Under Age Drinking + Drug Abuse

[jimmy]

Survey reveals under-age drinking07:00, Nov 16 2007

A major Government survey has revealed widespread under age drinking and drug abuse among schoolchildren.

At least one in seven secondary school pupils has tried illegal drugs while a fifth of 10 to 15-year-olds regularly get drunk, according to the Ofsted study.

Researchers questioned more than 100,000 pupils across England and found the biggest worry for most children was their exams. Ofsted's chief inspector of education Christine Gilbert urged ministers and schools to "look hard" at the findings.

"The survey presents much that is positive about life for children and young people today," she said. "However, it is also clear that more needs to be done to address children and young people's worries and concerns about how safe they feel, exams and tests, and what would help them learn better."

Ipsos Mori questioned 111,000 children in years six, eight and 10 at school for the "TellUs2" survey. The research was conducted for Ofsted and the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the results will form the basis for inspections and Government targets.

Among the key findings researchers found that 15% of children aged between 12 and 15 said they had experimented with illegal drugs, most often cannabis, but also heroin, cocaine, LSD and ecstasy.


Nearly half of 10 to 15-year-olds (48%) said they had consumed alcoholic drinks, with one in five claiming to have been drunk at least once in the past four weeks, while one in six 14 and 15-year-olds admitted to getting drunk at least three times in the previous four weeks.


The survey also revealed that children have mixed views about the quality of their own education. The vast majority - 79% called for more fun and interesting lessons.


Four out of 10 pupils said they wanted quieter and better-behaved classmates and many were stressed about their schoolwork.


Pupils' biggest worry was exams, with 51% naming this as a key concern. More than a quarter of older pupils were worried about sex and relationships.

[john]

I hope the Government don't see this as news as this has been a major issue over the past 10 years, workers who work with young people have seen this coming.
Drug Education is most schools does n't exist and if it does consists of a session in form registration, that ticks the appropriate boxes.
Its about time Drug and Sex Education were made compulsory and that schools were told what they have to teach, at the moment it is very hit and miss.

We also have the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Europe there is a link between the two issues which needs to be addressed.

I work with young people who drink on a regular basis, and the ammount of units that they consume is unreal, drinking vodka, white ciders and similar.

[shytalk]

Shouldn't the parents have some responsibility to teach kids how to behave?

[lindylou]

Yes.

We try to guide our son the best way we can in matters regarding, smoking, drinking, drugs, sex education.