Keep a cool head: drug education in primary schools

Presents and discusses the findings of a study undertaken in 1997. The work was intended to inform the development of new initiatives to present drug education to primary schoolchildren aged 8‐12, but which, specifically, would foster parent‐child interaction in relation to drug‐related issues. The study findings indicated that children, parents and teachers are clearly convinced that drug education does have a place in the upper stages of primary school. Parents and teachers supported drug education that took cognisance of the partial knowledge that children possess and was skill based. Results do not indicate approval for a radical programme of parent involvement, but suggest instead an intervention which builds on the existing contractual commitment to consult parents. Two types of resources suggested were a staff development package for teachers giving ideas on how to introduce drug education in the primary school and materials geared to teachers with an existing commitment to drug education.