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Recent advice suggests that single‐level, single‐strand interventions are less effective in preventing or reducing harm from drug misuse than multi‐level multi‐agency approaches. This paper describes one aspect of a community‐focused initiative in drug education. The overall aim of the initiative was to support and train key adults within the community to implement locally relevant schemes of work and drug‐related policies. In this paper we describe the training offered to parents, school staff and governors in communities in Essex. A second paper will describe the intensive in‐service training for health education co‐ordinators and the action research carried out by teachers which led to the development of a minimum entitlement curriculum for three different communities within the same county. We offer this combination of research, training and development as a new approach to drug prevention in local communities.

The final decade of the twentieth century saw a major shift to self‐governance for schools in many countries, including the UK and Australia. This trend is underpinned by the assumption that greater autonomy will lead to improved educational outcomes. The impact of self‐management on principals and schools is now well documented but much less attention has been given to the implications for governance, a significant omission as the process of decentralisation transfers responsibilities to governing bodies rather than school principals. Reviews the main issues of governance and illustrates them from the research in England and Wales and in Australia. It joins the debate about the appropriate balance between governance and management for governing bodies and examines the lay/professional interface in school governance. It assesses governors’ role as representatives of school interest groups and concludes by setting out a research agenda for governance in self‐managing schools.

UK primary schools now operate in a competitive environment, with successful recruitment of children being critical to their ability to survive. A sample of primary schools from Staffordshire was questioned about marketing activity that took place within. It was found that whilst most recognised the importance of recruitment, few had any idea about planned and structured marketing activity. If those who manage schools can gain marketing skills and knowledge, they could well give their schools a clear competitive advantage in the future.

Discusses the need for secondary schools to own quality assurance and not to see it as an external imposition. Identifies four principles for school quality assurance: a focus on pupils and learning; reflecting stakeholders′ needs; demonstrable quality; and the need for feedback. Discusses the weakness of present performance indicators and how they could be designed and used more effectively. Suggests that a school quality assurance system should be used by stakeholders (governors, parents, pupils, teachers, etc.) to negotiate measures which meet their particular needs. Proposes a method of identifying and negotiating needs and turning them into measures.

This paper focuses on one aspect of Health Promotion Service Avon’s Schools for Health Project 1997/98, which is the development, implementation, analysis and evaluation of an initial review questionnaire completed by teachers, non‐teaching staff, parents and pupils. This provided a baseline audit tool in 13 schools. The initial review questionnaire covered topics within the areas of environment, school ethos, staff and pupil wellbeing, curriculum and community. This helped schools to identify areas for development via the project. Benefits arising from the initial review exercise identified by schools included: giving all school members the chance to put their views across; engaging people in the project and raising awareness of the school’s involvement in the project; and giving legitimacy to concerns raised informally by staff. The importance of ensuring that any questionnaire given to non‐teaching staff and pupils is “jargon‐free” and “user‐friendly” was highlighted by some of the teachers involved.

Considers the need for and importance of integrating lesbian and gay issues in secondary schools. The incidence of homosexuality in society is considered, along with the social and human cost of discrimination – including a high rate of attempted suicide among young lesbians and gay men. Emphasizes that schools which fail to tackle this issue are effectively neglecting their pastoral duties which require them to address the needs of all pupils. Clarifies the current legal situation for schools, emphasizing that there is no legal bar preventing teachers discussing lesbian and gay issues in schools. Suggests that to integrate these issues properly, schools need to consider and examine their policies, their curriculum and the hidden curriculum.

Reviews the influences on drugs education, including the impact of some of the author′s personal experiences on his own practice. Describes how, working as a drugs education co‐ordinator as one of the community drug team, the author has helped to broaden the remit of the agency from a service directed largely at older opiate users to one that embraces the needs of young recreational drug users. Relates how, in an era of diminishing resources, the team has developed an emergency strategy of delivering drugs education to schools by running one‐day and half‐day conferences for pupils. Concludes that these have had some success, despite the traditional reluctance to use “one‐off” approaches in health education.

This article aims to identify the main challenges faced by headteachers after taking up their first headship in the UK. It also compares how these challenges have changed over time. Other purposes include the setting of the initial phase of headship within a whole career model and how heads become socialised into the role.

Based on evidence from empirical studies using longitudinal data over a period of 20 years, the paper reviews the challenges faced by new headteachers in the UK; it also advocates a stage model for studying the principalship.

Many of the main challenges experienced by new headteachers remained the same over a 20‐year period; most of the differences were accounted for by changes in government policy over the period. The main difficulties included catering with the legacy of previous incumbents, overcoming established school cultures and communication behaviours, coping with poorly performing staff, and countering a poor public image of the school.

The paper uses the main longitudinal data set available on the challenges and difficulties experienced by beginning headteachers in the UK; it also contributes conceptually to the socialization of headteachers and suggests a stage model of headship, relating the beginning phase to a holistic perspective of headteachers' career trajectories.