STRABANEACADEMY

DRUGS AND SUBSTANCE

MISUSE POLICY

Date ratified by Board of Governors

5th June 2017

Rationale

Strabane Academy is committed to protecting and promoting the health and safety of both staff and pupils and will take action to safeguard their wellbeing.

The school recognises the statutory requirement to have a drugs policy and to provide drugs education as part of the curricular provision.

This policy has been drawn up in the light of advice from the Department of Education for Northern Ireland (DENI), the Education Authority (EA) and other statutory agencies.

The drugs policy relates to and complements other schools policies as listed below:

  • Pastoral Care Policy
  • Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy.
  • Positive Behaviour Policy
  • Health and Safety Policy
  • Managing Critical Incidents Policy
  • Anti-Bullying Policy
  • Supporting Pupils with Medication Needs Policy

The school is aware that in today’s society most people will be exposed to and/or use some sort of drug at some time. Therefore the school is aware of the risk pupils may be at. Research shows that by post-primary school age a significant number of young people are engaging with substances such as alcohol, cigarettes, (including electronic cigarettes) or solvents and/or have misused prescribed medicines or other substances including new psychoactive substances (NPS).

We believe that this school has a vital preventative role to play in combating the misuse of drugs by young people and we therefore include a drugs education programme in our curriculum.

We also value parental involvement and seek to educate parents of the school policy regarding drugs and substance misuse.

Ethos

Strabane Academy promotes a caring, supportive environment in which pupils and staff can work in an atmosphere of mutual respect, where all feel happy, safe and secure.

We place great importance on an ethos that enables strong pupil/teacher relationships, where pupils feel confident and comfortable to refer any concern to a member of staff

We acknowledge the importance of our pastoral role in the welfare of young people, and to help pupils feel secure and free from the potential dangers of substance misuse and to make them aware of the structures within school for dealing with this.

We want our pupils to be able to make informed and responsible decisions about drugs by increasing their knowledge and by developing in them appropriate values, attitudes and skills.

Definitions

The following definitions are taken fromCCEA “Drugs: Guidance for Schools in Northern Ireland.”

‘Drug’ and ‘substance’

“include any product that, when taken, has the effect of altering the way the body works or how a person behaves, feels, sees or thinks”.

Within this policy the terms ‘use’, ‘misuse’ and ‘abuse’ refer to the use of a drug for purposes for which it was not intended or using a drug in excessive quantities.

As well as everyday substances such as tea and coffee, drugs include:

  • alcohol and tobacco and tobacco-related substances, including nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), and electronic cigarettes;
  • over-the-counter medicines such as paracetamol and cough medicine;
  • prescribed drugs, such as antibiotics, painkillers, antidepressants, inhalers and stimulants such as Ritalin;
  • volatile substances, such as correcting fluids or thinners, gas lighter fuel, glues and petrol;
  • controlled drugs, such as cannabis, LSD, ecstasy, amphetamine sulphate (speed), magic mushrooms (processed), heroin and cocaine;
  • new psychoactive substances (NPS), formerly known as legal highs;
  • other substances, such as amyl or butyl nitrites (known as poppers) and unprocessed magic mushrooms.

Drug Use

“...refers to taking a drug; there is no value judgement, although all drug use has an elementof risk.”

Drug Misuse

“refers to legal, illegal or illicit drug taking or alcohol consumption, which leads a person to experience social, psychological, physical or legal problems related to intoxication or regularexcessive consumption and/or dependence. Drug misuse is therefore taking drugs, including prescribed drugs and NPS, that cause harm to the individual, their significant others or thewider community.”

Therefore the drugs policyaims to protect young people from the harm associated with the use and misuse of substances.

Aims

Our school aims:

  • To ensure that each pupil feels valued, special and unique, and amember of the school community.
  • To provide a secure and caring environment to ensure the emotional and physical welfare of pupils as well as their academic progress.
  • To develop pupils’ full academic potential by integrating a wide range of important areas including aspects of health education, careers education and study skills in order to enhance pupil’s personal and social skills.
  • To help pupils feel secure and free from the potential dangers of child abuse, substance misuse and bullying and making them aware of the structures within school for dealing with such issues.
  • To develop high standards of behaviour, whereby teachers are fair, consistent and compassionate in their approach to keeping good order in school.
  • To ensure that pupil achievements both within and outside the classroom are recognised, valued and celebrated by the school, and in this way, raising pupils’ self-esteem and worth.

Objectives

  • to develop a consistent approach to drug-related issues in line with the school’s pastoral care provision that all members of the school community can adopt;
  • develop, implement and review a drugs education programme as part of the provision of Personal Development (PD) within the curriculum;
  • to develop procedures and protocols that address drug-related issues across all areas of school life;
  • establish procedures for managing specific incidents of suspected drug misuse; and
  • monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the policy in line with whole-school self –evaluation procedures.

