Guidelines for the Management of Incidents Involving Drug, Alcohol and Solvent Misuse in Schools

Transcription

1 Guidelines for the Management of Incidents Involving Drug, Alcohol and Solvent Misuse in Schools 2006

2 Contents Introduction 3 Being prepared 4 Action required following an incident involving substance misuse 9 Key aspects of an effective response 11 Responding to the media 12 Substance misuse flow chart Appendix 1: If medical help is required Appendix 2: Recording Form Substance Misuse Appendix 3: Drug laws and drug information References i ii iii vi viii 2

3 Introduction 1. Background The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to enable teachers/heads of Establishment to ensure a fair and measured response to substance misuse incidents on their premises or whilst the pupils are under the school supervision. These guidelines are relevant not just to school staff but to all adults involved in any activities being run under schools control. Drug, alcohol and volatile substance misuse will be referred to as substance misuse in this document. Within this document, substance misuse incidents include: Pupils who display symptoms of substance misuse; Pupils selling drugs or other substances on school premises/trip/transport; Pupils taking drugs or other substances on school premises/trip/transport; Pupils with drugs or other substances on school premises/trip/transport; Suspicion and allegations surrounding in-school and out-of-school activities; Disclosure about substance misuse taking place in school and during out of school activities; and Drugs, drug-related litter or evidence of substance misuse on or near school premises. Each substance related incident requires a school response well matched to pupils needs. This is likely to include some combination of support, discipline, education and public information. Although possession of any illegal substance is both an infringement of the law and a serious breach of school rules, schools should consider carefully the educational and social development of the pupil and the overall impact of exclusion. The interests and welfare of the pupil involved should always be paramount. This document refers to incidents involving pupils and young people. Any incidents involving substance misuse by staff should be dealt with under Scottish Borders Council staff disciplinary procedures. Any incidents involving parents or carers on school premises or a disclosure should be dealt with under the Scottish Borders Inter-agency Child Protection Guidelines. 3

4 Being Prepared 2.1 Remits, confidentiality and referral A shared understanding has to be established in all schools whereby incidents of substance misuse are reported immediately to the senior manager on duty. All pupils, parents and staff should know the school policy and the names of the designated staff member(s) responsible for taking forward action before an incident occurs. Confidentiality is not an option when pupils are at risk. Staff have a professional and moral duty to put the child s welfare first. Information about substance misuse may be offered in confidence but the recipient cannot keep such information to him or herself. There is an absolute need for such information to be passed on to the designated officer who will liaise as necessary with the relevant senior staff in the school, the education authority, any other relevant agencies and the child or children s parents. The members of staff concerned should as far as possible retain the child or young person s trust by explaining the need for action and what is likely to happen next. 2.2 Procedures for dealing with incidents involving pupils Serious but less immediate action, involving observation, interview, consultation with other agencies, continued monitoring or referral to the Children s Reporter, may be appropriate when there are: - generalised allegations or concerns about a particular child or family; - refuted/inconsistent disclosures; - concerns but no evidence of drug misuse or related harmful or criminal conduct (such as supply of drugs or other harmful substances); and - concerns but no evidence of immediate risk to safety. Each type of incident requires a school response well matched to pupils needs. School managers must first identify the most appropriate measures and then put them in place. This is likely to include some combination of support, discipline, education and public information. Action has to take account of the pupil s age, any special needs, degree of risk to the pupil and the school context. For the purposes of providing support to children in need in terms of The Children (Scotland) Act 1995, children include all those below the age of 18 years. Each case involving pupil s behaviour in school hours, or when otherwise in the care of the school, must be assessed independently. Whilst this policy is relevant only when pupils are under school supervision, it is good practise that any information which staff receive about incidents occurring outwith school be reported to the police. 4

