​Service Objectives

Whilst adopting a zero-tolerance stance to substance abuse and the possession of substance-related paraphernalia in schools; the Anti Substance Abuse Service aims to:

• foster a safe and supportive school environment conducive to learning and promote a healthy lifestyle.
• ensure that the school environment is kept free from substance abuse.
• prevent any risk and harm to learners and other individuals that may result from substance abuse.
• ensure consistency between the message about substance abuse given and the comprehensive abuse in educational settings.

​Services offered​​​​​

• assist schools in developing preventive strategies related to substance use; 

• offer various prevention programmes to learners, parents and other individuals in order to prevent risk and to reduce harm resulting from substance use. Such prevention programmes have been held both by the Anti-Substance Abuse Team in collaboration with other entities such as Sedqa, Caritas, Oasi, Alcoholics Anonymous, Drama Unit, PSCD Educational Officers, Drug Squad Police and the Millennium Chapel amongst others;

• help learners to enhance their self-confidence to further enable them to deal with peer pressure;

• aid learners to further expand their knowledge on substance through reliable sources;

• help learners understand that they can learn from the experiences of others who have taken substances, so they can avoid making the same mistakes;

• raise awareness about the effects of substance abuse and the law related to inappropriate use of substances;

• help learners understand that a very important starting point for healthy choices are valuing oneself and other people and to engage in healthy alternatives such as sports, hobbies, and voluntary work.

​Consultation and Referrals​​​​​

• offer assistance to schools whenever cases of alleged substance abuse occur and provide technical advice on matters of policy and procedures regarding school referrals. An official referral form needs to be filled in by any individual suspecting the involvement of the learner with substance;

• identify and support learners who are at risk and who are using substances inappropriately through individual and group sessions;


• coordinate and serve as a link between learners and other professionals and agencies;

• assisting in various studies such as the ESPAD Survey.