SCHOOLS are increasingly being forced to deal with the impact of families’ substance abuse and mental health issues, a headteacher has said.

Nicky Brewerton, of Ramsden Infants School in Barrow, said more of her work as school head was to do with managing problems because families did not know where else to turn.

She also said some children had arrived at her school having been born with heroin addictions passed on from parents.

And she revealed she was increasingly having to move beyond her role and take on ‘social work’ for families.

On dealing with substance abuse and related problems at school, she said: “I think that’s not uncommon in an area like ours and central towns and cities.

“There are a lots of issues for parents and families and, yes, some children are addicted.”

Mrs Brewerton said the issues she mentioned were ‘getting worse’.

“Families are becoming more dissipated and diverse.

“Who then do you go to?

“It’s quite a sad state of affairs with people coming into school and talking to teachers and headteachers about their difficulties.

“And because there isn’t anyone else that they feel like they can do that with we have to become a place that moves beyond just education.

“In my day, we wouldn’t have jumped into a child’s school to seek support.”

She said support services for people with mental health and substance abuse issues were becoming stretched through the demand and some preferred to go in to school.

Mrs Brewerton added: “Family and parents come in here with really complex mental health issues and I can listen to them and I can offer them, a box of tissues when they need when they need them, but I haven’t got the skills to deal with what they need.

“We’re talking about psychiatric care.

“People take drugs for a reason and use substances to support themselves.

“Sometimes self medication is your way of just getting through the day or managing crises that arise.”