Drugs, Alcohol and Substance Misuse

1. Purpose

Some of our learners use alcohol, cannabis, vapes, nitrous oxide or other substances, and some are groomed into carrying or selling drugs. Substance use is often a sign of something else: trauma, anxiety, harm at home or exploitation. This policy sets out what every adult does about it.

• Health first. A learner who may have taken something is a medical concern first, and is never left alone.

• Child first. A learner found with drugs may be a victim of exploitation. The DSL considers exploitation in every case.

• No exclusion. Substance use never leads to exclusion, the end of a placement or being sent home as a sanction.

• Together. We work with families, schools and specialist services, and tell parents unless that would increase the risk to the child.

2. Scope

This policy applies to every learner in Care Cove Alternative Provision, whoever commissions the place, and to all staff, partner staff, volunteers and students, on site, off site and on journeys we arrange. It covers illegal drugs, psychoactive substances, alcohol, tobacco, vapes, nitrous oxide, solvents, and medicines used other than as prescribed. Energy drinks are handled under the Searching, Screening and Confiscation policy.

3. Law and guidance

• Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Controlled drugs are in Classes A, B and C: for example, cocaine is Class A, cannabis and ketamine Class B, and nitrous oxide has been Class C since November 2023. Anyone concerned in managing premises commits an offence if they knowingly allow drugs to be supplied there (section 8). Someone who takes a suspected controlled drug to stop an offence has a defence if they destroy it or hand it to the police as soon as possible (section 5(4)). We always hand it to the police.

• Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. Producing or supplying a psychoactive substance, or possessing one with intent to supply, is an offence.

• Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026. Selling vapes to under-18s is banned. From 1 January 2027, tobacco cannot be sold to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, which includes almost all our learners.

• Searching, Screening and Confiscation (DfE, 2022). Care Cove is not a school, so our staff have no statutory power to search without consent. We follow the guidance as good practice.

• DfE and ACPO drug advice for schools (2012), as background; Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026, including child criminal exploitation and county lines; Relationships, Sex and Health Education statutory guidance (in effect 1 September 2026), followed as good practice.

4. Roles and responsibilities

5. Education and prevention

• Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, vaping and nitrous oxide are taught through our Relationships, Sex and Health Education programme and the RESET Energy pillar and "Science of Me" lessons: effects on the brain, sleep and mood, the law, helping a friend in an emergency, and where to get help.

• Teaching is factual, without scare tactics, and shows how exploitation works: gifts, debts, "favours" and county lines.

• At the start of each placement, the Head of AP agrees with the referring school what drug education the learner has covered, so they neither miss nor repeat it.

• Visiting speakers, such as workers from The Corner, are agreed in advance by the Head of AP and never left alone with learners.

6. Early identification

At admission, the entry risk assessment, exploitation screening tool and contextual risk map record known substance use, and the DSL reviews them with the key mentor every month.

Signs include smelling of alcohol, cannabis or smoke; slurred speech, drowsiness or unsteadiness; changes in mood, sleep, attendance or friendships; unexplained money, phones or debts; grinders, small bags, scales, silver canisters, gas cylinders or balloons; and, with heavy nitrous oxide use, numbness, tingling or difficulty walking.

None of these proves anything. Tell the DSL immediately and record what you saw on Connect the same day, without questioning the learner. The DSL decides within the hour on school and family contact, Early Help or a referral to the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub.

7. A learner who may be under the influence

1. Never leave the learner alone. Move other learners away and, if it is safe, take the learner to a quiet, supervised space with a second member of staff nearby.

2. Call a first aider. Call 999 straight away if the learner is unconscious or hard to wake, has difficulty breathing, a seizure, chest pain or a head injury, or is getting worse. Use the recovery position if they are unconscious and breathing. Do not make them sick or let them "sleep it off" alone.

3. Contact the Clinical Advisor for a same-day clinical decision. If the Clinical Advisor cannot be reached straight away and the learner is not in immediate danger, call NHS 111. Never wait for advice if the learner is in danger.