Roles and Responsibilities and Legal Duties

The Board of Governors

  • collaborate with appropriate staff, pupils and parents or carers to foster and support developing and reviewing its drugs policy;
  • facilitate the consultative process where the school community can respond andcontribute to the policy’s effectiveness and quality. The governors examineand approve this before implementing it in the school;
  • ensure details of the policy are published in the school prospectus and that these arereviewed at least annually and after a drug-related incident;
  • are fully aware of and adequately trained to deal with suspected drugs related incidents, including alcohol and tobacco, tobacco-related products, electronic cigarettes and their appropriately disciplinary response

The Principal

  • is responsible for determining the circumstance of any drugs-related incident. In any suspected drug-related incident, the principaland should contact the parents or carers of those pupils involved.
  • should ensure that in any incident involving a controlled drug there is close liaison with the PSNI.

After informing the PSNI, the Principal should confine his responsibilities to:

  • the welfare of the pupil(s) involved in the incident and the other pupils in the school;
  • health and safety during the handling, storage and safe disposal of any drugs / drugs related paraphernalia, using protective gloves at all times;
  • informing the Board of Governors;
  • agreeing any appropriate pastoral or disciplinary response;
  • reporting the incident to the Education Authority;
  • completing a written report and forwarding a copy to the Board of Governors and the designated officer in the Education Authority.

The Designated Teacher for Drugs

The Designated Teacher for Drugs is Mrs Moore. She is responsible for:

  • co-ordinating the school’s procedures for handling suspected drug-related incidents andtraining and inducting new and existing staff in these procedures;
  • ensuring that the school’s disciplinary policy has an appropriate statement about anydisciplinary response resulting from suspected drug-related incidents;
  • ensuring that the school’s pastoral care policy has an appropriate statement about anypastoral response resulting from suspected drug-related incidents;
  • liaising with other staff responsible for pastoral care;
  • being the contact point for outside agencies that may have to work with the school or witha pupil or pupils concerned;
  • responding to advice from first aiders, in the event of an incident, and informing theprincipal, who should contact the pupil’s parents or carers immediately;
  • taking possession of any substance(s) and associated paraphernalia found in a suspectedincident;
  • pupil(s) involved in a suspected incident;
  • completing a factual report using the schools Drug-Related Incident Form, which theyforward to the principal; and
  • reviewing and if required updating the policy every two years and after a drug-relatedincident, where learning from the experience could improve practice.

In the absence of the Designated Teacher for Drugs, the Deputy Designated Teacher for Drugs (Mrs Sayers) will assume responsibility.

Staff (teaching and non-teaching)

All staff should be familiar with the content of the school’s drug policy. They should also be fully aware of their responsibilities, should a suspected drug-related incident occur. It is notthe staff’s responsibility to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, but they should:

  • assess the situation and decide on the appropriate actions to take;
  • notify the principal and the designated teacher for drugs at the earliest opportunity;
  • deal with any emergency procedures to ensure the safety of pupils and staff, if necessary(see Appendix 3);
  • forward any information, substance or paraphernalia received to the designated teacherfor drugs, who will respond accordingly(see Appendix 4);
  • use the school’s Drugs Incident Report Form to complete a brief factual report on thesuspected incident and forward this to the designated teacher for drugs (see Appendix 5);
  • consider the needs and safety of a pupil when discharging him or her into the care of aparent or carer who appears to be under the influence of alcohol or another substance(staff, who are in loco parentis, should maintain a calm atmosphere when dealing withthe parent and, if concerned, should discuss with the parent alternative arrangements forcaring for the pupil); and
  • invoke safeguarding procedures; if a parent or carer’s behaviour may place a pupil at risk(see Appendix 4.5).

Drugs Education Programme

We aim to prevent the misuse of substances through the drugs education programme, smoking policy and school rules on drugs. The school rules about substance misuse are available to all pupils at all times in their school planner.

The drugs education programme is delivered within Learning for Life and Work (Personal Development) and Personal and Social Education (PSE). It aims to help young people in the following ways:

1)By providing accurate and up-to-date information on drugs and their effects on health, and on the risks and legal aspects of drug-taking.

2)By introducing opportunities to enhance the young people's self-respect, personal competence and self-esteem by encouraging the development of:

a)Positive attitudes and behaviours towards themselves as well as in their social relationships with others;

b)Skills and behaviours which enable them to communicate effectively, assert themselves, take responsible decisions, identify risks, help others, and resist pressures and influences which might lead them to participate in activities which could have serious consequences for their health and well-being;

c)An understanding of the varying attitudes, values and perspectives which exist towards drug-related issues and so enable them to reach an informed personal viewpoint.

3)By ensuring progression and continuity in the knowledge, understanding, skills, attitudes and values addressed. The specific content, the depth of treatment, the strategies and the activities included is matched to the age, maturity and circumstances of the young people concerned.

