< Previous | Contents | Next >

Guidelines for the Management of Incidents of Drug Misuse in Schools

Section 1

Introduction

1.1 Remit

Following a number of drug misuse incidents in Scottish primary schools, the then Scottish Education Minister set up a School Drug Safety Team chaired by Ken Corsar, Director of Education, Glasgow City Council. The Team is a collaborative venture involving all relevant agencies (health, education, social work services and police). It was set up with the following remit:

"In the first place the group will concentrate on ensuring that appropriate guidance on handling drug incidents is available to teachers and thereafter advise on the effectiveness of drug education in schools, consider teacher training needs on drug matters and promote the exchange of best practice."

This guidance manual is aimed at helping schools and teachers handle drug misuse incidents in their schools.

1.2 Terminology

The Misuse of Drug Act 1971 defines the use of all illegal drugs covered in the Act as misuse. For this reason the term drug misuse is generally used within official documents and has become more widely recognised and understood than terms such as drug use and drug taking.

Drug misuse within these guidelines is used to cover all these terms, primarily covering misuse of controlled substances such as amphetamine, heroin, cocaine and cannabis. However, substance misuse includes the use of solvents, medication and alcohol and these guidelines will be of help in managing incidents of all types. It is expected that the use of tobacco will be covered separately under the school's smoking policy.

References to pupil(s) in these guidelines should be taken primarily to mean children under 18 attending primary and secondary school but may also cover adults attending for community education purposes.

References to parents in these guidelines should be taken to mean parents, guardian or appropriate representative as necessary.

1.3 Background and scope

The importance of drug education is fully recognised in Scotland's drug strategy set out in Tackling Drugs in Scotland: Action in Partnership. The strategy has a number of objectives and action priorities relevant to schools and other agencies with whom they work, aligned under the key aims of helping young people resist drug misuse in order to achieve their full potential in society, protecting communities from drug-related anti-social and criminal behaviour, and enabling people with drug problems to overcome them and live healthy and crime free lives; and stifling the availability of illegal drugs on our streets.

Drug Action Teams (DAT's) are expected to address the objectives and action priorities outlined in Tackling Drugs in Scotland: Action in Partnership. They are required to prepare Annual Corporate Action Plans which form the main reporting mechanisms between the Executive and the DATs in assessing progress in implementing the strategy.

Scotland's action priorities state that every school should provide appropriate drug education for all pupils in line with national and education authority advice and that every school and community education provider should have an effective welfare policy on the management of incidents of drug misuse. These guidelines are therefore a means of implementing important action requirements flowing from Scotland's drug strategy and are designed to help schools and education authorities achieve these goals.

The Executive recognises the concept of the health promoting school as important in ensuring not only that health education is integral to the curriculum but also that school ethos, policies, services and extra-curricular activities foster mental, physical and social well-being and healthy development. Education authorities are encouraged to address health education, including drug education, within a comprehensive programme of personal and social development. This approach is designed to ensure that information about drugs is given, not in isolation, but as part of a programme that considers a number of issues relating to lifestyle choices and the promotion of healthy living. This gives health education a firm place in the curriculum and highlights drug education as an essential element. Every school should have effective programmes in health education which should be regularly evaluated.

The majority of children will go through their school life without being involved in any incident of drug misuse (see extract from Tackling Drugs In Scotland: Action In Partnership for more information). However, where such incidents occur, ensuring the safety and welfare of all of the children is of paramount importance. These guidelines are addressed to all schools to help them to respond to information, allegation or evidence that children are misusing drugs, or manage incidents involving drug misuse by parents of pupils at their schools. Drug-related incidents involving staff should be covered by separate rules and/or disciplinary procedures (but see also paragraph 2.5).

Drug-related incidents and the drug misused will vary. All incidents of drug misuse by children are serious and potentially dangerous. Some incidents may constitute a criminal offence committed by a child, or an adult who has supplied the child with drugs or other substances. Some require urgent, immediate action to protect children's safety, health or welfare. Others can be dealt with in a measured and responsive way to prevent crime. These guidelines offer advice applicable to a wide range of circumstances. School managers must ensure they are well prepared to respond to all such incidents. Within these guidelines, drug-related incidents include:

• drug-related litter on or near school premises;
• suspicion and allegations about in-school and out of school activities;
• disclosure about drug misuse taking place in school and during out of school activities;
• pupils who display symptoms of drug misuse;
• pupils/adults with drugs on school premises/trip/transport;
• pupils/adults taking drugs on school premises/trip/transport; and
• pupils/adults selling drugs on school premises/trip/transport.

Each local authority and school should have comprehensive and well-understood procedures, which are suitably adapted by schools to meet local requirements, for managing drug misuse incidents. These should clearly define the school's policy and set out responsibilities shared with parents. These should include management of drug-related incidents which occur, in school time, inside or outwith school grounds, during lunch-time activities and travel between school and home. These guidelines set out the circumstances in which schools should deal with drug-related incidents directly, where pupils are not deemed to be at risk or where there is no evidence of a criminal offence, and when they should involve other agencies such as the police, health services, the Children's Reporter or social work services.

1.4 Context

Drug misuse puts at risk children's welfare and their ability to achieve. Management of drug misuse has to take account of both the welfare of the child and that of the school and wider community. When taking decisions on such welfare issues, schools should take note of the following which provide key principles and guidance.

The Human Rights Act 1998

This Act will allow the courts to take into account some of the rights contained in the European Convention of Human Rights, in particular, the right to liberty and security (article 5) and the right to education (article 2 of the first Protocol).

The Children Act (Scotland) 1995

The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration when professionals, agencies and parents are making significant decisions about children. This in part reflects the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Children who misuse drugs put their health and welfare at risk. They may be in need of guidance and help from social work or health services as children in need or at risk. They may be in need of compulsory measures of supervision. Misuse of drugs, alcohol or solvents is one of the grounds for referral to a Children's Hearing if an agency or professional believe that a child may be in need of compulsory measures of supervision.

Misuse of Drugs Act 1971

An extract of this Act can be found in the supplementary material provided. It should be noted that this Act will not apply in other countries and further advice, appropriate to the country involved, should be taken when arranging trips abroad.

It is an offence to knowingly allow premises for which you are responsible to be used for smoking cannabis or opium, or the production or supply of controlled drugs. If you do nothing to stop it you commit an offence.

Staff may take temporary possession of a substance while waiting to hand it over to the police. Staff should have corroboration of any substance seizure and such seizures should be logged and lodged safely until handed over to the police. Local police will advise on a suitable system.

In exceptional circumstances, e.g. while on a field trip with no access to a safe place to hold the substance, and solely to reduce the risk of, or to prevent harm to, the pupil or staff involved or others, staff may legally dispose of drugs. However, for the purposes of these guidelines, the presumption should be that, wherever possible, the substance would be retained for use as evidence or in case it is required for analysis for medical purposes. Such actions should be witnessed and recorded and subsequently reported to the education authority.

If police have reasonable grounds to suspect someone to be in possession of controlled drugs, they, not school staff, may detain and search those involved.

Common Law

The school has a "duty of care" to the whole school body. For this to be fulfilled it should act with reasonable care and in accordance with the practices of like institutions. For example, such institutions might be expected to have in place a policy which provides for staff training and drug education, and makes clear the consequences should any illegal drug be found or taken on the school premises, and arrangements to implement such a policy.

As a matter of good public policy staff can be expected to report any reasonable suspicion of an incident of drug misuse, including criminal possession. They have a professional duty to seek police advice and, where necessary, involve the social work department. They should inform their local education department in the first instance.

Health and Safety at Work Act

Employers are required to take reasonable steps to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees.

Schools (Safety and Supervision of Pupils) (Scotland) Regulations 1990

An education authority's common law duty of care is supplemented by a statutory duty to take reasonable care for the safety of pupils when under their charge. The details of any arrangements made, including the level of supervision or escort which may require to be provided for children whilst travelling in any vehicle provided or contracted by the authority, are for each education authority to determine in the light of individual circumstances. A safety code for the users and suppliers of school transport has been published by the Scottish School Board Association entitled Safe Schools Trips, and covers the organisation of both home and foreign excursions.

Protection of Children from Abuse - Circular SOEID 5/90

Schools should have a co-ordinator and a key contact in the social work department for advice on child welfare and protection issues.

Careful recording and good working links with other agencies are necessary for effective management of risk to children.

Protecting Children - A Shared Responsibility: guidance on inter-agency co-operation (1998)

This national guidance sets out the framework within which agencies should work together to protect children who may be at risk of significant harm.

These guidelines re-assert children's rights as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and The Children (Scotland) Act 1995. The management of incidents involving drug misuse, including interviewing and discipline, should take account of these rights.

Each child has a right to:

• be treated as an individual;
• protection from all forms of abuse, neglect or exploitation; and
• express views on matters affecting him/her if he or she wishes.

Parents should normally be responsible for the upbringing of their children. Agencies and professionals should inform and involve parents in decision making as far as possible, and any intervention by a public authority in the life of a child must be properly justified and supported by services from all the relevant agencies working in collaboration.

There is a need for multi-agency co-operation (police, health, education and social work) in line with procedures prepared by local Child Protection Committees.

Any child can be exposed to drug misuse but some children may be at higher risk of drug misuse and therefore require special care. These may include:

• pupils often out of school such as truants, excluded pupils;
• children who have previously misused drugs or who associate with peers who do so and may feel "labelled" as drug misusers;
• those in families where other family members misuse drugs;
• children in homeless families; and
• troubled children looked after by the local authority.

Exclusions From School- SOEID Circular 2/98

The guidance sets out the roles and responsibilities of education authorities, schools, School Boards, parents and pupils in relation to exclusion from school. It is designed to complement local guidelines on exclusion and to promote consistency of approach across the country. The guidance stresses that exclusion should be regarded as a last resort and that multi-disciplinary approaches should be used, both to support pupils at risk of exclusion and to facilitate the successful re-integration of pupils who have been excluded. It states that authorities are expected to have arrangements in place to systematically review individual cases with a view to early re-integration into mainstream education where appropriate, or placement in alternative provision. Exclusion from school in extreme cases involving serious breaches of discipline or criminal behaviour can be an effective deterrent to misbehaviour and a safeguard for other pupils and staff. It must however be used as a last resort and in a consistent way throughout the country.

< Previous | Contents | Next >