Pubdate: 15 June 1999 Source: Scotsman (UK) Copyright: The Scotsman Publications Ltd 1999 Contact: http://www.scotsman.com/ Forum: http://www.scotsman.com/ Author: Stuart Nicolson DRUGS SOLD IN SCHOOL PLAYGROUNDS Education Officials Prepare Leaflet Which Warns Senior Pupils They Face Expulsion For Dealing To Their Peers A THIRD of Aberdeen secondary school children who have experimented with drugs obtained their supplies from playground dealers, according to a survey. It also emerged that concerned education officials have drafted a leaflet warning senior school pupils that they face expulsion if they are found to have been dealing drugs to their peers. Charles Muir, the city council's assistant director of education, said that the decision to issue the leaflet was taken before the results of the Grampian Youth Lifestyle Survey, which was conducted by a publicly funded health body, were known. He said its findings showed there was a need for vigilance. He said: "Schools are part of the community. They are not and should not be shut off, but occasionally and unfortunately these things do happen, and obviously we are aware of what is a comparatively small number of incidents. "The policy and the leaflet are aimed at making sure that people, whether they are teachers, parents or students, know exactly what the implications are." The council is the first local authority in Scotland to issue such a direct warning on drug dealing to pupils, and other authorities are considering following suit. "It is really to spell out to the youngsters themselves what they can expect if something like this happens," added Mr Muir. "It tells them that the school will contact the police and their parents, will seek medical advice and take appropriate disciplinary action. "The disciplinary action depends on the type of involvement, because obviously there is a difference between someone who is actively supplying drugs and somebody involved in a lesser way. "The advantage of a survey like this is that it picks out things like this, which convince us that we are doing the right thing by distributing this leaflet to pupils. We are encouraged by some of the survey's findings, but there are things like this that we need to keep a very careful eye on." A Grampian Police spokeswoman confirmed the force had investigated a number of drugs-related incidents at city schools. The study showed that 43 per cent of school-age children in the region had been offered drugs, and 26 per cent had used them. Both these percentages had fallen, from 45 per cent and 30 per cent respectively, since the previous survey was carried out in 1995. However, health workers welcomed other responses to the survey, which was conducted over the whole of the north-east of Scotland, as evidence that more young people were heeding warnings about the dangers of drugs. Stephanie Allison, health promotions co-ordinator with Aberdeen City Council, said: "It is very encouraging to read that fewer young people are being offered drugs and fewer are actually trying them. This indicates that health education in schools is getting the message across." Louie MacAllan, managing director of Grampian Health Promotions, which commissioned the survey, said the findings showed that health workers could make an impact on young people by pinpointing key areas in which to get their message across. "The previous youth lifestyle survey highlighted certain problems, and now we are seeing the benefits of having focused our efforts on those issues," she said. "It is particularly encouraging to see a clear connection between these results and the issues we have concentrated on." The survey also suggests more teenagers are also choosing to eat more healthily and fewer are taking up smoking, but it also revealed that alcohol consumption among schoolchildren in the area had risen since the previous survey. It showed that boys drank an average of 19 units of alcohol a week, compared with 12 units in 1995, and girls drank 13 units, compared with ten units three years ago. Thirteen per cent of the children questioned said they wanted to cut down on their alcohol consumption. The survey was conducted in September and October last year, and involved a 10 per cent sample of pupils from schools across the region. The study brought almost 2,500 responses from youngsters in all secondary school age groups, and health workers said the size of the sample ensured that the survey was an accurate measure of young people's behaviour and attitudes. Meanwhile, Grampian Health Board yesterday announced it had received an additional UKP270,000 in government funding for HIV and drugs initiatives over the next 12 months. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea