Question reference: S6W-01636
- Asked by: Oliver Mundell, MSP for Dumfriesshire, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 20 July 2021
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Current status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 11 August 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what training is available to teachers regarding drug and alcohol misuse.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the dangers of drug and alcohol misuse and the importance of supporting practitioners to develop and deliver appropriate lessons for children and young people on this subject.
The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) empowers individual schools and teachers to develop and deliver a curriculum informed by, and relevant to, the local needs of learners. To support schools in the delivery of effective learning on the topic of drug and alcohol misuse, Education Scotland have provided a number of resources accessible through the National Improvement Hub.
Such resources include learning activities on drugs and alcohol which are aimed at supporting practitioners to develop relevant lessons; such as: “Decision making about illegal substances” and “The effects of drinking alcohol” : Each learning activity is directly linked to the experiences and outcomes set out in the health and wellbeing area of the curriculum.
As well as support being available to support teachers to deliver lessons on drug and alcohol misuse, there are a number of initiatives aimed directly at children and young people to help them be better informed and make better choices. Such resources include Young Scot’s “Choices for Life” ; an online resource hosted by Young Scot which signposts children and young people to relevant and appropriate information online.