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Guidelines for the Management of Incidents of Drug Misuse in Schools

Section 3

Managing An Incident Involving Drug Misuse By Pupils

3.1 Key steps

This section covers procedures for handling incidents requiring immediate urgent action involving drug taking or possession of or supplying drugs on school premises. Section 2 contains information covering preparation for and handling incidents involving pupils that require a more measured approach (paragraph 2.3) and also incidents involving staff (paragraph 2.5) or other adults (paragraph 2.4).

Once informed of an incident, the headteacher has to quickly establish the facts and take action in line with education authority policies. The immediate priority is pupil welfare. The headteacher should follow clear, written procedures for immediate action. The headteacher should be satisfied that the appropriate steps have been carried out and recorded.

3.2 If medical help is required

• Provide first aid as necessary, minimise risk of pupil damaging him/herself or others. As a last resort reasonable restraint may be necessary (see also Drug situations - medical emergencies).

AND/OR

• Send for an ambulance. Arrange for appropriate adult to accompany pupil to hospital.
• Send for Head of Establishment (depute if Head unavailable).
• Access another member of staff for assistance.
• Arrange for safe removal of drug-related litter (in accordance with set management procedures).
• Retain evidence (including vomit, for medical analysis) if at all possible.

HEAD OF ESTABLISHMENT (OR DEPUTE/DESIGNATED PERSON) TO

• Contact police for advice and/or involvement as necessary (see also paragraph 2.3).
• Inform parent of incident and that police have been contacted, invite parent(s) to come to school (see also paragraphs 2.9, 3.4 and 3.5).
• Arrange for staff and other pupils involved to be interviewed, with witnesses, to establish the facts of the incident and obtain corroboration. Records of these meetings must be kept.
• Inform Director of Education as soon as possible.
• Arrange interview of pupil(s) concerned when recovered. Records must be kept.
• Once investigation has finished, give consideration to the guidance which has been given in terms of excluding pupils and involving other agencies such as social work.

3.3 If medical help is not required

• Send for Head of Establishment (depute if Head unavailable).
• Access another member of staff for assistance.
• Minimise risk of pupil damaging him/herself or others. As a last resort, reasonable restraint may be necessary. Retain evidence (including vomit, for medical analysis) if at all possible.
• Pupil (and belongings) should be taken to a private room and supervised by preferably two members of staff.
• Arrange for safe removal of drug-related litter (in accordance with set management procedures).

HEAD OF ESTABLISHMENT (OR DEPUTE/DESIGNATED PERSON) TO

• Remind pupil of school policy regarding drug misuse and the procedures to be followed to investigate the incident, including the intention to contact parents and police.
• Ask pupil to hand over any drug-related material. If reluctant to do so, explain that request will be repeated in presence of parents and possibly police.
• Contact police for advice and/or involvement as necessary (see also paragraph 2.3).
• Inform parent of incident and that police have been contacted, invite parent to come to school (see also paragraphs 2.9, 3.4 and 3.5).
• Inform Director of Education as soon as possible.
• Arrange interview of pupil, with witnesses, to establish the facts of the incident, at what level pupil involved, and, whether other pupils were involved. Records must be kept.
• Arrange interview of staff and other pupils involved, with witnesses, to further establish the facts of the incident and obtain corroboration. Records must be kept.
• Once investigation has finished, give consideration to the guidance which has been given in terms of excluding pupils and involving other agencies such as social work.

3.4 Managing the arrival of parents and police where police involvement is necessary

Parents should be informed and involved in any drug-related incident involving their child. It will not always be appropriate for the police to be actively involved in incidents involving drug misuse but, where they are involved, the following key principles should apply.

If parents arrive before the police, the parents should be allowed access to the pupil with a teacher present at all times.

If police arrive before the parents and the parents have yet to be contacted or are on their way, the police should be asked if they would be willing to wait. Circumstances may dictate that the police may wish to take immediate action. Every attempt should be made to have parents present but, failing this, a teacher must be present.

The police may arrive at school prior to parents and wish to take the pupil away for questioning. In these circumstances staff are asked to seek an explanation from the attending officer(s) for their actions.

In exceptional cases police or social work rather than the school staff, will contact parents. This should be determined by all the agencies following inter-agency discussion and planning. These may be cases in which social work services are carrying out child protection inquiries related to an incident or the police and social work services are carrying out a joint investigation under local child protection procedures (see paragraph 2.9).

3.5 Responding to media

Schools should follow the guidelines issued by their local authority when dealing with the media. If the press or other media approaches the school for comment on a particular incident, they should be directly referred to the Headteacher, or another nominated person in the school or education authority. For consistency, all enquires should be dealt with by either the Headteacher/nominated person who should be in direct contact with the Director of Education. As soon as possible the school and the education authority should agree a press statement for release by the Headteacher in response to any approach.

If the press approaches the school before an agreed statement is prepared, the response should be that a statement will be issued in due course.

Apart from any agreed statement school staff should not make any comments to the media. All responses should be noted and take account of common media practices including tape-recording of telephone conversations.

Where other agencies are involved they should agree with the school and education authority a strategy for handling any approaches from the media.

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