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Tabled by
Baroness Meacher
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to help local authorities fulfil their statutory obligation to safeguard children with respect to preventing the use of controlled drugs.
Tabled by
Baroness Meacher
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to help local authorities fulfil their statutory obligation to safeguard children with respect to preventing the use of controlled drugs.
My Lords, nothing is more important than keeping children safe from harm, including from drugs. The Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Social workers assess children’s needs and work with other agencies to provide help and support to meet those needs. Reducing drug misuse
is a key part of our evidence-based drug strategy. Education plays an important role in supporting children to make healthy choices.
My Lords, nothing is more important than keeping children safe from harm, including from drugs. The Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Social workers assess children’s needs and work with other agencies to provide help and support to meet those needs. Reducing drug misuse
is a key part of our evidence-based drug strategy. Education plays an important role in supporting children to make healthy choices.
My Lords, nothing is more important than keeping children safe from harm, including from drugs. The Children Act 1989 places a duty on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. Social workers assess children’s needs and work with other agencies to provide help and support to meet those needs. Reducing drug misuse
is a key part of our evidence-based drug strategy. Education plays an important role in supporting children to make healthy choices.
Tabled by
Baroness Meacher
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to help local authorities fulfil their statutory obligation to safeguard children with respect to preventing the use of controlled drugs.
Drug education is a statutory part of the new curriculum for science at key stages 2 and 3. Teachers are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils and it is for them to develop their own PSHE programmes, drawing on resources and evidence-based tools such as ADEPIS, which provides accurate, up-to-date information and resource on what works. In March last year, we published a PSHE review of what works best in drug education and the PSHE Association has an excellent programme of study on drugs.
Drug education is a statutory part of the new curriculum for science at key stages 2 and 3. Teachers are best placed to understand the needs of their pupils and it is for them to develop their own PSHE programmes, drawing on resources and evidence-based tools such as ADEPIS, which provides accurate, up-to-date information and resource on what works. In March last year, we published a PSHE review of what works best in drug education and the PSHE Association has an excellent programme of study on drugs.
My Lords, I welcome the sentiment uttered by the Minister. However, is he aware of the testimony of the charity Mentor to the Home Affairs Select Committee:
“We are spending the vast majority of the money we do spend on drug education on programmes that don’t work”?
Given the very serious risks for young people exposed to unscrupulous drug dealers, should the Government not rise to their proper responsibility and ensure that the evidence-based and effective drug education programmes that do exist are provided for every child in every school?
My understanding is that this programme of study is very comprehensive, but I will write specifically to the noble Baroness on this.
My understanding is that this programme of study is very comprehensive, but I will write specifically to the noble Baroness on this.
My Lords, does the PSHE curriculum include comparisons of the health harms of drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, heroin, cocaine and cannabis, including the numbers of people who die every year from their use? If the Minister does not have the figures to hand, I would be grateful if he wrote to me.
I agree entirely with the noble Baroness’s sentiments. I will look at what she says about Section 17 and talk to her further about it.
I agree entirely with the noble Baroness’s sentiments. I will look at what she says about Section 17 and talk to her further about it.
My Lords, the Minister will be well aware of the importance of work with families, and that there has been a substantial increase in respect of Section 47—child protection—and Section 17, which concerns children in need. I quote the sections to underline the statutory nature of the work for local authorities. We understand that, because of this increase, Section 17 work—the preventive work—is being reduced by local authorities. Is that not just the work that is needed for children living with families where drug abuse is high?
I do not agree with the noble Lord. A massive number of programmes are available. The FRANK website receives millions of hits, and Public Health England is about to launch its new online resource for young people, Rise Above. I have already referred to ADEPIS and the PSHE Association, and we have many other resources available for teachers.
I do not agree with the noble Lord. A massive number of programmes are available. The FRANK website receives millions of hits, and Public Health England is about to launch its new online resource for young people, Rise Above. I have already referred to ADEPIS and the PSHE Association, and we have many other resources available for teachers.
My Lords, the Minister has said that teachers are best placed to take this work forward and to use the resources available. The point being put to him is that those resources are simply not available. What are the Government going to do about it?
