Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the accessibility of vapes in schools.

Schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy that sets out what is expected of all pupils, including what items are banned from school premises.

Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include e-cigarettes or vapes. School staff can search pupils for banned items as outlined in the Department’s Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.

The relationships, sex and health education statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts concerning legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use, and drug-taking.

To support schools to deliver this content effectively, the Department has published a suite of teacher training modules, including one on drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes and vaping.