In April 1998 the Government published its
anti-drugs strategy
Tackling Drugs to
Build a Better
Its aims are to, over the next ten years:
Help
young people resist drug misuse in order to achieve their full potential in
society
Protect
communities from drug-related anti-social and criminal behaviour
Enable
people with drug problems to overcome them and live healthy and drug-free lives
Stifle
the availability of illegal drugs on our streets
This
strategy was updated in 2002 and the current strategic priorities are:
Protecting
Young People
Reducing
Supply
Safeguarding
communities
Treatment
and harm minimisation
Delivery
and resources
All the current government initiatives; Every
Child Matters, The Childrens’ Act, 2004, the DfES 5 Year Strategy, National
Service Framework, Healthy Living Blueprint, and the Public Health White Paper
see the Healthy Schools Programme as the delivery vehicle for achieving the
health related outcomes in our school. The New Healthy Schools Status embeds
Drugs, Alcohol and Tobacco within the PSHE theme. Healthy school status means
that our school has achieved rigorous national standards in drug education and
has a school smoke-free policy and environment.
In the light of these government priorities our
school needs to be aware of how children’s services are being developed and
integrated with the focus on earlier and targeted prevention. In line with the DfES 5 yr strategy our
school will develop its role to become a community, healthy and extended
school, and will work closely with the emerging children’s services.
Schools and Tameside Childrens’ and Young
Peoples’ Services will be inspected on the ‘Every Child Mattters’ 5 outcomes.
Choosing not to take illegal drugs is an aim of the ‘Be healthy’ Outcome.
This aim is embodied in the ‘Every Child
Matters: Change for Children programme and is an opportunity for our school to
enhance the prevention of substance misuse by children and young people as part
of a holistic multi-agency approach.
It is important that our school works
holistically on drugs and drug issues, that there are clear links between the
other aims of the ‘Being Healthy’ outcome, e.g. mentally and emotionally
healthy, and also with other outcomes particularly ‘staying safe’. Our school
will evidence our work against these outcomes.
The DfES guidance highlights the importance of
the schools’ drug policy, and we have worked with other schools in Tameside to
establish common responses to drug incidents in accordance with agreed national
and LEA protocols.
This policy provides guidance on matters
relating to all illegal and legal drugs, including alcohol, tobacco, volatile
substances and medicines.
Our school, alongside parents and the range of
agencies working with young people, has an important role to play in the
delivery of the Government’s Updated Drugs Strategy (2002). Our principal role is to provide education
about drugs. We also have a role in identifying young people vulnerable to drug
misuse to ensure that those who need extra help either receive it in school or
through access to external specialist services.
In Tameside the L.E.A. works with The Tameside
Drug and Alcohol Team (DAAT), part of the Crime Disorder Reduction Partnership,
and “Branching Out” Young Peoples’ Substance Misuse Service in the education
and support of our young people
The date of this policy is
It will be reviewed annually for its first three
years of operation and then biannually or as required. The policy review will
monitor the usefulness and effectiveness of the policy taking into account
comments and observations from staff, governors, parents and students. This
review will also reflect changes in the local and national situation with
regard to drug prevalence and patterns of use, educational guidance and
identified best practice, findings from the evaluation of our drug education.
This policy has been presented to and agreed
upon by the Governing Body.
The policy has been written with lea guidance
and has involved consultation with the whole school community.
A questionnaire was completed by all staff in
accordance with consultation made with the LEA and representatives from the
staff and governing body.
This policy has
been developed in conjunction with Shelagh Walton, Advisory Teacher for Drug
Education for Services For Children and Young People, Tameside MBC. Shelagh Walton can be contacted on 0161 342
5082, fax number 0161 342 5067, or by e-mail on shelagh.walton@tameside.gov.uk
This policy is
also available to:
all staff (permanent, temporary, supply
or otherwise)
advisers/inspectors
parents (on request)
All permanent staff have a printed copy, or
access to a copy saved as a read only file on the
The policy can also be found in the master
policy file in the main school office and the staff room
The philosophy of New charter Academy
is to provide a supportive and nurturing environment in which all students are
enabled to develop educationally and personally, and which strives carefully to
prepare them for opportunities, responsibilities and experiences which they may
encounter in their future lives. The Policy for Drugs and Drug-Related
Incidents is written in accordance with this philosophy and the school policies
for PSHE, Child Protection, Behaviour and Inclusion.
