Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent guidance she has given to schools on teaching pupils about the dangers of (a) smoking and (b) vaping.

The relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance states that, in both primary and secondary school, pupils should be taught the facts about 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 training on teaching about drugs, alcohol and tobacco, which makes specific reference to e-cigarettes (vaping).

In addition, content on drugs, alcohol and tobacco is taught in compulsory health education. This supplements drug education which is part of the National Curriculum for science in Key Stages 2 and 3.

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. This should be communicated to all pupils, parents and school staff.

Schools have the autonomy to decide which items should be banned from their premises, and these can include vapes. Items banned by the school can be searched for as outlined in the Department’s ‘Searching, Screening and Confiscation’ guidance, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.

The Department believes that this will help head teachers to manage vaping on school premises and inform young people about the risks of vaping, to reduce the numbers of young people who are currently vaping, or who might be tempted to try it in the future.

The Department has brought forward the review of the RSHE statutory guidance, which commenced in March 2023. On 1 June 2023, the Prime Minister announced an intervention taking steps to prevent children obtaining vapes illegally. As part of this, the Department is planning to include the harms of vaping in the RSHE curriculum.

The Department expects to publish an amended draft of the statutory guidance for consultation in the autumn, with a view to a final version being published in 2024.