Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools that have a substance misuse strategy; if he liaises with schools as to the way to implement and manage their substance misuse strategies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18739/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Data, taken from the Department's Lifeskills survey 2012, indicates that more than 90% of schools provide their students with information on alcohol and drug misuse, through SPHE and other means. The report on the 2015 Lifeskills survey is currently being finalised and will be available shortly. Analysis so far indicates that the high level of implementation of strategies regarding substance misuse remains.

My Department is making a significant contribution to the implementation of the current National Drugs Strategy, primarily through the delivery of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum in schools. The Department is also represented on the key national structures that oversee implementation of the Strategy including the Oversight Forum on Drugs and the National Coordinating Committee for Drug and Alcohol Taskforces and the Education and Training Boards are represented on the relevant Local Drug and Alcohol Taskforces.

SPHE, which has a specific module on the use and misuse of a range of substances, is currently mandatory in all primary schools and at junior cycle level in post primary schools. Schools are also encouraged to deliver the SPHE programme in senior cycle.

The Department's Inspectorate, including dedicated SPHE inspectors at post-primary level, visit SPHE lessons and provide support and advice to teachers and schools. In recent years, the Inspectorate published two composite reports which provide insights into the effectiveness of the teaching of SPHE at primary and post-primary level. At primary level, the report published in 2009 drew from forty inspections of the teaching of SPHE. At post-primary level, the report published in 2013, drew from sixty-three inspections at post-primary level which focused on Junior Cycle SPHE and Senior Cycle Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). Within these reports, inspectors describe the overall quality of subject provision and whole-school support for SPHE as very good or good in most schools. In response to questionnaires in these schools, 84% of students strongly agreed that SPHE helped them to understand the reasons for substance misuse, and 90% of students strongly agreed that SPHE helped them to understand the effects of abuse on individuals.