The Aims of this Policy
To support the school’s intention to
maintain the safety and well-being of all students.
To support all the members of the school
community by providing clear guidance.
To give appropriate attention to all
drugs: legal drugs, medicines, solvents and other socially disapproved of drugs
and illegal drugs.
To bring clarity and consistency to the
way all staff approach the subject of drugs.
To bring about confident, effective management
of all drugs on school premises.
To set down the basis for a planned drug
education programme in accordance with LEA and national guidance.
This policy is intended to ensure all students
are supported consistently whether on or around school premises and whenever
the school is responsible for their welfare. At <Stamford High, we
recognise that some drugs can have beneficial effects, but we also regard every
drug as representing potential for harm. For this reason, all drugs need
appropriate and responsible care and management. In order to be able to make
informed choices, staff and students need to understand the nature of drugs
they may come into contact with, their social and legal status and their uses
and effects. These choices will include decisions about the use of medicines as
well as non-medicinal drugs. It is our aim to help all our students to be able
to take their place safely in a world where a wide range of drugs exists. The
main emphasis of our work in relation to drugs is the safety of our students.
Currently this is Stephen Howell
The Drug Co-ordinator’s job description is
determined in consultation between the Headteacher and the Drug Co-ordinator,
agreed by the Governors and Senior Management Team, put in writing and reviewed
as necessary. The main function of the Drug Co-ordinator is to act as the focal
point for drug issues that concern the school. Tasks will include assessing
quality and availability of in-service drug training, helping choose and
purchase suitable drug education resource materials, keeping colleagues up to
date with developments in the field and acting as the hub for the school’s
management of drug-related situations and incidents at school.
The school tries always to have a Governor ready
to lead on drugs issues. Governors will be involved in considering and
approving any changes proposed to this policy and at case conferences to
consider individual students. Drug awareness and our drug education practice
are elements in Tameside’s Governor Training Programme.
We use drug education to bring about an
understanding of the drugs with which our students may expect to come into
contact. Through drug education we aim to build their self-esteem, their skills
and their belief in the significance of their own role in preserving their
health and welfare. In addition to building our students competence, we also
aim to build their confidence in using their knowledge and skills to make
careful decisions.
At
New Charter Academy, drug
education is a planned and integral element of the PSHE curriculum and is an
entitlement of every student. Staff teaching drug education, are offered
training and support in awareness of drugs and in the teaching of drug
education. Teaching resources are chosen for their appropriate content and
quality.
We recognise that all students need age
appropriate, accurate, up to date, credible drug information to enable them to:
understand what drugs are, their uses and
their effects
be able to discriminate between
categories of drugs and identify both the differences and the similarities
between them.
We recognise
that all students need to:
acquire and practise appropriate skills
consider, explore (and sometimes re-consider)
the attitudes and values they hold as well as those held by others
consider the social, health and legal
issues raised by drug use
have the confidence and support to be
able to cope with situations where drugs are on offer
develop sufficient knowledge,
understanding and skills to be able to preserve their own safety
know the boundaries set by parents,
carers, school and the law
know where and how they can get help.
We try to assess the needs of the students by
enquiring about their current knowledge, experiences, concerns and questions.
We use teacher evaluations, student questionnaires, student council and the
Tameside drugs survey to help us. We use information from such enquiries to
help us determine starting points and prioritise the content of drug education.
We deal with the subject of drugs through a
planned scheme of work and also in response to opportunities as they arise in
the classroom. We revisit issues as the students’ awareness, readiness and
experience grow with time, to build on previous learning.
