DRUGS Talking to FRANK


Home Office minister Lord Henley explains how


the FRANK advisory service can help teachers when it comes to educating teens about substance abuse


T


HERE ARE so many ways for young people to get information on drugs: through friends, the internet, television programmes, films and song lyrics – that knowing what is true and where the dangers lie can be difficult for even the savviest teen.


That is why FRANK was set up: to provide young


people with a trusted and confidential place they could go to for the facts. Through the helpline and website young people can


speak to or email specially trained advisors who can provide information on the risks of drugs to maintain non-use or prevent escalation of use, advice on how to build resistance skills and deal with peer pressure, and help to stop using drugs including treatment advice and referrals. As a teacher of teenage students, FRANK can also


help you. It can offer you somewhere to direct pupils to should they come to you with any questions or concerns about drugs. It can also help you if you are worried about a student in your class. You can access advice and information on the signs of drug misuse and treatment advice which can


Independent thinking Computer science challenge


COMPUTING AND ICT have made the headlines recently and not just because of the BETT Show. The secretary of state has announced that we should have a greater emphasis on programming and computing in schools rather than ICT. I have long thought that we were in danger of


ending up in a James Bond movie-style scenario – where only a handful of people in the world would know how to program a computer, but the entire world was reliant on computer technology. Those few who had programming skill could take control very easily and hold the rest of the world to ransom – well, as I said, this is a James Bond flight of fancy. Or is it? But now that risk will be removed


because all pupils will learn to program. There is, of course, a small problem. Who will teach them? Apparently in 2010, only three teachers nationally were awarded qualified teacher status in computing or computer science (compared with 750 in ICT). I am reminded of a similar situation in design technology in the early 1990s and in several other subject areas. Twenty years ago, design technology


was compulsory up to the age of 16, but as there were not enough teachers who could tackle resistant materials and other such specialist aspects, a new curriculum was produced. I was an HMI at the time and I


remember visiting lessons in many schools where the pupils spent weeks designing and making a badge using a badge-making machine and then designing and making a paper box for it to go in – and then designing a poster for this product. Across the land, wood-working facilities, metals


workshops, lathes and specialist equipment were thrown out and taken away for scrap. We were in a new world. The manifesto said that we would restore our manufacturing base and become better able to compete with the Eastern nations if all our children did design technology. The fact that engineers from Eastern European


and Far Eastern countries had high level mathematics and physics (and had probably never encountered


a badge-making machine or designed a poster) completely escaped our government masters’ notice. Eventually, this folly was recognised and


resistant materials was re-introduced, but by then the workshops and equipment had gone, few teachers remained who had the traditional skills, and the new generation of teachers had mostly learned how to make paper boxes and plastic badges... We had a similar wave more


recently of training modern languages teachers for primary schools, but then there were no jobs. Even within subjects, knowledge and skills can very quickly be lost. How many young history


teachers today have studied much beyond Hitler in their own school curriculum? How many are happy to teach Medieval history or the 18th century or the Victorians? I have interviewed graduates for a


PGCE course in English who had read no pre-20th century literature, other than a Shakespeare play, either in their own school career or in their university degree. As we narrow the curriculum


and reduce the necessary knowledge and skills base, we are also limiting the educational experience of future generations, by producing a pool of apparently well qualified teachers who have themselves had a restricted education. It is only when changes are


proposed that the gaps become apparent. Fortunately, in the independent sector we


have the freedom not to follow every curriculum edict. We have always taught programming in


computing classes and our pupils use the wood and metal workshops from year 7. Being resistant to change is not always bad –


most things come round again. After all, who would ever have thought that knitting would become so fashionable in the 21st century?


• Marion Gibbs is headmistress of the independent James Allen’s Girls’ School in London. Independent thinking returns in two weeks.


help you identify the warning signs and give you the information you might need to broach the topic with them. The vast majority of teenagers do not actually take


drugs and those who do tend to stop after an initial period of experimentation. However, a small minority of young people do develop a drug problem which can not only ruin their life but also those of their families and friends. Those teenagers who start taking drugs do so for


many different reasons. Often it is about fitting in or deliberately being rebellious, but other times it is simply out of curiosity. FRANK aims to prevent these teenagers from ever


trying drugs in the first place by providing them with the knowledge, skills and support they need to choose not to. FRANK also provides advice for parents, friends and family who are concerned about someone else’s drug use or potential drug use which can help to ensure that the person has a supportive network around them. Since its launch eight years ago the service has


helped millions of people and has built up significant credibility and trust among young people. Eighty per cent of young people are now aware of FRANK and 68 per cent claim they would use it if they needed drugs advice. While it is not possible to isolate its specific contribution, the existence of FRANK has coincided


with a sustained fall in drug use among young people. The British Crime Survey shows that the percentage of 16 to 24-year-olds claiming to have taken drugs has fallen by nearly eight per cent from 28.3 per cent in 2003/04 (when FRANK was created) to 20.4 per cent in 2010/11. In order to maintain success we need to maintain


awareness of the service. We also need to reinforce FRANK’s position as a trusted and confidential source of drug information for young people and their parents, and ensure FRANK is the first port of call for all teenagers at risk of using drugs. It is particularly important to ensure that young people just entering their teenage years know about it. Regular advertising campaigns help to make sure


young people know they can talk to FRANK for accurate and impartial information about the harms of drugs. The most recent campaign was launched by the


Home Office at the end of last year. The new adverts aimed at 11 to 18-year-olds pose a series of drug-related questions which encourage teenagers to reconsider what they know about drugs and where they can find reliable information about the risks. Through FRANK we can continue to bring the issue


of drugs out in the open and make it easier for people of every age to talk more candidly about drugs. This will help teenagers feel able to ask questions, seek support if they need it and ultimately feel confident to refuse drugs and support their friends to do so too. With your help we can try and ensure that every


teenager at risk of drug misuse knows about FRANK and feels confident to get in touch if they need to. SecEd


• Lord Henley is the minister of state for crime prevention and anti-social behaviour reduction.


Further information


For teachers: Visit www.talktofrank.com or download the posters (pictured) and other campaign materials at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/drugs/FRANK/ For students: Contact FRANK by telephoning 0800 776600, texting 82111 or visitng www.talktofrank.com


SecEd • January 26 2012


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