5 Reported cases of substance misuse, supply or possession on school premises are infrequent. The school is more likely to have to respond to allegations and disclosures involving substance misuse. The school should draw on its existing arrangements for child protection when managing such incidents. However, clearly an incident involving substances and/or younger children, in particular in primary schools or lower secondary years should arouse significant concern about a child s safety or welfare. These kinds of situations will require good collaboration between schools, social work services and the police. An incident involving an older pupil who has no other apparent welfare needs or problems may not indicate the same level of concern for their safety but possession or misuse of controlled drugs is a criminal offence and referral to the police is mandatory. Each case should be carefully considered in the light of the child s individual circumstances and their best interests. In all cases, staff have to proceed with caution and sensitivity to prevent rash or illconceived action that would complicate the task of investigating and resolving drug misuse incidents for the school, the police or any other agency involved. Investigation of criminal activity, including searching persons or personal property, is, of course, a responsibility for the police not the school (as stipulated in Police/School Liaison policy). Apart from immediate first aid, any health or medical emergency should be attended by appropriate medical personnel, e.g. school nurse, paramedic or ambulance staff. Similarly assessment and providing support and services to vulnerable or troubled children and families are matters of social work services. Where investigation of a criminal offence, or additional support to a child or family seem necessary the school should refer to these agencies. Counselling and drug treatment programmes require trained staff, normally accessible through social work, health or specialist drug problem services. The following broad classifications are offered to assist decision-making. Responsibilities of, and action by, school staff is likely to focus on the following range of activities: - support for young children and those with limited understanding; - a combination of support and discipline for pupils involved in experimenting with solvents, alcohol or controlled drugs; - discipline (potentially exclusion); - referral to police or social work for advice and guidance about handling an incident (see flow chart on page 13). When contacting the police always ask for the Duty Inspector and make sure the switchboard are aware that you are reporting a drugs incident in school. In some circumstances they will need to be actively involved but it will be for the police and social work to initiate their active involvement where appropriate; and - referral to police or social work for assessment and treatment for incidents involving aggressive or violent behaviour related to substance misuse and extortion and recurrent substance misuse on school premises. 5

6 2.3 Recording an incident The school should make sure that systematic arrangements for recording an incident of substance misuse are in place. Accurate, factual records of all substance misuse related incidents are required in school and education authority file. Such records may be required by other agencies such as health professionals, police, social workers or the Reporter to the Children s Panel. To support accuracy, staff recording action should file their records as soon as possible after the incident. Schools should use the recording form (see Appendix 2) and keep in pupils PPR. A copy should also be forwarded to the school nurse for filing in the Community Child Health File and copy sent to relevant school manager at Scottish Borders Council. 2.4 Parental and pupil involvement There are clearly defined arrangements for communicating with and involving parents and pupils both about their policies and procedures for dealing with substance misuse and when dealing with individual drug-related incidents. Where the decision has been taken that active involvement by the police or social work services is required, schools should discuss with the agencies concerned how best to involve the parents. Parental involvement requires the school to share information about allegations of, or concerns about, substance misuse by their child, notifying parents of any substance misuse incident involving their child. The school should involve parents at an early stage and provide regular progress reports thereafter. They should include parents in any meeting to plan how to respond to such matters. The decision to involve the parents of a pupil over the age of 16 should be made after consulting the pupil. Where a child is looked after by the local authority away from home, or is under the supervision of the local authority by virtue of a supervision requirement, the school should contact the social work service to discuss how to manage the substance misuse incident and for advice about how to contact and inform the child s parents, in view of the local authority s particular responsibilities towards children whom they look after. Schools should ensure that pupils have an appropriate understanding of the school s policy on substance misuse and their rights and responsibilities within this. 6

