Several kids(5) from my DD's school ( year 10) were excluded last week for drugs - teachers were taking kids out of class and searching their bags. I only know this because DD told me. Most kids do not tell their parents ( my DS included ) stuff.
If this happened at your DC school would you expect the school to communicate with parents ?
I feel school doesn't like to make this info widely known as it affects it's reputation but the reality is the school has a long history of drug problems and I think they should be more upfront about it. Letting parents and kids know they will be excluded for dealing / possession might serve as a deterrent.
I think we are past the point where things should be hushed up. Obviously I wouldn't wish the school to publish names but the feeling is that there are lots of liberal parents round here who are complicit. I think they need reminding that 14 year olds should not be smoking weed.
What do people think?
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Drugs in schools
Claybury · 15/01/2014 14:32
My DC who go to two different schools tell me that drugs (presumably weed) is readily available on school grounds. I find this shocking (well, I used to be shocked).
On the other hand DD who has made a huge contribution to the school in one area and generally behaves well was threatened with being kicked out for persistent lateness (in upper sixth form).
Why don't schools seem to be addressing this problem of drug-selling in their schools? 
Flow - that's awful I would be furious. Schools need to work with parents for the benefit of children. From what I hear independent schools can be better at this.
Schools don't want to attract attention to any drug issues because it's bad for their 'reputation'. I just wonder if it's time to face up to what goes on and deal with it more openly.
A senior teacher at my DC 's school told me he thinks boys smoking weed is the biggest contributor to their underachievement at school....
Chocco - it is readily available in school and even my DS who doesn't tell me much says some kids smoke weed in school. My DD says there are kids who are high in school and she has seen boys snorting powder in lessons. 
I wonder if they have an 'official' policy on dealing with and/or preventing the use of illegal drugs in schools?
It seems at complete odds with their insistence on strict adherence to dress codes and the sort of phone calls I used to get, eg informing me that my DS didn't hand in two pieces of homework in the last fortnight and was late three times. 
From what I've heard drugs are in pretty much every/most secondary school, including fee-paying schools. The schools must discuss this with the EA's and each other you'd think - so why, as you say, not with the parents?
Clay, it was awful, but it was about five years ago... The school was generally poor, so assumed they were just handling it badly and that other schools would do better... But perhaps not.
My DS1 (who is and was no angel) says he personally never smoked spliffs in school, but that others often did, and that he sometimes smoked on the way to school. The school bus was where he was offered his first-ever cigarette and smoking there - including spliffs - was commonplace. I did report this to school, and to the LA, and to the chair of our local Children's Trust, but everyone just tutted and said it was terrible but someone else's problem.
I don't think it's just fear for their reputations; I think it's also a sense of powerlessness. They have no idea what to do, so they do nothing; and because they know they're doing nothing, they don't want to talk about it. And choc, I have often wondered whether they therefore sort of displace all their attention onto little things that don't really matter, like dress codes, which they feel they can control.
No specific mention of drugs except for PSE in the handbook. On the other hand, smoking is no longer permitted on the school campus.
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