Health Promoting Schools

Drugs, alcohol and smoking

The purpose of drug education should be to give young people the knowledge, skills and attitudes to appreciate the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and relate these to their own actions, both now and in their future lives.
Drug Education: Curriculum Guidance for Schools, SCAA/DfE, 1995

Some of the key characteristics of a health promoting school are a useful aid in developing an effective drug (including alcohol and tobacco) programme within schools.

Ethos and climate

Any drug education programme must be supported and reinforced by the whole school community. All staff – senior management team, teaching and non-teaching staff, parents, pupils, specialist and outside agencies including the School Nursing Service – should be consulted.

As with any aspect of health education, drug education will be effective when:

  • the environment is welcoming, caring and purposeful for pupils, staff and visitors
  • mutual trust, respect and sensitivity are evident
  • there is whole-school accountability for safety and security
  • positive attitudes and feelings, with concern for the care and welfare of others, are fostered.      

Families and communities

For health education in general to be effective, there must be ever-strengthening links between home and school. Families are an indispensable link in any health initiative. From the planning and development to the monitoring and evaluation of programmes, parents' views should regularly be sought. 

They should be informed of any future development of the health education programme, through the usual channels of parents' evenings, school board and newsletters. It must also be remembered that pupils come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and so there is a need for sensitivity to family circumstances.

Families should receive information on:

  • why drug education is an important part of the curriculum
  • the content of and methodologies used in the programme
  • the need for families to support and reinforce the programme
  • the school policies regarding medicines, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.      

Parents should also be given information about relevant support agencies within their community.

Specialist services

Specialist services and agencies can contribute important knowledge, advice and resources to a school's drug education programme. Many local authorities have guidelines in place, which aid schools in inviting outside agencies to participate in pupil learning activities. Tacade has produced Making the Most of Visitors, a publication that details the most common guidelines.

Representatives from these agencies should not replace teacher input; rather they should enhance the programme by:

  • providing specialised knowledge for parents, pupils or staff
  • challenging levels of thinking
  • opening up new points of view.      

Environmental considerations

Other safety aspects within schools are:

  • the safe use and storage of medicines and other dangerous substances
  • the purchase of the safest available materials (for example, when deciding which glue to use)
  • the use of the school premises – are there hidden areas where substance abuse could take place? Is there adequate playground supervision?      

A health promoting environment will put equal value on the emotional and social well-being of pupils, staff and visitors, as well as on the aspects of physical safety.

Staff health and well-being

Staff health and well-being should be regularly monitored, with a view to constantly improving procedures. Staff should feel confident in teaching all aspects of drug education within school. There should be a rolling programme of staff development for both teaching and non-teaching staff. This should flow naturally from the school's procedures for monitoring and evaluating the drug education programme itself.

The curriculum

Research shows that effective drug education does not stop young people from taking drugs, nor does it encourage them to experiment with drugs. Research also shows that effective drug education:

  • uses a supportive approach, which enhances a pupil's self-esteem
  • develops physical, emotional and social skills, which also enhance self-esteem and confidence
  • involves staff in gauging the pupils' starting points in terms of knowledge of drug facts
  • adopts a spiral curriculum model, which is structured to the age and stage of the pupil
  • provides up-to-date information on drugs, which enables pupils to make informed and responsible choices
  • allows pupils to explore their own and others' attitudes, thus developing a personal belief and value system
  • uses interactive teaching, including drama
  • is delivered by teachers who know their pupils well and are able to handle sensitive issues.      

In line with national advice, every school should provide drug education which:

  • is accessible to all pupils, taking into account a pupil's age, stage, and maturity
  • allows continuity and progression in learning
  • includes education about
    • safe use of medicines
    • alcohol
    • tobacco
    • solvents
    • controlled drugs.      

The drug, alcohol and tobacco curriculum should also be:

  • provided through discrete lessons to raise its importance in the curriculum - these lessons should be relevant to a pupil's developmental needs, and should progressively build on a pupil's prior learning and understanding in the areas of knowledge, skills and attitudes
  • integrated and reinforced through the school health education and personal and social education (PSE) programmes, as well as through other curricular areas, such as religious and moral education, PE and the expressive arts.      

An exemplar of the knowledge and understanding aims of drug education at specific stages of pupils' development can be downloaded here.

Resources

Find practical resources on alcohol, drugs and smoking using our Resources search. It features details of a wide range of resources including the following:

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