4)The programmes are designed to take account of the degree to which pupils have had experiences with drugs.

a)For those young people who are likely to have no experience of drugs, the programme should aim to maintain this position and minimise the number of young people in the school who ever engage in drugs misuse.

b)For those young people who are likely to have begun to experiment with drugs in an ad hoc and infrequent way, the programme should aim to persuade them to resist experimentation, and delay the onset of regular use.

c)For those young people who experiment regularly with drugs the programme should aim to empower them to seek help and support, to minimise the proportion of misusers who adopt particularly dangerous forms of misuse, and to try to persuade them to stop.

The Head of Learning for Life and Work, in consultation with the Head of Pastoral Care/Designated Teacher for Drugs,will ensure that a co-ordinated programme for all Key Stages is implemented, regularly reviewed and updated. This will include:

  • the curricular provision at Key Stage 3 & 4 (Personal Development and other areas of learning);
  • the use of pastoral time (informal curriculum) across all year groups; and
  • the use of external agencies as appropriate.

Procedures for handling suspected incidents of drug misuse

It will depend on the nature of the incident and the type of substance(s) involved; for example,

cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, alcohol, solvents, and controlled drugs may each require a different kind of response. Detailed guidance for dealing with drug and substance misuse are outlined in DENI Circular 2015/23 Drugs Guidance and the CCEA guidance;Guidance on Managing Suspected Drugs-related Incidents (see Appendix 4).

In general, the following sequence will be followed by the staff involved;

  1. Disclosures of drugs and substance abuse must be reported immediately to the Designated Teacher.
  2. Individual members of staff who suspect a drugs-related incident must ensure the safety for all pupils and other members of staff affected and provide the immediate necessary medical care that is most appropriate.
  3. The staff member should identify, remove and secure any drugs / substance and/or associated paraphernalia / evidence, and pass all information / evidence to the Designated Teacher. Additionally, the staff member must write a brief factual report of the incident and forward it to the Designated Teacher.
  4. The Designated Teacher for Drugs should respond to the member of staff / First Aider; in the event of an emergency, the parents/guardians of the pupil(s) concerned should be informed immediately.
  5. The Designated Teacher will take possession of any substance(s) and associated paraphernalia found and will inform the Principal. The Designated Teacher will take initial responsibility for the pupils(s) involved in the suspected incident and will complete / forward a factual report to the Principal.
  6. The Principal will determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
  7. The Principal will inform the parents/guardians, Chair of the Board of Governors and the following external agencies as appropriate; PSNI, Designated Officer with the EA.
  8. The Principal, in consultation with the Chair of the Board of Governors, will determine the appropriate safeguarding / disciplinary responses including counselling services and support.
  9. A copy of the incident report (see Appendix 5) will be forwarded by the Principal to the chairperson of the Board of Governors and the Designated Officer with the EA (if appropriate).
  10. The School will ensure that appropriate pastoral support will be provided for both the pupil(s) involved with the suspected drugs-related incident and those pupils affected by the incident through, for example, the school Counselling Service, Heads of Year, Form Teacher or other trained staff.

NB: If the school receives an enquiry from the media, the caller should be referred only to the Principal (or a designated nominee).

Confidentiality

Teachers cannot and should not promise total confidentiality. They should make theboundaries of confidentiality clear to pupils. Members of staff should carefully considertheir response, if a pupil approaches them for individual advice on drug use or misuse. In thecase of controlled substances, the staff member should explain to the pupil that they cannotoffer a guarantee of confidentiality. If the pupil discloses information concerning controlledsubstances, the staff member must pass this on to the designated teacher for drugs. Themember of staff can direct the pupil to sources of confidentialinformation and advice andto treatment and rehabilitation services (see Appendix 6). Further informationabout these services is available at

Disciplinary / Pastoral Care Responses

The Positive Behaviour Policy lists the sanctions in relation to drugs-related incidents.These are summarised below;

(i) Supplying or dealing in illegal/controlled drugs on school premises will lead to the Board

of Governors initiating expulsion procedures.

(ii) Possessing or using an illegal/controlled drug will lead to a suspension pending investigations which may lead to the Board of Governors initiating expulsion procedures.

(iii) Possessing or using a non-controlled drug or substance will lead to suspension.

NB: Repeated incidents of points (ii) and (iii) detailed abovemay ultimately result in expulsion.

The pupil’s health and well-being will be taken into consideration when making an appropriate response to a drug-related incident.

On return to the school, all persons involved in drug or substance related abuse will be strongly encouraged to receive counselling through the schools independent counselling service or other external agencies such as DAISY (Drugs and Alcohol Intervention Service for Youth).

Provision of counselling services in the school

All pupils have access to the school counsellor funded by the Department of Education.

The Designated Teacher also can provide detail of counselling services pupils may access outside of school.

A list of support for parents / carers is available in Appendix 6.