7 Pupils need to be clear about: - the consequences of involvement in substance misuse and the action the school may take; - what to do if they find drugs, medicine bottles, syringes; - school policy on substance misuse this would include bullying, incitement to experiment, possession, supplying, addiction and over-dose as appropriate to the school/age-group; - disclosure, limits to confidentiality and referral to other agencies when pupils welfare is at risk; - access to first aid where to go, who to see, what to say to get help; - storage and supervision of medicine taken by pupils; and - parents right to information. 2.5 Arrangements for pastoral care and health and safety Appropriate school arrangements will include: - log, secure storage and facilities for emergency first aid, including resuscitation and safe disposal of body fluids; - displays of information about access to support groups and helplines such as Childline and the NHS helpline; - staff with up-to-date training to recognise the symptoms of substance misuse, provide emergency first aid and identify the need for support from other agencies; - emergency contact telephone numbers for parents and other agencies such as recognised specialist agencies which deal specifically with substance misuse issues and/or young people, health and social services; - emergency medical information; and - multi-agency procedures covering the work of visiting professionals including disclosure, confidentiality, assessment, parental involvement; - referral to school nurse (NHS) and The Reiver Project 2.6 Policy for sharps 7

8 Discarded needles and used syringes present health and safety implications for school staff and pupils. The head teacher should seek urgent advice from the Scottish Borders Council Environmental services within office hours and outwith contact the local police about safe disposal. Discarded injecting equipment should only be removed by persons appropriately trained and equipped to do so. The school should have agreed procedures to prevent physical contact with articles which may be contaminated with blood. Pupils must be strongly directed to avoid contact with needles and syringes and should report any incident to appropriate members of staff. Staff, if not properly trained or equipped, should isolate discarded needles and syringes from pupils and other staff members until professional assistance is available. Needles and syringes can only be transported or stored safely in a sharps box. 8

9 Action Required Following An Incident Involving Substance Misuse 3.1 Managing the pupil after an incident involving substance misuse There is a need to ensure that schools have procedures in place to protect the welfare of any young person after a substance misuse incident. It is important that pupils receive increased supervision and re-assurance in the period following a substance misuse incident or disclosure of illegal substance misuse, as they may feel extremely vulnerable at this time. There have been cases of young people committing suicide after disclosures of illegal drug misuse. 3.2 Communication and handling within the school community In conjunction with the education authority, schools will need to consider whether there is a need to share any information with parents of other children or the wider community depending on the nature and extent of the seriousness of the substance misuse incident. If staff think that this is necessary it should be done as soon as possible after an incident has occurred in order to prevent the circulation of misinformation. Other pupils and parents may need to know the relevant facts and be reassured that everything possible to ensure the safety and welfare of pupils has been done. The name(s) of pupil(s) involved must be kept confidential. Staff need: - to be informed of a substance misuse incident; - to know which substance was involved and relevant information about that substance - in some circumstances the name(s) of the pupil(s) involved; - to agree a consistent response to pupils and parents; and - to consider whether any change is needed to the school s education programme. Where necessary pupils need: - to be told the facts about the incident, including the consequences; - to have the school s policy on substance misuse reinforced; and 9

10 - to have an education programme which can be responsive to incidents when appropriate. Parents of pupils at the school or, in exceptional circumstances in the surrounding community, need: - to be informed of a substance misuse incident; - to know which substance was involved; - to know that school policy has been followed in line with national and education authority advice; and - to have access to more information about substance misuse. 3.3 De-briefing and evaluation of procedures At the conclusion of any substance misuse incident in school, it is essential to review the actions taken by all agencies involved. A meeting of those concerned in dealing with the incident may provide valuable insight into how each agency responded and will encourage and develop best practice for the future. Keeping a record of the debriefing and evaluation, as well as a record of the actual incident is advised. The results of such de-brief will assist in fine tuning local arrangements and responses to any future incidents and help to harmonise the actions of agencies involved to ensure that co-ordinated, effective and timeous support is provided to the school community. Any difficulties or suggestions that you have encountered should be directed to the Director of Education and the Drug and Alcohol Action Team. 10

