A special needs school has come under fire for asking parents' permission for pupils to smoke – then offering nicotine patches for the youngsters to quit the habit.
Parents have blasted the policy at the Gatehouse School for boys as not only bizarre but downright dangerous for children as young as 12.
One father told how he received a letter, complete with a tear-off form, asking him to give his permission for
his 13-year-old son to smoke.
"The school was having problems with pupils having crafty cigarettes – what school does not these days? But rather than
police the problem, the school was asking for the parents to allow smoking," he said.
"I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life. What parent in their right mind would sign a form to allow their 13-year-old to smoke?"
The dad, whose son suffers from emotional and behavioural problems, refused to send back the form. But this week, he saw red again when another letter
arrived – about the Gatehouse 'Healthy Schools Programme'.
This letter explains that special talks will be held to persuade pupils to give up smoking.
It states: 'We think it is really
important for parents of smoking students to come along to one of these talks to hear the options for the boys, with the possibility of 'patches' being supplied.'
The parent said: "How dangerous is that? Surely nicotine
replacement patches are designed for adult smokers rather than kids who sneak a couple of cigarettes a day.
"Nicotine is a drug and a GP should be consulted before nicotine patches are given to a child. How can anyone in the education department think they have the right to prescribe potentially dangerous drugs for our children?"
Gatehouse School, which has a residential unit for youngsters with behavioural, emotional and social problems, refused to comment on its policy but head Jan Parks gave a statement through a Milton Keynes Council press
office spokesman.
Gatehouse first said the nicotine patches were on offer to parents of smoking youngsters – until the
Citizen produced the letter to parents describing the products as
'options for the boys.'
Then Gatehouse changed its statement to: "This programme is organised by the health promotion team. Our letter referred to patches to help the family unit. Patches cannot be supplied to under 16-year-olds."
Gatehouse insisted it had a no smoking policy, for which it has won an award, and said the original letters were sent out to identify parents who consent to their sons smoking in order to target them for the anti-smoking programme.
