24 August 2001
Graham Lane, chair of the LGA's education executive, rejected a suggestion by the National Union of Teachers that LEAs are not giving schools the support they need to tackle drug-related problems. He blamed the government's targets for the delegation of education budgets direct to schools for leaving authorities without the resources to fund drug prevention work.
'There's an obsession with delegated budgets among head teachers and government at the moment. But if all the money goes to schools, which is what delegation of 90% of budgets means, there is none left to cover things like drug prevention,' Lane said.
'Schools have got to take responsibility for it. Don't blame local government. We think a bit of joined-up thinking on this wouldn't go amiss.'
Lane was responding to comments made by John Bangs, the NUT's head of education, after the publication of a survey on schools' experiences of drug issues. Bangs said teachers needed more support from managers if they were to win the war on drugs.
'The study gives no grounds for complacency. Teachers taking part in the study identified lack of support from local authorities and in some cases from their senior management in dealing with drug-related problems. That is not good enough,' he said.
The survey found that one in five schools had experienced problems with drug possession or use in the past year, with one in 100 saying it was a weekly occurrence.
It also revealed that one in seven schools had faced problems with drug-dealing in the past 12 months – though much of this was outside the school gates.
Some 2,575 teachers from 1,978 schools, 1,621 of which were secondary and 357 primary, took part in the survey. These were drawn from 13 LEAs, chosen to provide a social and geographical spread and covering inner-city, urban and rural areas.
Bangs said the results illustrated how any school could be affected by a drugs problem. 'The stereotype of the drug-ridden inner-city school is obsolete. This study makes clear that the problem affects schools in all types of areas,' he said.
A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said investment in drug education would rise from £7.5m in 2000/01 to £17.5m in 2003/04. 'We are working with teachers and other professionals to ensure effective strategies are in place to prevent drug abuse,' he added.
PFaug2001
