East Sussex Drugs and Alcohol Protocol for Schools October 2017



East Sussex Substance Misuse Protocol for Schools

1. Introduction

1.1  This guidance is intended to provide schools with information that will help them to:

a)  better consider all aspects of substance use and misuse and the potential impact on children and young people, both as children of drug and alcohol misusing parents and as users of substances

b)  understand how to help prevent and minimise the harm to children/young people who may use substances

c)  be aware of how the school can support students and families who are involved in the use of substances

d)  know what resources are available to support those affected by substance use

e)  provide specific responses to drug or alcohol related incidents

f)  prevent the disengagement and exclusion of young people from schools

g)  promote positive health and wellbeing outcomes for children.

2. Prevalence of alcohol and drug use amongst Young People
2.1 The patterns of use of alcohol and drugs by young people changes rapidly and frequently. They are generally influenced by factors such as exposure, availability, costs both financial and experiential and legal status. While cannabis and alcohol are the most common substances that young people self-report when they present to substance misuse services, a small number will present with class A (cocaine, opiate) drug problems. All organisations working with young people should be prepared to respond to the presentation of all substances and be aware of the rapidly changing profile of use.
2.2 The HSCIC 2014 survey Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England 1 shows a whole population decrease in the prevalence of drug, alcohol and tobacco use amongst school pupils aged 11-15 years. The survey also found that young people who truant or have been excluded from school are much more likely to have experimented with substances including tobacco.
2.3 The reported decrease demonstrates how young people’s health behaviour is often driven by the world they grow up in. Sustained efforts to reduce smoking prevalence among adults, restrict availability and de-normalise tobacco use, all contributed to lower smoking rates among young people. Despite these recent declines, the proportion of children in the UK drinking alcohol remains well above the European average. We continue to rank among the countries with the highest levels of consumption among those who do drink and British children are more likely to binge drink or get drunk compared to children in most other European countries.
2.4 At a local level the What About YOUth? tool provided local authority estimates for several topic areas, based on what 15 year olds themselves have said about their attitudes to healthy lifestyles and risky behaviours (self-reported), including diet and physical activity, smoking, alcohol, use of drugs, bullying and wellbeing. The drug and alcohol findings of the East Sussex 2014/15 survey shows that for many of the indicators, East Sussex performs significantly worse than the England and South East averages. For example, the percentage of regular drinkers recorded in ES was 7.8% against an England and regional percentage of 6.2%; similarly the percentage of young people drunk in the last 4 weeks was 20.1% against a national value of 14.6% and regional 15.9%. The tool can be viewed at https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/search/youth. 2
2.5 Evidence and research collated in the 2015 United Kingdom Drug Situation - National Treatment Agency 3 (NTA) demonstrated a strong correlation between disengagement from school, including truancy and exclusion and a link to drug and alcohol misuse and other risky health behaviours. This is set against an increase in East Sussex in substance related exclusions from 2013 – 41 temporary and 9 permanent to 2015 - 60 temporary and 6 permanent. The NTA also found that early intervention in response to drug and alcohol incidents can reduce permanent exclusions and the risk of longer-term misuse.

3. Education and Prevention Guidance, Quality Standards and evidenced based practice

3.1 The school's role in preventionis much broader than alcohol and drug education lessons. The links betweeneducational detachment andthe use of alcohol and drugsat an early ageare very clear whilst a young person's attachment to school is a powerful protective factor that will increase their resilience against substance misuse.Thisis strengthened by a positive and supportive school ethos, as well as the provision of good quality PSHE education. Schools are also well placed to intervene early if a young person's or familial alcohol or drug use is causing problems.

3.2 Good alcohol and drug education is much more than giving young people factual information, although this will certainly increase young people's knowledge and understanding of alcohol and drugs. Research demonstrates that information alone does very little to change behaviour. To have an impact, alcohol and drug education must:

·  Enable young people to think about their personal attitudes and values which will underline their decisions about drug use.

·  Develop young people's skills to manage the sort of situations they will face (for example making decisions, negotiating and communicating effectively) and to cope with stress or anxiety without resorting to alcohol or drugs.

·  Challenge young people's misconceptions of how normal and acceptable substance use is among their peers and among older teenagers.

3.3 Quality standards have been developed Quality standards for effective alcohol and drug education 4 by Mentor-ADEPISusing existing national and international guidance as well as examples of good practice inalcohol and drug education and prevention.

The aims of the quality standards are:

·  to help schools and others assess their own practice, in and outside the classroom, and make the case for appropriate support and resources;

·  to help external providers of drug education assess their own practice and convey their aims, methodology, and approach to schools;

·  to help schools have clearer expectations of external contributors, choose those that deliver to a high standard, and work more effectively with them.

3.4 All drug and alcohol PHSE delivery, targeted interventions and responses to drug and alcohol related incidents in schools will be underpinned by these Quality Standards for Drug and Alcohol Education.

3.5 All school staff and Governors should be provided with access to this document to understand fully their roles and responsibilities in relation to the education and protection from harm of young people who will be faced with choices around drugs and alcohol.

3.6 Specific guidance in respect of alcohol is also available to schools via;

NICE Public Health Guidance (2007) Alcohol: school-based interventions 5

3.7 This guidance is aimed at teachers, school governors and practitioners with health and wellbeing as part of their remit working in education, local authorities, the NHS and the wider public, voluntary and community sectors.

3.8 Evidence based recommendations within the guidance focus on encouraging children not to drink, delaying the age at which they start drinking and reducing the harm it can cause among those who do drink.

