Whole school approach to vaping in schools

Schools have a statutory duty to deliver health education on drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. This forms part of the statutory Relationships, Sex and Health Education.

Primary school

By the end of primary school, students should know:

• How to recognise who to trust and who not to trust, how to judge when a friendship is making them feel unhappy or uncomfortable, managing conflict, how to manage these situations and how to seek help or advice from others, if needed (relationships education).
• The facts about legal and illegal harmful substances and associated risks, including smoking, alcohol use and drug-taking (health education).

High quality resources - Primary

Smokefree Sheffield (with support from ASH) have developed a number of resources designed to support families and educators, including PSHE and safeguarding leads, to have evidence-based conversations and enable CYP to make informed decisions about smoking and vaping. Resources include:

• A classroom presentation including notes and a teacher's toolkit
• An animation which can be used in PSHE lessons, form times and assemblies, to start discussions
• Two posters including facts about vaping
• A guide for families

Secondary school

By the end of secondary school, students should know:

• The characteristics of positive and healthy friendships, in all contexts including online, such as: trust, respect, honesty, kindness, generosity, boundaries, privacy, consent and the management of conflict (relationships and sex education).
• Health education:
  • The facts about legal and illegal drugs and their associated risks, including the link between drug use and the associated risks, including the link to serious mental health issues.
  • The physical and psychological consequences of addiction, including alcohol dependency.

High quality resources - Secondary

• Better Health have developed a new resource pack for schools on vaping, intended for KS3 CYP. It includes 3 flexible bite-size sessions where CYP learn about social pressures around vaping, its impact, and the effects of nicotine on the adolescent brain. It also includes a "Guidance for teaching about vaping" document to support one-to-one conversations with young people and accompanying videos.
• Smokefree Sheffield (with support from ASH) have developed a number of resources designed to support families and educators, including PSHE and safeguarding leads, to have evidence-based conversations and enable CYP to make informed decisions about smoking and vaping. Resources include:
  • A classroom presentation including notes and a teacher's toolkit
  • An animation which can be used in PSHE lessons, form times and assemblies, to start discussions
  • Two posters including facts about vaping
  • A guide for families
• The Rise Above resources for KS3 and KS4 can be accessed (at the bottom of the webpage) at Smoking and Vaping - Local Offer - Healthy Schools along with other guidance.
• BBC Bitesize offer a range of free KS3 biology resources which cover the effects of smoking, passive smoking and electronic cigarettes
• The PSHE association have developed a year 9 lesson exploring the consequences of vaping and challenging the influences that might encourage CYP to vape
• Oak National Academy provides more general lessons on drugs and alcohol for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.

The PSHE Association provides programmes of study to support the delivery of broader PSHE Education and advises these learning opportunities are planned:

Key Stage 2:

• H46 - about the risks and effects of legal drugs common to everyday life (e.g. cigarettes, e-cigarettes/vaping, alcohol and medicines) and their impact on health; recognise that drug use can become a habit which can be difficult to break
• H47 - to recognise that there are laws surrounding the use of legal drugs and that some drugs are illegal to own, use and give to others
• H48 - about why people choose to use or not use drugs (including nicotine, alcohol and medicines)
• H49 - about the mixed messages in the media about drugs, including alcohol and smoking/vaping
• H50 - about the organisations that can support people concerning alcohol, tobacco and nicotine or other drug use; people they can talk to if they have concerns

Key Stage 3:

• H23 - the positive and negative uses of drugs in society including the safe use of prescribed and over the counter medicines; responsible use of antibiotics
• H24 - to evaluate misconceptions, social norms and cultural values relating to drug, alcohol and tobacco use
• H25 - strategies to manage a range of influences on drug, alcohol and tobacco use, including peers
• H26 - information about alcohol, nicotine and other legal and illegal substances, including the short-term and long-term health risks associated with their use
• H27 - the personal and social risks and consequences of substance use and misuse including occasional use
• H28 - the law relating to the supply, use and misuse of legal and illegal substances
• H29 - about the concepts of dependence and addiction including awareness of help to overcome addictions

Key Stage 4:

• H19 - the consequences of substance use and misuse for the mental and physical health and wellbeing of individuals and their families, and the wider consequences for communities
• H20 - wider risks of illegal substance use for individuals, including for personal safety, career, relationships and future lifestyle
• H21 - to identify, manage and seek help for unhealthy behaviours, habits and addictions including smoking cessation

The PSHE Association also provides a planning framework for SEND CYP - see page 23 (Primary - 'Keeping well') and pages 41-42 (Secondary - 'Medicinal drugs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco') for guidance relevant to vaping.

It is important that no CYP feel judged or shamed around vaping, but it is important for them to know the facts so they can make an informed choice. See the PSHE Association's Handling complex issues safely in the PSHE education classroom for more details on teaching possibly sensitive PSHE topics.

NOTE: The PSHE Association is not published by the Department for Education (DfE) but is signposted to by the DfE as a recommended resource.