The role of principals in drug education

A harm minimisation approach aims to reduce the risks associated with drug use, and promote healthier, alternative behaviours for students.

School leaders provide the overall support for the drug education program. Generally this is through:

endorsing the development and ongoing provision of a program that best meets the learning needs of the student population
ensuring appropriate consultation through the school council
engaging students in activities to give them some sense of ownership of their curriculum
committing the necessary staff time and resources
supporting staff training to ensure teaching staff have the ability to teach and assess drug education against the Victorian Curriculum F-10
demonstrating an understanding of the importance of drug education
communicating support for drug education to the school community
cultivating relationships with the local school community.

Policy and Advice Library (PAL) for Schools

Read the Department’s policy on supporting a whole school approach to:

reducing alcohol and other drug use

responding to drug or alcohol related incidents

supporting students involved in alcohol and other drug use

Read about Alcohol and Other Drugs - Students
Available in the School Policy and Advisory Guide Read about syringe disposals and injuries
Available in the School Policy and Advisory Guide

Drugs and Schools: Legal Issues – A Guide for Principals of Government Schools

Drugs and Schools: Legal Issues (pdf - 214.47kb) - a 15 page guide to assist principals with practical responses to questions relating to drug issues. Principals should ensure that this information is made available to all staff and the school council. This guide is intended to be read in conjunction with the Policy and Advisory Library and Student Engagement Policy Guidelines

Student Wellbeing

Support in Schools details the critical school based workforces that assist school leaders to identify appropriate prevention or intervention strategies for students that may become disengaged from school

The following resources provide information for keeping young people connected to school or assist with case management planning for incidents occurring in schools.

School drug education planning

In accordance with the Department’s School Accountability and Improvement Framework for Government Schools, schools are required to review their drug education strategy every four years to ensure that all students have access to drug education curriculum, programs and support. Victorian schools are required to:

Have an effective drug education program supported by whole school policies which include procedures to respond to drug related incidents, refer to: Drug Education Policy (dotm - 38.59kb)
Review their drug education strategy every four years
Complete a minimum of 10 hours of drug education per year per year level.

The following documents support the development of drug education plans:

Drug Education self reflection and planning document (docx - 813.52kb) - assists schools to reflect on their current programs and practices and plan for the future
Evaluation of School Drug Education Program (docx - 30.18kb) - a resource document containing a summary set of questions designed to assist schools in the process of evaluating the effectiveness of their drug education program.
Evaluation of School Drug Education Program — unpacked (docx - 41.45kb) - a resource designed to assist schools in the process of evaluating the effectiveness of their drug education program. It is a detailed breakdown of questions formulated to support the evaluation process as outlined in the Evaluation of School Drug Education Program.
School Drug Education Work Plan Record (docx - 37.78kb) - supports the development of goals and key improvement strategies outlined in the School Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan.

The following examples are of school drug education plans which include goals and strategies that schools may consider. They apply to Prep-Year 12 and special schools.

Schools may wish to contact their Regional Senior Program Officers to access:

information and advice on developing their drug education program
teacher professional development
resources.