Contents
1. Introduction
2. Main findings: primary school responses p.4
2.1. Healthy Eating
2.2. Physical Activity
2.3. Substance use
2.4. Relationships and sexuality education
2.5. Child Protection
2.6. Anti – bullying
2.7. Student Councils
2.8. Road Safety
3. Main findings: post primary school responses p.7
3.1. Healthy Eating
3.2. Physical Activity
3.3. Substance Use
3.4. Relationships and sexuality education
3.5. Child Protection
3.6. Anti-Bullying
3.7. Student Councils
3.8. Road Safety
4. Conclusions p.12
4.1 Positive findings
4.2 Challenges identified
4.3 Opportunities identified

2.3. Substance use
Schools are very active in relation to promoting awareness of drug and alcohol abuse. 88% of respondents (n=2089) have a Substance Use policy in place, which represents a one percentage point increase on the position in 2009. Approximately 94% of respondent schools (n=2035) reported using the Walk Tall programme. This is an increase of two percentage points since 2009.

A similarly high proportion of respondent schools provide information to their pupils, through the curriculum, on the health risks associated with smoking (94%, n=2041), promoting awareness of and combating alcohol abuse (90%, n=2030), and promoting awareness of and how to combat drug abuse (90%, n=2019). Almost all respondent schools reported that they provide information to their pupils to enable them to make sound decisions in relation to these substances (99%, n=2043), and also to resist inappropriate peer pressure (99%, n=2042). These results are in line with those from 2009.

It is not possible to express as a percentage the number of schools who engaged external agencies to support them in communicating to students on the topic of substance abuse. However, of the 771 schools who specified which agency they engaged for this purpose, the most frequently used, by 54% of respondents, was An Garda Síochána.