "Most schools have taken the issue of drugs seriously but we want to make sure that the coverage is more systematic and that no school regards drugs as an issue to be swept under the carpet."

The guidance points out that children are gaining knowledge and awareness of drugs from an ever-younger age and it is worrying that so many primary schools have still to confront the issue. Though 86 per cent of secondary schools have policies on drug education, 40 per cent of primaries do not.

The guidance backs drug education for all schools but warns that "drug arousal programmes using fear arousal techniques or simply providing basic information about drug abuse will not of themselves change pupils' behaviour".

It argues: "Advising 13-year-olds that action they take now will cause damage at 40 is unlikely to be as influential as may be imagined by adults."

Just as important is the need to teach pupils how to cope with pressure from their peers and how to increase their self-esteem. Keith Hellawell, the Government's drugs tsar, said: "Teachers and youth workers play a pivotal role in ensuring pupils receive the most appropriate type of information about the problems of drug misuse."

Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said: "The minister says some schools are moving too quickly to exclude pupils found with drugs. We can't move fast enough to tackle our growing drugs menace. The law recognises a difference between selling drugs and possessing drugs but both are still a criminal offence."

What Pupils Should

Know About Drugs

Government curriculum advisers have suggested (1995):

Five to seven-year-olds should understand about the role of drugs as medicines and that all drugs can be harmful if not used properly.

Seven to 11-year-olds should know about different types of medicines, legal and illegal drugs and their effects and associated risks.

Eleven to 14-year-olds should know about different categories of drugs including stimulants, depressants and hallucinogens and the law relating to drugs.

Fourteen to 16-year-olds should know about drugs, including their legal status, effects and appearance and the dangers associated with particular drugs, mixing them and specific environments and moods.