Video of dead student used to shock pupils aged 9
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Your support makes all the difference.Children as young as nine will be subjected to shock tactics at school after a government U-turn away from a "value-free" drugs education policy.
The Government is to make a disturbing video of the life of Rachel Whitear, a 21-year-old student found dead in a bedsit from a heroin overdose, available to every primary and secondary school in the country.
The video, made with the backing of her parents, contains disturbing footage of her downfall from talented sportswoman and pianist to drug addict, and includes police photographs of her death with a syringe in her hand.
Schools will also be told for the first time that they should expel all pupils dealing drugs even if it is a first offence.
Ivan Lewis, the minister with responsibility for young people, will meet Rachel's parents, Pauline and Nick Holcroft, at the Department for Education and Skills this morning. Mr Lewis, a former social worker, is expected to tell a conference of drugs education experts: "We can't expect children and young people to make the right choice if the information is not backed up with a strong message."
A senior aide to Estelle Morris, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, added: "We shall ensure that the video is available for all primary and secondary schools. It is up to the headteachers' discretion as to whether to use it, and we would not expect it to to be shown to five, six, seven and eight-year-olds. However, there is a good case to be made for showing it to children approaching the age of 10 or 11, who will soon be in secondary schools."
The video will be backed by guidance making it clear drug dealing should rank with bullying and violence on the list of breaches of discipline for which pupils should be permanently excluded even for a first offence.
Meanwhile one of the country's most senior police chiefs yesterday warned officers not to act as drug counsellors or give moral advice in schools because they lack credibility with children.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Michael Fuller, head of Scotland Yard's drugs policy unit, told The Independent: "I think the emphasis has been too heavy in schools.
"I think the police role ought to be limited. We are not qualified to be teachers. We should be an expert resource about the criminal consequences."
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