3.9 NICE recommendations include:

·  alcohol education should be an integral part of the school curriculum and should be tailored for different age groups and different learning needs

·  a 'whole school' approach should be adopted, covering everything from policy development and the school environment to staff training and parents and pupils should be involved in developing and supporting this

·  where appropriate, children and young people who are thought to be drinking harmful amounts should be offered one-to-one advice and referred to an external service

·  School’s should work with a range of local partners to support alcohol education in schools, ensure school interventions are integrated with community activities and to find ways to consult with families about initiatives to reduce alcohol use.

4. Drug and Alcohol Prevention: What works and what does not?

4.1 The general aim of drug prevention is the healthy and safe development of children and youth to realise their talents and potential and become contributing members of their community and society. Effective drug prevention contributes significantly to the positive engagement of children, young people and adults with their families, schools, workplace and community.

4.2 The National Treatment Agency NTA has reviewed the research and evidence base and suggests a number of factors and types of intervention which are linked to positive outcomes and highlights those that can have very negative outcomes. From The international evidence on the prevention of drug and alcohol use, 6 the evidence review suggests the following may result in positive outcomes:

·  Early interventions, particularly generic pre-school programmes, improving literacy and numeracy, have a long-term effect.

·  Personal and social skills education.

·  Links to school interventions including school environment improvement

programmes: positive ethos; disaffection; truancy; participation; academic and

social-emotional learning.

·  A focus on ‘risk and resilience’ factors.

·  Multi-component programmes involving parenting interventions and support for individuals and families, which may require joined up commissioning and planning.

·  Staff who are qualified and competent to deliver the interventions they provide.

4.3 The evidence review suggests the following result in no or negative outcomes:

·  Scare tactics and images

·  Knowledge-only approaches

·  Ex-users and the police as drug educators where their input is not part of a wider prevention programme

·  Peer mentoring schemes that are not evidence-based.

5. School policies and their impact on drug and alcohol prevention.

5.1 School polices and the educational culture they set, are vitally important to underpin any successful prevention programme. They need to promote an environment which is inclusive and provides clarity to all in respect of the use of drugs or alcohol. Schools can access guidance to update their policies via Toolkit for Schools - Mentor. 7 There is also a draft policy framework attachment at Annex A to guide your development and Education Support Behaviour and Attendance Service (ESBAS) Extended Support Substance Misuse workers are happy to assist you with this task.

5.2 Characteristics of schools policy found to be associated with positive prevention outcomes include:

·  Supporting normal school functioning, not disruption.

·  Supporting positive school ethos, commitment to school and student participation.

·  Policies developed with the involvement of all stakeholders (students, teachers, staff, and parents).

·  Policies clearly specify the substances that are targeted, as well as the locations (school premises) and/or occasions (school functions) the policy applies to.

·  Applied to all in the school (student, teachers, staff, parents/carers and other visitors, etc.)

·  Reducing or eliminating access to and availability of tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs.

·  Addressing infractions of policies with positive sanctions by providing referral to specialist services, health-care and psycho-social services rather than punishing.

·  Enforcing consistently and promptly, including positive reinforcement for policy compliance.

5.3 Characteristics of school policy associated with no or negative prevention outcomes:

·  Inclusion of random drug testing

6 Responses and interventions from Schools

6.1 Responses Schools can support:

·  Ensure relevant helpline stickers from FRANK are available and displayed widely throughout the school

·  Display FRANK leaflets and posters, with telephone numbers, in

·  changing rooms

·  school youth clubs

·  reception areas

·  and on:

·  corridors

·  notice boards

·  Display FRANK posters and leaflets when there are parent evenings and open days and promote the Chief Medical Officers guidance on the consumption of alcohol by children and Young People and Alcohol.

·  Model and promote a healthy lifestyle.

·  Increase the awareness of the potential harms of drugs and alcohol and raise awareness of the different impacts on adults as opposed to children and adolescents.

·  Ensure parents and carers are made aware through the sharing of information of actions schools are taking to reduce the harms caused by drugs and alcohol and increase their understanding of the impacts of the use of drugs and alcohol on adolescent brain development and the impact on school attainment?

·  Sensitively respond to any issue reported by students, their peers or other family members regarding parental substance misuse. Ensure referral to SPOA in those circumstances where safeguarding concerns are triggered.

·  Have clear drug and alcohol policies.

·  Commit to ongoing PHSE curriculum development.

All FRANK materials are available from; https://www.gov.uk/search?q=FRANK+publications 8

Schools can email to obtain an order form.

6.2 Widely publicise any support services that are available including the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), mentors or counsellors employed by the school, health service (school nurse) drop in services, support available in the local community and in East Sussex, direct referrals to the ESBAS (Substance Misuse) Extended Support Team Workers.

6.3 Schools and Further /Higher Education establishments should be vigilant and ensure that staff are aware of signs and related issues regarding Drugs and Alcohol; with those in a pastoral role encouraged to access the LSCB Level 1 and 2 Substance Misuse and Young People training.

7. PSHE curriculum opportunities

7.1 East Sussex recognises the importance of consistency of inclusion of the issue of drugs and alcohol within school lessons. This may offer children a means by which they can understand more fully the potential impacts of drugs and alcohol use and subsequently if they have concerns consider talking to an adult or friend about those. It is therefore recommended that schools review their curriculum content and coverage of drugs and alcohol, possibly within their PSHE curriculum and follow the Mentor - ADEPIS guidance to ensure that coverage is consistent across ages and that teachers are confident in the delivery of this subject area. Access to local support services should also be considered as part of those preparations.

7.2 Since January 2015, all state funded schools across East Sussex have been able to access FREE membership of the PSHE Association (funded by ESCC Public Health). The PSHE Association is the leading national body for Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) education in England. As part of school’s free membership, all state funded schools are able to benefit from access to a comprehensive resource library, bespoke advice, regular up to the minute PSHE policy and practice emails updates and free online CPD units for those new to PSHE education.