4. Tell the duty DSL immediately.

5. Ask calmly what was taken and when. Keep any packaging, handled with gloves, for paramedics.

6. Tell the parent or carer straight away, unless the DSL judges this would increase the risk.

7. If the learner goes to hospital without a parent, a member of staff goes with them.

8. The learner is never sent home as a sanction, or alone. A parent may be asked to collect them only on medical advice, recorded as illness.

9. Record everything on Connect the same day. The staff involved have a same-day debrief.

8. Finding substances

8.1 Searching and handling

Any search follows the Searching, Screening and Confiscation policy: only with consent, by two staff authorised by the Head of AP, never by force. If a learner refuses and may have something dangerous, staff keep everyone safe and call the police.

1. Wear gloves and handle the item as little as possible. Never smell, taste or try to identify a substance.

2. A second member of staff witnesses everything.

3. Seal the item in a labelled bag signed by both staff.

4. Log it on Connect with the seal reference and store it in the locked confiscation store, separate from the medicines cabinet.

5. Tell the DSL immediately, and the parent and referring school the same day.

Never touch a needle or syringe. Keep people away while the Head of AP arranges safe removal into a sharps container.

8.2 What happens to each item

Nothing on this list is ever returned to the learner.

9. Suspected supply and exploitation

Where anything suggests a learner is selling, holding or moving substances, including vapes, for others:

1. Keep everyone safe and tell the DSL immediately. No learner is questioned alone about where a substance came from or about their associates.

2. The DSL treats the learner as a possible victim of child criminal exploitation and county lines, and updates their exploitation screening and contextual risk map the same day.

3. The DSL considers a referral to the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub, which can consider a National Referral Mechanism referral. The police are involved where there is supply; the DSL and Director agree how, treating it as a safeguarding matter.

4. The parent and referring school (or the commissioning local authority for a permanently excluded learner) are told the same day, unless telling the parent would increase risk.

5. The DSL considers risk to other learners and separates arrivals, departures or timetables where needed. The commissioning local authority is told when the placement mix creates risk.

6. Staff never confront adults waiting for or approaching learners near our sites. Call 999 if anyone is at immediate risk; otherwise tell the DSL, who informs the police.

10. No exclusion

Substance use, possession or suspected supply never leads to exclusion. We use the RESET "four Rs" in the Behaviour, Rewards and Restorative Practice policy. After a serious incident, the Director and Head of AP agree with the referring school and the commissioning local authority the same day how the next attended day will be made safe. No placement ends without first consulting the referring school and the commissioning local authority.

11. Health check and specialist support

• Clinical Advisor health check. After any incident or disclosure, the Clinical Advisor gives advice the same day and completes a health check no later than their next working day at Care Cove. It covers physical and mental health, the pattern of use, mixing substances, interactions with prescribed medicines, sleep, eating and GP registration. Clinical detail stays in the Clinical Advisor's restricted record.

• The Corner. With the learner's agreement and the family's involvement, the DSL refers the learner to The Corner (Change Grow Live), 91 Division Street, Sheffield, S1 4GE; 0114 275 2051; for young people aged 10 to 18. The key mentor can go with the learner to their first appointment, with a written risk assessment and the Head of AP's agreement. If a learner says no, the DSL records and reviews the decision.

• Therapy and plans. The DSL makes sure the counsellor knows. The child plan, risk assessment and contextual risk map are updated, and the DSL considers Early Help.

• Stopping smoking or vaping. The Clinical Advisor helps learners find free NHS stop smoking support.

12. Working with families and schools

• Parents and carers are told the same day, unless the DSL judges this would increase risk. We explain without blame and help families find support, including Early Help.

• The DSL tells the referring school's DSL the same day and asks the school to share substance concerns from its own days.

• Concerns about a parent's or carer's drug or alcohol misuse go to the DSL.

