Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase awareness of the problems caused by illegal drugs in schools among (a) pupils and (b) parents.

Effective drug education is essential in supporting prevention, and in addressing the problem of drug misuse. Education plays an important role in helping to ensure that young people have the information they need to make informed, healthy decisions and to keep themselves safe.

Drug education is part of national curriculum science at key stage 2 and key stage 3. Provision in this area can be built on through personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.

High quality PSHE can also play a vital role in developing the skills and attributes young people need to identify and manage risk and to stay safe. We believe that teachers are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils and our approach is for schools to develop their own local PSHE programme to reflect the needs of their pupils, drawing on the resources and evidence provided by experts.

We want to ensure that all schools are drawing on the best evidence available to deliver their PSHE. In March 2015, the Department published a ‘Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education: a review of impact and best practice’, which included the best evidence on what works in drugs education. This can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pshe-education-a-review-of-impact-and-effective-practice.

It is good practice for schools to involve parents when developing their PSHE policy and schools are encouraged to publish their curriculum online. There are also useful resources available to support parents in increasing their knowledge about the risks that pupils face, including those problems caused by illegal drugs.