Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking with schools to help reduce the number of minors being treated for drug use, including in Medway.

Schools and colleges have a critical role to play in protecting children and keeping them safe. Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE), available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2, is the statutory guidance that all schools and colleges must have when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The statutory curriculum for health education requires all pupils in state-maintained schools to be taught the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and the associated risks to physical and mental wellbeing, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking.

By the end of secondary school, pupils should know the facts about which drugs are illegal, the risks of taking illegal drugs, including the increased risk of potent synthetic drugs being added to illegal drugs, the risks of illicit vapes containing drugs, illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines, and the potential health harms, including the link to poor mental health.

This complements content about substances within the national curriculum for science.