Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to protect pupils from new psychoactive substances which are not illegal but aim to mimic illegal substances.
The government changed the law in 2016 to make it illegal to supply a substance for its psychoactive effect. Schools have a statutory power to search for and confiscate prohibited items such as illegal drugs.
The Home Office published its ‘2017 Drug Strategy’ in July 2017. The attached report references effective drug education as being essential in supporting prevention and tackling the problem of drug misuse. In addition, drug education is part of the national curriculum for science at key stage 2 and key stage 3.
Through Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHE), schools can teach pupils about new psychoactive substances. The PSHE Association's non-statutory programme of study, which references drug education, is available at:
The government is considering further steps to improve PSHE. The Children and Social Work Act 2017 provides a power for the Secretary of State to make PSHE, or elements therein, mandatory in all schools, subject to careful consideration. Teaching about drugs will be considered as part of this process.