Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 544: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when the Walk Tall programme was first compiled; when it first began to be taught in schools; when it was last updated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42248/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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In 1995, the Department of Education and Science initiated planning for a pilot project on Substance Misuse Prevention in primary schools. The title chosen for the entire primary school programme was The Walk Tall Programme. The materials were piloted in a number of primary schools in Dublin, Donegal and Cork during 1996/97. Following on from the pilot the Walk Tall Programme was disseminated to primary schools nationally between 1998-2001.

The Walk Tall Programme is currently in the process of being reviewed. Focus days on the programme materials have been held with teachers who are experienced in teaching the programme. A working group has been established to co-ordinate the review of the programme materials with the guidance of an advisory group representative of all the partners in education. In addition to focus groups of teachers the views of parents and pupils will also be included in the review.

To date there have been three evaluations of the Walk Tall programme all conducted by Dr. Mark Morgan Head of Education St. Patrick's Training College Dublin, Director of the European Schools Project on Alcohol and other Drugs (ESPAD). A formative evaluation was carried out in 1998 and concluded that the programme was in line with the most effective approaches that have been shown to work in existing evaluations of programmes from abroad. Teachers were pleased with the lesson plans throughout the programme. The programme was again evaluated in 2000. This evaluation found that a substantial number of schools were implementing the programme. School based in-service and support were seen as important factors in implementation.

An evaluation of the programme was conducted in Local Drugs Task Force Area schools in 2003. This evaluation found that teachers felt there was a greater need than ever for the programme, the programme integrated very well with SPHE and other areas of the curriculum and the support service was very helpful particularly in the area of support and training in the use of interactive learning strategies.

Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 545: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when the On My Own Two Feet programme was first compiled; when it first began to be taught in schools; when it was last updated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42249/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The SAPP (Substance Abuse Prevention Programme) "On My Own Two Feet" was first published in 1993 by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Health and Mater Dei Counselling Centre. A second edition was published in 1997 and both of these were in hard pack. An addendum to the On My Own Two Feet programme, "The Consequences" pack, was published in 1998.

The Own My Own Two Feet was a stand alone fifty hour teacher training programme and has been used in schools since 1993. Each teacher received a pack on completion. The programme was subsumed into Social Personal and Health Education Programme (SPHE) as a Core Resource since the SPHE Support Service commenced in September 2000. Since 2000 the Pack has been given to schools in the context of schools engaging with the SPHE Support Service, that is teachers attending inservice training. While it was transferred, and available to schools, onto CD format in 2003, it continued to be made available in hard packs to those schools who had not received them previously. Stocks of hard packs were depleted earlier this year, but CDs continue to be made available to schools through the Regional Teams in SPHE.

'On My Own Two Feet' is a class-room materials resource for substance-use education in the context of the SPHE programme. It is an integral part of the SPHE curriculum, drawing on three approaches: development of values and attitudes, decision-making and social competence. As such it is a comprehensive life-skills programme. The programme is being delivered in 750 secondary schools throughout the country with the aim of reaching all students in Junior Cycle.

At post-primary level, Substance Use is one of the 10 modules of the SPHE curriculum for junior cycle students. SPHE has been a requirement within the Junior Cycle Programme since September 2003. The SPHE Support Service, established in 2000, as a partnership between my Department, the Department of Health and Children and the HSE continues to support schools in the implementation of the SPHE programme. In addition to the support offered nationally by the SPHE regional teams, an initiative began in September 2008 in which targeted support for drug education within the context of SPHE is being offered to DEIS schools in Dublin city, Cork city and Limerick city.

I am confident that the SPHE programme is ensuring that the education system plays its role in combating drug abuse among young people. Clearly, however, this issue requires action on many fronts. To this end, the Government has put in place the National Drugs Strategy which aims to reduce drug abuse through investment in a mixture of different facilities and programmes and through actions by a range of Departments and Agencies. The evidence available to me from the national SPHE Support Service informs me that the substance misuse education prevention programmes being implemented as an integral part of the SPHE curricula is in line with best international practice.