| Council-run schools educate pupils about controlled drugs, the safe use of medicine, alcohol, tobacco and solvents and they were also found to be more likely to have written procedures for managing incidents of drug misuse than other schools.
Angus Council has a 100% record for providing drug education, which covers the safe use of medicine, alcohol, tobacco, solvents and controlled drugs, such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin. Every pupil at primary school in the area who stays at that school from start to finish received drug education at some point during the year.
Primary schools in the Dundee City Council area cover all types of drug education with a marginal shortfall in information on controlled drugs, giving the local authority a 95% record for drug education, which is in line with current national advice.
The local authority in Dundee has made improvements in drug education, with every pupil receiving drug education in 2002 compared to 88% in 2001.
The percentage of schools in the city which provide drug education in line with current national advice increased in 2002 to 95% from 85% the previous year.
In Fife, 90% of drug education was deemed to be in line with current national advice in 2002, which is unchanged from 2001, while 93% of all pupils received drug education in 2002, marginally worse than the previous year of 95%.
In Perth and Kinross 99% of drug education is in line with current national advice with 99% of all pupils in local authority primary schools receiving drug information.
Drug education is ruled to be in line with national advice if it is provided to every pupil and it must provide pupils with continuity and progression in their learning.
It must also include education for all of the following areas — safe use of medicine, alcohol, tobacco, solvents and controlled drugs.
According to the new figures, 56% of schools updated their drug education programmes within the last two years and a further 40% within the last five years.
A total of 84% of Scottish schools had written procedures for dealing with drug misuse and 59% had measures in place to deal with smoking.
The Scottish Executive plans to carry out research into the standard of drug education in primary and secondary schools.
Brian Kirkaldy, senior manager with Fife Council education service said he was pleased with the figures.
“The feedback we have had from teachers and pupils is that the information is seen as relevant and helpful to the risks young people are faced with in the community,” he said. |
