Drug education

Learning objective

2026 Programme of Study

2025 DfE statutory guidance

Key stage 3

Year 7-8

Lesson 1: Understanding drugs

To learn about substance use and the risks and effects of caffeine consumption.

Lesson 2: Tobacco and nicotine

To learn about and manage influences relating to tobacco and nicotine product use.

Lesson 3: Alcohol and risk

To learn about the risks and consequences of alcohol use.

Year 9

Lesson 1: Vaping

To learn about different influences and consequences that might affect decisions relating to vaping.

Lesson 2: Exploring attitudes

To learn about drugs and young people’s attitudes and behaviours regarding drug use.

Lesson 3: The law and managing risk

To learn about the potential legal consequences of using illegal drugs.

Lesson 4: Alcohol and cannabis

To learn about the short and long-term effects of alcohol and cannabis use on individuals.

Lesson 5: Managing influence

To learn how to manage peer and other influence in relation to substance use.

Drug education

1. the importance of taking prescription and over-the-counter medicines correctly

2. about legal and illegal substances, including the short and long-term health risks associated with their use; that substances can be adulterated or counterfeit

3. the law relating to the supply, possession, use and misuse of legal and illegal substances

4. to evaluate influences, attitudes, social norms and cultural values about alcohol, including the harms and law related to alcohol sale and consumption

5. about the physical harms caused by smoking tobacco (e.g. lung cancer and cardiovascular disease); the physical and mental health benefits of quitting, and strategies to do so, including nicotine substitutes and the role of vaping

6. strategies to manage pressure to vape; the risks associated with non-smokers using vapes, including the risks of illicit vapes containing drugs

7. strategies to manage a range of influences, including peer influence, on drug use; about problematic and harmful drug use, including sources of help and support

Personal safety, risk and influence

3. how risk taking behaviour is influenced by peers, including through social media, and the need for peer approval; strategies to manage peer influence in offline and online contexts

5. the impact of risk-taking behaviour, such as gambling, alcohol and drug use on mental health and wellbeing

6. skills to de-escalate arguments and reduce conflict in communication with others; recognising when and how to use strategies to exit situations that have become dangerous

Mental wellbeing

• (9.) That the co-occurrence of alcohol/drug use and poor mental health is common and that the relationship is bi-directional: mental health problems can increase the risk of alcohol/drug use, and alcohol/drug use can trigger mental health problems or exacerbate existing ones. That stopping smoking can improve people’s mental health and decrease anxiety.

Drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vaping

• (1.) The facts about which drugs are illegal, the risks of taking illegal drugs, including the increased risk of potent synthetic drugs being added to illegal drugs, the risks of illicit vapes containing drugs, illicit drugs and counterfeit medicines, and the potential health harms, including the link to poor mental health.

• (2.) The law relating to the supply and possession of illegal substances.

• (3.) The physical and psychological risks associated with alcohol consumption. What constitutes low risk alcohol consumption in adulthood, and the legal age of sale for alcohol in England. Understanding how to increase personal safety while drinking alcohol, including how to decrease the risks of having a drink spiked or of poisoning from potentially fatal substances such as methanol.

• (4.) The physical and psychological consequences of problem-use of alcohol, including alcohol dependency.

• (5.) The dangers of the misuse of prescribed and over-the-counter medicines.

• (6.) The facts about the multiple serious harms from smoking tobacco (particularly the link to lung cancer and cardiovascular disease), the benefits of quitting and how to access support to do so.

• (7.) The facts about vaping, including the harms posed to young people, and the role that vapes can play in helping adult smokers to quit.

Wellbeing online

• (6.) The risks of illegal behaviours online, including drug and knife supply or the sale or purchasing of illicit drugs online.

Healthy eating

• (3.) The impacts of alcohol on diet and unhealthy weight gain.

Key stage 4 (Year 10-11)

Lesson 1: Assessing risk

To learn about the impact of substance use on risk-taking and personal safety.