11 Key Aspects of an Effective Response When interviewing pupils DO Ask factual questions about which drug source quantity legal status who is at risk age of pupil Act with a witness Supervise and respect rights to silence and reasonable privacy. Operate within school rules and responsibilities for pupils. Be prepared to receive drug-related equipment given by pupils. Make clear the limits of confidentiality and refer the incident to the school s designated drugs co-ordinator if not the Headteacher. DO NOT Ask leading questions Interrogate Accuse Make assumptions about guilt Detain a pupil in a locked room or without access to food or drink. Remove or search personal belongings or conduct body searches (otherwise, this could be considered assault). Pledge secrecy or keep drug incidents to yourself (you alone cannot have an overview of the situation and the risk factors). Rely on memory of general impressions they may be inaccurate and make it more difficult for others to help/obtain evidence. Record the facts on a standard pro forma, store in a secure place and disclose only on a need to know basis 11

12 Responding to the media Refer all media enquiries to the Education Department, Scottish Borders Council who will prepare any press release as appropriate. DO NOT GIVE OUT ANY INFORMATION DIRECTLY TO THE MEDIA WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION FROM DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, ONE OF THE HEADS OF SERVICE IN EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING DEPARTMENT OR THE PRIMARY/SECONDARY MANAGER To assist the Education Department please refer to the following: DO Prepare a list of key facts and be consistent with police comment. Ask to be called back when more information will be available. Show that the incident has been taken seriously and managed effectively. 12

13 Substance Misuse Flowchart Member of staff has a concern Provide medical attention as required (Appendix 1) DRUGS Contact appropriate support staff for background info & suggestions re handling If pupil has ACTUAL or SUSPECTED possession of DRUGS, the Police MUST be contacted for advice on how best to proceed. Ask for the Duty Inspector. Contact parents on advice from Police. Consent of pupil required if 16 or over. Discussion with pupil and appropriate support staff Takes concern to the head teacher, who establishes the facts, then takes to the Drug Liaison Manager ALCOHOL & VSA Contact appropriate support staff and parents. Consent of pupil required if 16 or over. If necessary, contact Police for advice. Discussion with pupil and appropriate support staff Inform Primary/Secondary Manager Appropriate action taken e.g. exclusion and/or referral to support Discussion with Police if required after the outcomes of the discussion with the pupil Ensure Substance Misuse Recording Form (Appendix 2) is completed and filed in pupil s PPR and also in Community Child Health File i

14 Appendix 1 If Medical Help is Required 1 a) Provide medical attention as necessary, minimise risk of pupil damaging him/herself or others. AND/OR b) Send for an ambulance. Arrange for appropriate adult to accompany pupil to hospital. 2 Send for Head of Establishment (depute if Head unavailable). 3 Access another member of staff for assistance. 4 Arrange for safe removal of drug-related litter. 5 Retain evidence if at all possible. Head of Establishment (Or Depute/Designated Person) to: 6 Contact police for advice and/or involvement as necessary. 7 Following consultation with police, inform parent(s) of incident and that police have been contacted, invite parent(s) to come to school. 8 Arrange for staff and other pupils involved to be interviewed, with witnesses, to establish the facts of the incident and obtain corroboration. Records of these meetings must be kept. 9 Inform Director of Education as soon as possible. 10 Arrange interview of pupil(s) concerned when recovered. Records again must be kept. 11 Once investigation has finished, take appropriate action eg exclusion and/or referral to support agencies. ii

15 Appendix 2 ALWAYS REFER TO FLOW CHART TO FILL OUT FORM Recording Form Substance Misuse School: Name of incident manager: Date of Incident: Name of support staff: Date & Time Reported: Reported by: Pupil(s) involved: Name(s): D.O.B. Home contact number: Description of Incident: NB: VSA Statutory referral to Childrens Reporter if under 16 years At school On school transport On school excursions Substance (if known) or Removed Where retained Receipt given description: by and countersigned iii

16 Agency (as appropriate depending upon incident) Contact Number By whom Contact Time Arrival Time Police Ambulance School Nurse The Reiver Project Drug & Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) Social Work Child Protection Team Childrens Reporter Environmental Services Education Department Other, please state: Signed: Witnessed by:.. Title: Title:.. Date: Date:.. iv