We ensure that the children know the school
rules regarding drugs and medicines.
This links with our policies on discipline, and agreed lea protocols. As
the children progress through the school, they are made aware of the relevant
laws and controls that society places on the supply and use of some drugs.
At
New Charter Academy we work
closely with our school community to support the difference and diversity of
our students. <Describe how you do this>
The content of drug education at
At
New Charter Academy the
non-statutory frameworks for PSHE at key stages 3 and 4 and the statutory
Programmes of Study for Citizenship at key stages 3 and 4 is the context for
developing drug education further.
In addition, many National Curriculum subjects
can make a contribution to drug education by using drugs as the topic for
specific elements from the programmes of study.
Some examples of opportunities for drug education of this kind include:
Citizenship
- exploring moral, social and cultural issues
English
– group discussion and interaction, reading for information
Physical
Education - fitness and health
At
New Charter Academy we provide
additional opportunities for drug education by the provision of:
Health days
Health week
LEA projects involving Theatre in Education
Arts activities
We also involve the following visitors /support
agencies in the support and delivery of our drug education work in accordance
with lea guidelines:
Advisory teacher for drug education
School nurse
Police
Connexions
Branching Out
Youth service
Teachers ensure that the ideas, risk, danger and
harm are explored progressively through the school so that students understand
the difference between taking risks and courting danger, the difference between
courage and recklessness and individual differences in adventurousness. This is
taught in the clear context of the emphasis we place at
New Charter Academy
upon safety and personal responsibility.
Our drug education programme pays attention to
the development of skills and the exploration of attitudes and values as well
as ensuring that drug information provided is accurate and relevant.
Our students are helped to understand clearly
that particular decisions about behaviour may lead inevitably to certain
consequences. A range of situations and the students own experiences are used
to illustrate this. This links with our PSHE and drama policy.
Every class generates its own ground rules to
support feelings of safety and security, and promote open expression of views
and feelings. These are reviewed as required and teachers work strictly within the guidance of the
schools confidentiality policy at all times.
We try to balance didactic input and written
work with active learning methods to ensure student participation in all PSHE.
The methods we use include specify active learning techniques, such as drama,
discussion, small group work.
At
New Charter Academy we are
careful to monitor and record the drug education work done in each class and
the progress the students demonstrate in terms of their knowledge, skills and
changing attitudes. This helps us review progress and evaluate the
effectiveness of our work. In PSHE the students complete a questionnaire to
show their level of drugs awareness at the start of drugs units and again at
the end to enable us to see how their awareness has moved foreword. This
highlights any areas that need to be addressed. As well as this any work done
on drugs related topics is monitored by the students PSHE teacher. Amendments
are made to the PSHE scheme of learning as a result of any findings. This is
also done in Drama and P.E.
New Charter Academy
is a smoke-free building and site at all times.
This is reflected in
Alcohol is only permitted to be drunk by
staff at school on social occasions, when no students are on the premises.
Medicines must be in the care of teachers or
managed by students with teacher supervision. Procedures accord with guidance in
DfEE/DoH Good Practice Guide: Supporting Students with Medical Needs. The
authorisation and recording forms for these procedures are kept in the school’s
Main office Health and medical records are updated by the office manager.
At
New Charter Academy the wishes of
parents are considered carefully. We try to ensure parents are aware of how we
deal with drug issues and we provide drug awareness evenings> as needs
arise. Parents are welcome to come to the school and talk to us by arranging
appointments about any concerns or questions they have.
Parents and carers are routinely contacted as
soon as the school has evidence of involvement of students with unauthorised
drugs, unless this might compromise the students safety.
There needs to be sensitivity to the possibility
that parents/carers may themselves be involved with drug use in a way that
raises issues of child protection.
At
New Charter Academy we use the
lea agreed protocols to manage all drug incidents and work closely with our
school community and partner agencies to educate, protect and support the young
people in our school.