Lesson 2: Managing influence

To learn how to manage influences in relation to alcohol and other drug use.

Lesson 3: Help seeking

To learn about the potential consequences of drug production, sale and use, and support available for individuals with problematic substance use, including addiction and dependency.

Mental health and wellbeing

17. about potential long-term mental health harms from addictive behaviours such as gambling, alcohol or other substance misuse; how to recognise when they or someone else may need help with addictive behaviours

18. to recognise when they or others are using unhealthy coping strategies, such as self-harm, disordered eating, alcohol or other substance misuse; the bidirectional relationship between substance use and mental health difficulties; the importance of seeking help, including when it is necessary to break a confidence to ensure someone else’s safety or wellbeing

Healthy lifestyles

12. to recognise influences on food and drink choices, including alcohol, barriers to healthy eating, and strategies for managing these

Drug education

8. the risks associated with the misuse of prescribed and over-the-counter medicines and how to recognise signs that something is wrong

9. the consequences of illegal substance use and misuse for the mental and physical health and wellbeing of individuals, their family and wider society

10. about wider and long-term implications of criminal drug convictions, e.g. for career, travel and future opportunities

11. the law and risks related to buying or selling substances online

12. the physical and psychological consequences of problem-use of alcohol; the impact of alcohol and other drugs on decision making, risk-taking behaviour and sexual activity

13. strategies to manage personal safety in situations involving alcohol or illegal drugs, including reducing consumption (and what constitutes low risk consumption in adulthood), minimising risks of drink spiking or methanol poisoning, and how to support peers

14. to identify and access help for problematic and harmful substance use, including alcohol dependency; how to access cessation services for smoking and vaping

Personal safety, risk and influence

10. ways to identify risk and manage personal safety in new environments, social settings and workplaces, e.g. taking trips, going to festivals, or travelling abroad without an adult

12. to evaluate ways in which their behaviours may influence their peers both positively and negatively; the role peers can play in supporting one another to resist pressure, to challenge harmful social norms, and to minimise risk or harm, especially on social media

Learning objective

2026 Programme of Study

Key stage 5 / Post-16

Lesson 1: Understanding risks and consequences

To learn about the risks and consequences of drug use.

Lesson 2: Medicines and substances

To learn about different substances, including medicines, and how to seek reliable information about these.

Lesson 3: Managing influences and seeking support

To learn how different influences can affect decision making related to alcohol and other drugs.

Lesson 4: Keeping safe

To learn how alcohol and other drugs can affect personal safety.

Lesson 5: Travelling and making decisions

To learn how to make safe decisions related to alcohol and other drugs in contexts where young people are independent, including abroad.

Mental health and wellbeing

4. how to recognise signs of disordered eating, self-harm, and alcohol or other substance misuse, and when they, or others, need support; how to seek reliable, accurate and safe advice and support

Drug education

1. about different legal and illegal substances, including over-the-counter and prescription medicines, vapes, controlled, synthetic or adulterated drugs; the long- and short-term health impacts of different substances

2. about the risks and consequences of alcohol and other drug use; how to make safe decisions related to alcohol and other drugs in contexts where young people are independent, including abroad

3. assess how alcohol and drug use can affect decision making, consent and personal safety, including sexual consent, safe travel, drink spiking and the importance of looking out for friends

4. how different influences can affect decision making related to alcohol and other drugs, and how to manage them

5. to recognise dependency or signs of a substance use disorder in themselves or others; how to access appropriate sources of support

Managing risk and personal safety

5. how to identify when something they are being encouraged or pressured to do is illegal; to evaluate the dangers and consequences of being involved in gangs, serious organised crime or carrying a weapon; when and how to seek help or report concerns for themselves or others and overcome barriers to doing so

6. how to perform first aid and when to call emergency services, even when there may be legal implications (e.g. situations involving alcohol, drugs, weapons or other criminal activity)