USE OF DRUGS TESTING SWABS IN SCHOOLS. The Secondary Schools in the Staffordshire Moorlands area have a long tradition of working in partnership with each other and with external agencies to ensure the safety of the many thousands of students in our schools. A key partner in these discussions is the Staffordshire Police Authority. The abuse of drugs is a major concern for parents across the whole country. Although most young people do not take drugs, we have a responsibility to deal appropriately with the issues related to the minority who might do so. Unfortunately, no community these days is devoid of drug activity. Therefore, it would be quite wrong for those of us in charge of schools not to do all within our powers to ensure a safe educational environment for all our students. For this reason, Headteachers in the North Staffordshire Area will work in close partnership with Divisional Police Officers to tackle this difficult issue. Staffordshire Police Authority has trialled drugs testing equipment successfully where they swab a person’s hand or other surfaces (e.g. bag or tables) and obtain a reading which shows whether that person has been in contact with a range of illegal substances or drugs in recent days. This is a non-intrusive process. The Headteachers of Staffordshire Moorlands Secondary Schools have accepted the offer from the police to use such equipment in our schools in order to continue to work together to deter the small number of people who might potentially become involved with drugs from doing so. This will help preserve the safe learning environment of our schools. Police Officers may visit schools across the Moorlands to explain the use of such equipment in assemblies or lessons or they may, on occasions, visit during the school day to carry out tests. The dates of these visits will not be announced in advance. The Police will screen the students and if this process indicates that any individual might have been in contact with drugs, then the Police will exercise their legal powers to conduct a search. In the unfortunate event of drugs being found, they will be dealt with by the Police in the appropriate way. Any student found in possession of drugs would be in breach of the school’s Behaviour and Discipline Policy and subject to penalties imposed by the School. If a positive indication is made but no illegal substances are found, you will, of course, be informed. We should mention that all searches will be logged and recorded in line with the Police and Criminal Evidenc...