We constantly point teachers, through our online resources, to all these resources. Of course, a very important part of our initial teacher training—ITT—is safeguarding, which I think is point seven in Teachers’ Standards.
We constantly point teachers, through our online resources, to all these resources. Of course, a very important part of our initial teacher training—ITT—is safeguarding, which I think is point seven in Teachers’ Standards.
My Lords, given that, as my noble friend the Minister has just said, teachers are best placed to know the needs of their pupils, what are the Government doing to ensure that teachers are properly informed and supported in helping pupils to deal with such issues?
The noble Lord makes a very good point. In view of the fact that this point has been made by a number of people, I will look at it in detail and write to him about it.
The noble Lord makes a very good point. In view of the fact that this point has been made by a number of people, I will look at it in detail and write to him about it.
My Lords, on the point that has just been made, a former American drug chief, General McCaffrey, coined the phrase “Prevent tomorrow’s market” as the theme of all the education that should be given in schools, but he found that unfortunately there was a lack of skilled teachers who were able to make the point. Therefore, it is very important that any programme is accompanied by the resources; namely, the people who can actually get the point across. Is the Minister satisfied that there are sufficient people with the knowledge and ability to carry out that task in our schools?
The noble Baroness makes an extremely good point. Certainly, this is something I have seen on a number of occasions. Last month we launched a new campaign—“Together, we can tackle child abuse”—to encourage members of the public to report child abuse and neglect and just this kind of situation. I hope this has some effect on the point the noble Baroness makes.
The noble Baroness makes an extremely good point. Certainly, this is something I have seen on a number of occasions. Last month we launched a new campaign—“Together, we can tackle child abuse”—to encourage members of the public to report child abuse and neglect and just this kind of situation. I hope this has some effect on the point the noble Baroness makes.
My Lords, does the Minister agree that children who live in households where there is much drug use are at risk not only from the drugs but of becoming young carers for their parents, who are addicted? What is the Government’s policy on helping those young carers?
All teachers are required to keep their children safe. Our expectations are just the same across all schools.
All teachers are required to keep their children safe. Our expectations are just the same across all schools.
My Lords, will the Minister enlarge on the obligations on teachers in schools that are not required to deliver the national curriculum, and the Government’s expectations of them?
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Department for Education's research brief, Factors associated with achievement: key stage 4, does not mention whether they have considered the impact of domestic violence, alcohol addiction, drugs or parental mental health problems on children's lives.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Department for Education's research brief, Factors associated with achievement: key stage 4, does not mention whether they have considered the impact of domestic violence, alcohol addiction, drugs or parental mental health problems on children's lives.
The aims of the research reported in Factors associated with achievement: key stage 4, were to assess the quality of the current measure of socio-economic deprivation used by the Department for Education and to identify potential alternative proxy indicators for deprivation.
The attached research brief and full report examines the relationship between attainment and household employment characteristics, including whether it is a single-parent household, and whether at least one parent was in full-time employment. This model was not included in the research brief because it was not considered a feasible alternative.
The background characteristics used in the research were collected as part of the first wave of the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England (LSYPE), which did not ask questions directly addressing the other factors mentioned. The research was exploratory, but also pragmatic, examining a broad range of measures but also mindful that not all measures would be available to the Department in the future. Measures such as domestic violence, alcohol addiction, drugs or parental mental health problems are not collected by the Department and were therefore not included in this analysis.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to providing support for the estimated 2.5 million children being brought up by parents who are heavy alcohol drinkers.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they are giving to providing support for the estimated 2.5 million children being brought up by parents who are heavy alcohol drinkers.
We are clear that all children at risk of abuse or neglect – including those children who may be a risk because of their parent’s alcoholism – must be identified early, have timely and proportionate assessments of their individual needs, and have the right services provided at the right time.
That is why the Government has put in place a range of cross-Government programmes and funding to support children and families, including children of alcoholics. We have invested more than £8 billion to help councils put services in place to protect children at risk of abuse or neglect, including from alcoholic parents. We have encouraged councils to find new ways to tackle problems through our £100m children’s social care Innovation Programme. And we have expanded the Troubled Families programme launched in April 2015, which offers support on health issues to up to 400,000 families, including for alcohol and drug misuse.