§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) what education programmes in the past 18 years aiming to discourage smoking have resulted in a reduction in the use of tobacco; [36250]
(2) if he will list each anti-drug education programme in the past 18 years which he assesses to have resulted in measured reductions in drug use. [36254]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisIt is for individual schools to decide on the content and organisation of their programmes and which approach to the subject best suits their needs and circumstances. There is, therefore, a wide range of approaches that school may choose to adopt.
One recent example of an education programme indicating some success was Project Charlie, where a recent evaluation paper suggests strongly that substantial and well delivered primary school drug education programmes can have a delaying effect on the onset of drug use.
The DfEE has supported a number of innovative drug education projects, set up and run by local education authorities under the GEST programme, in both 1995–96 and 1996–97. My Department plans to issue further guidance later this year, to support and underpin the new Government anti-drugs strategy, taking into account the lessons learned from the innovative projects and information from the reports published by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).
Ofsted have issued two reports last year on Drug Education in Schools and the Contribution of the Youth Service to Drug Education, following their specific study of drug education during 1995–96. The reports highlight examples of effective practice.