INTRODUCTION

The National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008

The National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008-Building on Experience, sets out a detailed programme of action to be implemented by Government departments and agencies to tackle substance abuse, based on the four separate pillars of:
1. Supply Reduction
2. Education and Prevention
3. Treatment
4. Research
The second of these pillars relates specifically to the role to be played by the educational sector. One objective in this area is to create greater societal awareness regarding the dangers and prevalence of drug misuse. Another objective is to equip young people and other vulnerable groups with the skills and supports necessary to make informed choices about their health, personal lives and social development.
The DES Position
As part of its role as a government agency committed to implementing the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008-Building on Experience, the Department of Education and Science now requires that all schools have a Substance Use policy in place by September 2002.

Research has shown that schools that have a developed strategy for responding to the issue of drug misuse, in all its forms, are best equipped to respond to drug-related incidents as they arise and are most successful in terms of drug prevention and education.
Given this fact, the best approach to developing such a strategy is through a formal policy formulated within the context of the school ethos and the framework of the school plan and centered on the well being of the young person and the school community

Circular 18/02

Circular 18/02 and the Guidelines (October 2002) set down the rationale, objectives and the process to be observed in regard to formulating a policy on Substance Use.

'The world in which we live presents young people with many challenges which affect their health and well-being. Exposure to alcohol, tobacco and drugs is part of this reality. Schools need to reflect upon how they might provide for the needs of their student cohort and respond appropriately to what are sometimes sensitive and emotive issues' (Guidelines, P1).

The Objectives

The Department recommends that the main objectives of a school policy should be:

The welfare, care and protection of every young person in line with the Education Act 1998 and the Education (Welfare) Act 2000.

To address education relating to tobacco, alcohol and drug use

The procedures for managing incidents relating to these substances.

The Process

The optimum policy formulation framework is one that includes and involves all of the school partners-school management, teachers, board of management, students, and parents-to produce a comprehensive written policy that would be made known to everyone to whom it applied.

Both the circular and the guidelines suggest a 7-step approach based on the 'whole school' model.

THE SEVEN STEP APPROACH

The process described here is an edited version of the guidelines issued by the DES-following consultation with various health and education bodies- as a basis for good practice in policy development. The core of these guidelines is a seven-step approach involving the following:

1. Establish a steering committee representative of the whole school community to develop the policy and then agree on how this committee will operate.

2. Carefully study relevant resource documents and legislation. To this end, the department provides a list of recent resource materials relating to education on substance use and tips on other sources of information. In addition, it recommends that schools develop a good working relationship with local Gardai and Environmental Health Officers to gain a full understanding of laws relating to tobacco, alcohol & drugs.
3. Review the existing situation in the school regarding such substance use policy issues as education programmes, existing school policies in the school plan and code of behaviour that could be relevant to substance use, and the current understanding, awareness and attitudes among the school partners in relation to drugs.
4. Prepare a draft policy statement. The department outlines a framework that could be used in drawing up the draft policy statement.
5. Publicise, revise, amend and finalise the draft policy. The draft policy should be circulated as widely as possible to gain the views of all the school partners, with revision of the policy being informed by feedback from this process.

6. Ratify, circulate and implement the agreed policy. The final policy ratified by the board of management becomes the school's agreed policy and should be circulated throughout the school community to ensure that everyone is aware of it. Staff must become familiar with the policy and prepare to put it into practice, and everyone needs to understand any changes that the policy implies for the school curriculum, rules, sanctions, and code of behaviour. In addition, it is recommended that parents and students sign a statement affirming that they have read the policy and agree to be bound by it.

7. Monitor, review and evaluate the policy.

CASTLEKNOCK COMMUNITY COLLEGE'S POLICY ON SUBSTANCE USE.

This policy applies to: the entire school community, including teachers, students, parents/guardians and users of the school building.

The Policy is part of a general pastoral approach being adopted by the school to ensure a healthy, caring and supportive learning environment. The Substance Use policy is one among many that serve to promote the school's ethos.

The school asserts its right to protect and promote its particular ethos by requiring certain standards of behaviour and prohibiting certain practices.

The rationale:
o The prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and drug misuse pose challenges and opportunities for the school community as an important social partner in providing drug awareness and education.

o The Board recognizes and accepts the seriousness of various research findings regarding the problems associated with drug and, in particular, alcohol misuse.

o The school policy aims to co-operate fully with the strategic plan adopted by the government under the National Drugs Strategy 2001-2008 and made mandatory for schools in circular 18/02.

o The Education Act ('98) provides that schools promote the social and personal education of students and provide health education for them.

The College's position on drugs
The College does not accept or tolerate the possession, use, or supply of banned or prohibited and/or drug paraphernalia by any student in the school, on school trips and outings, or during any school-related activity.
The College acknowledges that the only exception is for the use of properly prescribed drugs and requests that parents of students taking prescribed medication inform the school in writing of that fact.

PROGRAMMES FOR ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, VOLATILE SUBSTANCES & DRUG EDUCATION
The college, within the limited resources available to it, will provide appropriate education programmes for all its students.
This programme of education will be age-appropriate and will seek
to build on and complement existing programmes already being taught in the school - SPHE, RE, Science, PE, CSPE etc
Parents are asked / expected to:
Acknowledge the importance of these programmes
Recognize that they are in partnership with the school in relation to informing and educating their children regarding substance abuse.
Assist and co-operate fully with the school as it seeks to deal justly and effectively with any incidents that may arise.
To assist the parents in their role the school will:

Provide them with information on what is happening in the school regarding education programmes (ex. SPHE etc)

Encourage and welcome consultation with parents on the best
use of available resources in the community to support the
school in its programme and policy implementation.

PROCEDURES FOR MANAGING ALCOHOL, (TOBACCO), DRUG RELATED, OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE INCIDENTS

In the event of a substance abuse incident, the school will seek to strike a balance between the welfare of the student or students involved and the welfare of the school community as a whole and the reputation of the school.

The College in managing and investigating a substance abuse will take the following steps incident. These steps will include the following:

1. Where it is apparent that there is immediate danger to students or the school community, the school reserves the right to suspend or remove temporarily from the school any student involved in a suspected substance abuse incident pending a further and complete investigation of the incident.

2. The completion of a Substance Abuse Incident Report Form.

3. The school will take all the steps required to fully investigate and assess any substance abuse incident and will take whatever time it deems necessary to do this. Furthermore the school may liaise with appropriate outside agencies to assist with the investigation.

4. The school will take possession of any banned or prohibited substances and drug paraphernalia associated with a substance abuse incident, carefully recording all such items and retaining them pending completion of the investigation, unless otherwise instructed by appropriate outside agencies.

5. In the event of an incident, the school will seek statements from all persons involved in, concerned with, or having knowledge of the incident and will record these statements.

6. The school will maintain a written record of all stages of the investigation of an incident, including records referred to in the above steps, communications with other people or agencies involved or concerned with the matters under investigation, the investigation outcome, decisions taken and the rationale for these decisions, any penalties or disciplinary measures imposed following an investigation, and the management and outcome of any appeal that may arise following an investigation.

7. The school, at its own discretion, will liaise with any appropriate outside authority and seek advice or assistance, as it deems appropriate in relation to its investigation of an incident.

8. If the circumstances merit and the investigation is continuing, the school will put the full particulars of the incident to the students concerned and their parents in the following manner:
a. Copies of all records deemed relevant to the position of the student concerned and to the nature of the complaints or allegations that a student is facing will be made available to the student and his parents-at the discretion of the school-in time to permit the student a reasonable opportunity to make his own reply to the matters at issue and any representations that he would wish to make or have made on his behalf.
b. The school will allow the student concerned and her/his parents reasonable time to respond to the matters at issue. The school will take in to account any response so made and any other relevant extraneous considerations or mitigating circumstances that may be appropriate to the specific case.
c. The school shall shortly thereafter inform the student and his parents of the school's findings and their reasons for these. If the school finds that the students has been guilty of or involved or implicated in an incident, it shall indicate the penalty or sanctions that it intends to impose in the circumstances.

9. In relation to a verified and investigated incident, the Board of Management may implement disciplinary actions or sanctions, including but not limited to: an oral warning, a written warning, a suspension of three days duration, a suspension of more than three days duration, other sanctions short of expulsion, and expulsion.

10.The school can, at its sole discretion, postpone the issue of sanctions to take account of mitigating circumstances or representations that it considers should be taken into account. The school asserts the right to exercise an appropriate show of mercy.

11.The school will endeavour to provide pastoral supports to the student / students and parents affected by an incident of substance. These incidents can be sometimes traumatic for those involved and the services of a tutor, counsellor, chaplain etc would demonstrate the school's commitment to caring for all students at a time of personal crisis.

THE INVOLVEMENT AND ROLES OF VARIOUS PARTIES IN AN
INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

The Principal or his delegate is the person responsible for all matters relating to this area. He or she may nominate the Deputy Principal or Year Head or other nominated staff to act on his or her behalf in the investigation of a substance abuse incident.
The duties and responsibilities of the Principal (hereafter to be understood as meaning the Principal or his/her nominee) in this regard include the following:

(a) The Principal is responsible for dealing with substance abuse incidents arising at the school

(b) All reports of substance abuse incidents or suspected incidents must be reported to the principal

(c) The Principal makes all decisions regarding investigation of an incident; communication with, liaison with, and reporting to relevant parties; and disclosure of information regarding an investigation

(d) The Principal is responsible for keeping all relevant parties properly informed regarding investigation developments

(e) The Principal is responsible for the secure and confidential storage of any written documentation and records associated with an incident

(f) The principal is responsible for taking possession of any banned or prohibited substances or drug paraphernalia and deciding what should be done with same upon appropriate advice

(g) The principal may seek the assistance of the deputy principal, year head, and/or school guidance counsellor in conducting an incident investigation

The previous section has dealt with the procedure for communicating with parents and students in the event that a substance abuse incident continues to be investigated, and the school is required to put the particulars of the matter to the student or students concerned.

However, independent of such a development, the school may wish to contact the parents of a student for a variety of reasons regarding a suspected substance abuse incident.

In such an event, the school will immediately inform parents - particularly where there is a concern regarding the health and welfare of a child - and share any available information that may help parents in attending to their child's health and well-being and will keep parents and students, where appropriate, informed about what is happening and why. It is important to clarify that such actions will be undertaken without prejudice to the school's separate and independent obligation to investigate and manage any substance abuse incident.

The school recognises the importance in limiting, as far as is practicable, the number of people involved in investigating and managing a substance abuse incident and that it is the aim of the school only to involve those properly concerned with an incident. However, it should ensure that students and their parents accept that

(a) The duty of teachers and staff to the school community preclude them from offering total confidentiality to any students when they come in contact with a substance abuse incident or suspected substance abuse incident.
(b) The school may be required in a given situation to contact, as appropriate, such authorities as the Gardai, Health Board, Probation Service, or Officers of the Courts.
(c) The school may need to engage the expert assistance of an appropriate third party to properly investigate an incident.
(d) The school may be duty bound to notify certain persons about and incident and/or the outcome of an incident investigation under statute, regulations, or DES guidelines.

The College will handle media inquiries involving a substance abuse incident in the following way:

- The College will not comment on any individual matter when an investigation is in progress other than to outline its policy and procedures for managing incidents.
- In the interests of the school's reputation, the Board of Management may clarify the school's position regarding an incident after the investigation has been completely concluded.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

The College will provide training for Staff, Board of Management, Parents, and Students.

In relation to staff, the school

· Will deliver training in delivering education programmes relating to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs and
· Specific training on the role of staff in relation to the management and investigation of a substance abuse incident.

In relation to Parents & the Board of Management the school
· Will provide opportunities to attend information sessions and workshops in relation to drugs and the Policy.
· Will provide appropriate information, guidance, and support to the board regarding issues relating to investigation of and adjudication on incident investigations.

In relation to the students the school will:
· Offer all students programmes relating to alcohol, tobacco, and
· Drug education within the context of the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate programmes.

MONITORING, REVIEWING, AND EVALUATING

The College will monitor, review, and evaluate the Policy and all related work and procedures on an ongoing basis to ensure legal compliance and the maintenance of best practices.

APPENDIX

Definitions

The aim of the section is to provide definitions for specific and technical phrases that appear throughout the policy document so that these do not have to be defined within the body of the policy. This approach helps make the main document clearer to a reader and easier to formulate for the school. It also conforms to the guidelines for School Development Planning that a policy statement should be "clearly structured, concise and specific, and written in jargon-free language.

The School
The "School" includes: school buildings, grounds, play areas, public areas where students congregate coming to and going from school, and any other specific area that might apply.

Banned or Prohibited Substances
Banned or prohibitive substance includes all substances covered by the Misuse of Drugs Act, non-validated prescription medication, all alcohol, and tobaccos used contrary to the law of the land. It should also state that the School reserves the right to determine that a substance found at the school qualifies as a banned or prohibited substance.

Drug Paraphernalia
Drug paraphernalia includes any banned or prohibited substance as defined above, any items that may be deemed to be used in the taking of illicit substances, and any written or printed material promoting the use of illicit substances.

A Substance Abuse Incident
A substance abuse incident is defined as any incident relating to banned or prohibited substances that occur in the School or during school functions or outings or any such incident that may be deemed damaging to the health or welfare of the student concerned, to other students, or to the Policy or reputation of the School. The College reserves the right to determine whether a specific incident constitutes a substance abuse incident to be addressed under the terms of the Policy.

Parents
Parents is defined to include natural parents, foster parents, step parents, or guardian of the student concerned as applicable, or any person acting in loco parentis, either on a temporary or permanent basis, on the date of a substance abuse incident.

Principal
In this policy, reference to the Principal should be taken to mean the principal for the time being as appointed by the school and defined in the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 or the deputy principal where the principal is either unavailable or has delegated to the deputy principal.

RELEVANT RESOURCES, DOCUMENTS & LEGISLATION

Walk Tall Programme - a Social, Personal & Health Education programme for the prevention of Substance Misuse- Department of education and Science

Child Protection Guidelines and Procedures for Primary Schools - Department of Education & Science (2001)

Substance Misuse Prevention Information booklet outlining an multistrand approach for Boards of Management, Teachers, Parents and other Educators - Department of Education 1997

On My Own Two Feet - Educational Resource Materials for Social Personal And Health Education - Department of education and Science

Junior Cycle Post Primary Curriculum and Teacher Guidelines for Social Personal & Health Education - Department of education and Science/NCCA (200).

Directory of Alcohol, Drugs and related services in the Republic of Ireland - Health Promotion Unit, Department of Health and Children.

Facts about Drug Abuse in Ireland, compiled by Des Corrigan - Health Promotion Unit, Department of health and Children (revised edition 2002)