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<p>Schools have a statutory duty to promote pupil wellbeing and there is a range of
guidance available to schools to support this. This includes advice produced by the
Department for Education and Association of Chief Police Officers for schools which
includes advice about smoking and drugs. This advice is available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270169/drug_advice_for_schools.pdf"
target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/270169/drug_advice_for_schools.pdf</a>.</p><p>
</p><p>The statutory guidance for Health Education also determines that primary age
pupils will learn the facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated
risks, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking. In secondary, pupils will build
on that knowledge and, in addition, learn about the associated legal and psychological
risks of taking drugs. From September 2020, Health Education will be compulsory for
all pupils in primary and secondary state-funded schools.</p><p> </p><p>The Department’s
Searching, Screening and Confiscation guidance sets out schools’ powers to search
pupils and confiscate prohibited items. Schools have the power to confiscate, retain
or dispose of any item that is banned by the school rules or detrimental to school
discipline, including vapes. Schools can set out in their behaviour policy their approach
to the use of vapes and any sanction that will be imposed for their use.</p><p> </p><p>The
Department does not collect data on the number of schools that have written to parents
on the prevalence of vaping.</p>
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