Non-smoking Policy

Introduction
At Ballymena Primary School we believe that smoking is harmful to health and we strongly discourage our children from smoking. Consequently our school is a non-smoking establishment.

Rationale
Almost a quarter of young people are regular smokers by the age of 15. About 450 children in the UK take up smoking every day. Our school does all it can to discourage children from smoking, and to educate them so that they grow up to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Aims and Objectives
We aim to:

• help children know and understand the dangers of smoking and the harmful effects that smoking can have on their bodies.
• provide children with the knowledge and information necessary for them to make responsible choices in relation to smoking.
• equip children with the social skills to enable them to resist the pressure to smoke, either from their peer group or from society in general.

Organisation
The dangers of smoking arise as an issue in science lessons particularly at KS2 when children learn about the way substances affect the body.
Primary 7 children work through the “Smokebusters” project, which is produced by the Ulster Cancer Foundation
Parents may view any of the smoking-related materials that we use in our school.
Smoking is prohibited on school premises. We do not want to present smoking as acceptable nor do we wish to present adult smokers as role models.

Monitoring and review
This policy, which has been endorsed by the Board of Governors, will be reviewed and up-dated in line with the Health Education policy.

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