Drugs: Are schools fighting a losing battle?

The problem of drugs in schools is said to be spreading like a bushfire, especially in Dublin. So, how should schools respond? The Department wants a caring, child-centred approach. Parents want to kick the offenders out. But these days that is easier said than done

The proud parent dropping their young son or daughter off on their first day at school might find it hard to imagine that a few years down the line they might face the unimaginable - being hauled before the school board to deal with accusations that their child has been taking illegal drugs.

While such cases are rare - the vast majority of students never involve themselves with illegal drugs - schools are increasingly being forced to deal with the possibility that some students might be attending school while under the influence of prohibited substances.

According to George O'Callaghan, general secretary of the Joint Managerial Body (JMB), which represents the majority of second-level school managers, the increased prevalence of drugs in the community at large, especially amongst teenagers, inevitably manifests itself in schools.

While there are other issues - such as alcohol abuse and students working in part-time jobs - which also impact on a child's performance, he believes schools are dealing with drug cases on a much more regular basis than before.

There is no set rule for schools regarding how they should deal with any student suspected of involvement with illegal drugs. Department of Education guidelines for developing a school substance-use policy advise that schools should "respond to incidents involving alcohol, tobacco and drug use in a planned and considered way".

The guidelines stress "the ultimate sanction of expulsion can have the effect of alienating a student from mainstream sources of help and may result in this student becoming more involved in a culture of drug misuse". Essentially, the message is this: take it easy with the kids, try and work with them and avoid the Big Stick.

It is all very laudable. But where does this leave schools faced with a student who may have little respect for school discipline and a parent body screaming for firm action once the D word - "drugs" - enters their children's school?

An Irish Times survey shows that different schools are responding in different ways to the problem. While most schools tend to differentiate between possession and selling of drugs, others have a strict zero tolerance policy on drugs.

Ray Kearns, director of the Institute of Education in Dublin, backs a no-nonsense approach. Any student involved with drugs is instantly suspended, pending the outcome of a Garda investigation, and faces automatic dismissal if found guilty. The aim, he says, is to keep the school "whiter than white".

Other schools, such as Clongowes Wood College in Kildare, Crescent College in Limerick and St Andrew's in Booterstown, Dublin, also say that drug use of any sort will usually merit automatic expulsion.

However, St Andrew's takes this approach one step further: if the school comes across information that a student is involved in drugs outside of school hours, the student in question is called in with their parents and is offered the option of undergoing a counselling programme. As part of the process, the student is also asked to volunteer for a drugs test.

"We must protect other children, we have a responsibility to others who don't dabble in drugs," believes St Andrew's principal Arthur Godsil. "We believe implicitly that the use of any form of illegal substance is detrimental to the child, both on and off site. A student here knows when coming into school that they face expulsion if they have drugs on them."

But there is a vicious circle at work here. Expelling any student found in possession of drugs keeps the image and reputation of the school intact, and protects other children at the school from exposure to drugs. But it does little to deal with the often vulnerable young person at the centre - the student involved.

Most schools - including those which insist on automatic expulsion for drug use provide a drugs awareness and education programme for students and teachers alike. Many also offer the possibility of drugs counselling to any student suspected of drug use. In some cases this occurs while the student remains enrolled in the school, in others it does not.

Yet even if a school decides it wants to expel a student, there are no guarantees. Since the new appeals procedures of the Education Act came into force in 2001, the majority of students who are expelled or suspended from secondary schools are successful in appealing the decision, recent figures show.

Indeed, some 47 students have appealed against their "permanent exclusion" from schools since 2001. Of these, only five were actually expelled. In other cases, parents managed to overturn the expulsion on appeal, or schools were forced to withdraw the expulsion. Most of the cases under appeal involved students who were guilty of persistent breaches of discipline or those suspected of selling drugs in schools.

According to O'Callaghan, this has an inevitable impact on the ability of individual schools to deal with students suspected of involvement with drugs.

"Under the new appeals board, a student has the right to appeal any decision. While this might serve as mitigation against the more drastic actions of schools in the past, schools have to maintain the right to take severe action to protect the majority of students in schools," he believes.

Other schools and religious orders involved in school management have developed their policies on substance use to allow students found in possession of drugs to rehabilitate themselves while remaining enrolled in the school.

Sutton Park School in Dublin requires students to undertake a drugs test where there are sufficient grounds for suspicion of involvement in substance abuse, it allows its students the possibility of a second chance. While any drug offence makes one liable for expulsion, they may be allowed a review and be placed on probation. But for sale of drugs or a second violation of drugs policy, they will be expelled.

The Presentation Brothers adopt another approach. If a student in one of their schools is found in possession of drugs, the school examines the prospects for rehabilitation, according Paul Scanlan, director of their education office.

"If a student at one of our schools is a dealer," says Scanlan, "then our policy would be of no tolerance. But if they are a user, we would be inclined to look at them as a victim who needs help. . . We give a lot of care and advice to students from day one. As a school we have a duty and obligation, it is very easy just to say 'out'. But if we do that, where does that student go? It could make a bad situation worse."

The introduction of mandatory drugs testing is another possibility that some schools say they are considering. However, while most would choose to limit this to random drugs testing, others confirmed that they are not ruling out the possibility of "blanket" testing of prospective students, although it has to be said that these schools are firmly in the minority.

There is some unease among schools about the possible legal implications of such a move as it may breach the rights of a child. Another difficulty is proving that drug use took place during school hours.

Cathryn Cavanagh is deputy principal of Ballymun Senior Comprehensive School in Dublin. While she says the school has not had a lot of problems with drug use within the school, it would be aware of the possibility that students are taking drugs outside.

Where a teacher at the school was concerned about a particular pupil, the normal procedure would be to inform the parents of the student involved.

In truth, there is no quick-fix, no easy solution. All of the schools that this reporter spoke to are endeavouring to do their best. All are under often conflicting pressures from the student found in possession or selling drugs, from their parents, from the parents of the other students in the school and from the wider school community.

Ultimately, it is about balancing the rights and the needs of the individual student with the natural desire to protect the school and the other pupils. But it is a tough balancing act.