Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure drug education is delivered effectively in private schools.

Independent schools have a statutory duty to teach personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education, under the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014.

Independent schools have discretion over how they teach health education, but they are encouraged to read the statutory curriculum for health education, which is part of the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). The guidance sets out that pupils should be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and the associated risks to physical and mental wellbeing, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking.

Independent schools are subject to the relationships and sex education aspects of the RSHE statutory guidance, which is clear that pupils in secondary schools should understand how the use of alcohol and drugs can lead to risky sexual behaviour. The guidance also sets out that pupils should understand the law on criminal exploitation, including through involvement with gangs or ‘county lines’ drugs operations.