17 PUPIL INTERVIEW DETAILS (as appropriate) FINAL OUTCOME v

18 Appendix 3 DRUG LAWS AND DRUG INFORMATION THE LAW The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 defines the use of all illegal drugs covered in the act as misuse. The term drug misuse is used to describe drug use and the taking of controlled substances such as cannabis, amphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. However, the term substance misuse includes the use of solvents, medication and alcohol. MAIN OFFENCES OF THE MISUSE OF DRUGS ACT 1971 Unlawful Possession Section 5 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 creates an offence for any person to be found in possession of a controlled drug. Known Defence to Unlawful Possession 1. It shall be a defence provided that knowing or suspecting it to be a controlled drug, he/she took possession of it for the purpose of preventing another from committing or continuing to commit an offence in connection with that drug, and that as soon as possible after taking possession of it, he/she took all such steps as were reasonably open to them to destroy the drug, or deliver it into the custody of a person lawfully entitled to take custody of it i.e. a police officer OR 2. That knowing or suspecting it to be a controlled drug, he/she took possession of it for the purpose of delivering it into the custody of a person lawfully entitled to take custody of it, and that as soon as possible after taken possession of it they took all such steps as were reasonably open to them to deliver it into the custody of such a person Examples The first defence would cover a teacher/parent when they find a young person in possession of a controlled drug and takes it from them. Providing that as soon as possible after taken it, the teacher/parent either destroys the drug or delivers it to a person lawfully entitled to take possession of it i.e.: pupil hands over controlled drug to teacher who delivers the drug to a police officer as soon as possible thereafter The second defence would cover the situation when a teacher finds a controlled drug within school grounds and takes possession of this drug. Provided they hand over/deliver the drug as soon as possible to a person lawfully entitled to take possession same. NB: THE LAW DOES AFFORD THE PERSON TAKING POSSESSION OF THE DRUG THE OPPORTUNITY TO DESTROY IT. HOWEVER, THE POLICE REQUEST IT IS RETAINED FOR EVIDENTIAL PURPOSES. vi

19 DEALING OFFENCES Possession with Intent to Supply Section 4 of the Act creates the more serious offence of being found in possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply it to another Unlawful Production It is an offence to unlawfully produce or be concerned in the production of the manufacture, cultivation or any other method of any controlled drug Unlawful Supply It is an offence to: unlawfully supply a controlled drug to another person, whether or not money changes hands be concerned in the supply of a controlled drug offer to supply a controlled drug be concerned in the making of an offer to supply a controlled drug (supply includes distribution) Allowing Premises to be used for activities involving controlled drugs Section 8 of the Act creates an offence for any person being the occupier or concerned in the management of any premises, to knowingly permit or suffer any of the following activities to take place on the premises, namely producing or attempting to produce a controlled drug supplying or attempting to supply or offering to supply a controlled drug preparing opium for smoking smoking cannabis, cannabis resin or prepared opium Police Powers Section 23 of the act allows a constable who has reasonable grounds to suspect that any person is in possession of a controlled drug, to search that person and detain them for the purpose of the search search any vehicle or vessel they suspect may contain controlled drugs and require the person in control of the vehicle or vessel to stop it seize and detain anything found in the course of the search which appears to be evidence of an offence under the act i.e. tick list, scales, clingfilm, money etc vii

20 Appendix 4 Incident Policy Members Julie Milne, Eyemouth High School Dr Diana Leaver, School Health Sgt Kenny Simpson, Lothian & Borders Police Norrie Tait, The Reiver Project Kelly Bolton, Eyemouth High School (pupil) Andrew Robertson, Eyemouth High School (pupil) Jill Aitchison, Eyemouth High School (pupil) Barry Tebbutt, Community Education (PTA rep) Susan Black, DAAT References: Scottish Executive (2000): Guidelines for the management of incidents of drug misuse in schools Scottish Executive (2003): Getting our Priorities Right viii