Letter to Parents: Vapes

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to ask for your support in keeping our young people safe. 

We are learning more and more about the dangers of young people vaping while at the same time not knowing anything about long term side effects.

Shops and other retailers cannot sell vaping items to people under the age of 18. This includes the sale of vaping equipment, including liquids and devices. It is clear that young people under the age of 18 should not be purchasing or be in possession of alternative nicotine products such as vapes. Whilst the sale of items as detailed above is illegal, students have reported to us that they are able to acquire devices online or from older siblings, friends and unfortunately in some instances even parents/carers.

I am sure that you will agree that the possession and use of vapes on the academy premises is something that we simply cannot tolerate, consequently, we will view this in the same way as incidents of smoking or possession of smoking paraphernalia. Any student who is found to be in the possession of paraphernalia linked to smoking or vaping will have the items confiscated and may receive additional sanctions in line with our Positive Discipline for Learning and Life Policy 

We have all seen news articles about young people who are hospitalised as a result of vaping and, as such, where we believe that a confiscated vape may contain toxic and harmful substances, we will be asking our local community police team to collect items for testing.

We will continue our work in the academy to educate pupils regarding the dangers of vaping and the legality surrounding this as part of our personal development curriculum. 

You can find more guidance around vaping at NHS Better Health

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Yours faithfully, 

Principal 

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Letter to Parents re. Vapes.pdf 194 KB