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The session on drugs and alcohol drew the biggest attendance and reflected
teachers' anxiety and desire for more knowledge on these topics and
their management
(b) A regular bulletin of health education news and information was suggested.
This will be compiled by the Health Education Section during 1971,
and
(c) The principle was established that a teacher will be present with any
class taken by a Health Education Officer to ensure follow-up and integration
of topics with other studies.
2. Conference on Drug Dependence
Once again a debt of gratitude is due to Dr. H. Dale-Beckett, Consultant
Psychiatrist at Cane Hill Hospital who spoke on "Drug Dependence
- some Facts and Misconceptions" at an in-service training session
held in the Denning Hall in February. The meeting was chaired by Mr.K.J.
Revel I, chief Education Officer and summed up by Dr. S.L. Wright,
Principal School Medical Officer. Some 200 teachers, probation officers
police, medical and social work staff attended.
A wide variety of work was carried out by Health Education staff, Health
Visitors and Public Health Inspectors in 22 secondary schools, during the
year and help and advice was given to teachers in 6 others. Work was
also done with Parent-Teacher Associations on Drugs, Health Education
in School, and A Closer Look at the Primary School Child.
Primary Schools.
"Growing-Up Talks"
The series of two talks (a) to parents and (b) to parents with their children
in the fourth year were repeated in 45 schools during the year. In addition
extra support was given to teaching staff at meetings held in some schools to
give parents the opportunity to see and discuss the three movie films on conception
and birth. The films were shown to children during a general series of
B.B.C. Schools Television programmes called "Merry-go-Round". The films were
bought by the Education Department and are now available for use at any appropriate
time during the year. This is a big step towards integrating sex education
into the general school programme and keeping the subject in its proper perspective.
However, it will still be necessary to have at least one meeting a
year with parents to give them an opportunity to discuss content, correct language
and other problems covering children growing up.
Elmwood Girls' School.
The Senior Health Education Officer was invited by the Headmistress to
undertake three half-hour sessions weekly in the fourth year classes. The
sessions were preceded by a staff meeting to discuss this experimental work
and to ensure understanding, co-operation and follow-up of each starting point
by the staff. Merely more courses on health education as they now exist will