• If an adult collecting a learner appears to be under the influence, staff keep the learner in the AP area and the DSL contacts another adult named on Connect. If the adult tries to drive away with the learner, call 999.

13. Medicines brought in

Medicines are handed to a named member of staff at reception, in original pharmacy packaging, with written consent, under the Supporting Medical Needs and Administering Medicines policy. Learners do not carry controlled drugs, such as many ADHD medicines, because of the risk of diversion and exploitation. A learner sharing or selling their own medicine is dealt with under section 9. Reliever inhalers and adrenaline auto-injectors are never confiscated.

14. No smoking or vaping

Nobody, staff included, may smoke or vape anywhere on Care Cove premises, inside or outside, including doorways and any outdoor space. Staff also never smoke or vape on visits, in vehicles or where learners can see them, and never buy, give, hold or share tobacco, vapes or alcohol for or with a learner. A learner who leaves the site to smoke without agreement is followed up under the missing learner procedure.

15. Staff use of drugs and alcohol

15.1 Fitness for work

Never work while under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs or psychoactive substances, or impaired by their after-effects. Never bring alcohol or illegal drugs on site or drink alcohol during the working day. Tell the Head of AP if a medicine could affect your work, and keep your medicines locked in your staff locker.

15.2 If you are worried about a colleague

Tell the Head of AP or Director straight away (the SWMC Chair if it concerns the Director). The manager removes the colleague from learner contact at once, keeps ratios safe, makes sure they get home safely without driving, and records the decision. If a learner is involved, for example drugs supplied to a learner, it is an allegation under the Managing Allegations Against Staff and Low-Level Concerns policy: to the Director the same day, LADO contact within 1 working day, and the commissioning local authority's contract manager told.

15.3 Support and the disciplinary route

Anyone who tells us about a drug or alcohol problem before it affects their work is supported: a confidential conversation with the Director, counselling through My Solution Wellbeing, occupational health advice and reasonable changes to duties during treatment. Nobody works with learners while unfit.

Being under the influence at work, or possessing or supplying illegal drugs at work, is dealt with under the Disciplinary, Capability and Grievance policy and may be gross misconduct; possession or supply on our premises is reported to the police. Where the person is engaging with treatment, the Director may use the capability route instead. The Director makes any referral needed to the DBS, the Teaching Regulation Agency or a professional regulator. Agency and partner staff are removed and their organisation is told.

16. Records

Everything is recorded on Care Cove Connect the same day: concerns and decisions on the safeguarding chronology, finds with the seal reference, police handovers, health checks, referrals to The Corner and plan updates. Staff matters are kept on personnel files, never on learner records.

17. Monitoring and review

The DSL reviews substance-related concerns weekly, looking for places, times or people linked to more than one learner, and reports every term to the SWMC on incidents, finds, police involvement and referrals, including any differences by ethnicity, sex and SEND. The Social Work Management Committee ratifies this policy. It is reviewed every year, or sooner after a serious incident, a change in law or guidance, or a contract change.

18. Related policies

• 01 Safeguarding and Child Protection
• 03 Managing Allegations Against Staff and Low-Level Concerns
• 07 Behaviour, Rewards and Restorative Practice
• 09 Searching, Screening and Confiscation
• 14 Therapeutic Practice and Clinical Governance
• 15 Health and Safety, including Fire and First Aid
• 17 Data Protection, Retention and Information Sharing
• 21 Staff Code of Conduct
• 24 Supporting Medical Needs and Administering Medicines
• 28 Site Security, Visitors and CCTV
• 32 Disciplinary, Capability and Grievance
• 38 Relationships, Sex and Health Education

Appendix A: Key contacts

Document control and ratification

This policy is signed off by the Designated Safeguarding Lead and the Head of Alternative Provision, and ratified by the Social Work Management Committee. It is reviewed every year, or sooner after an incident or a change in law, statutory guidance or contract requirements, and it is available to any commissioning local authority on request.