Sheriffhales Primary School Policy for Managing Medical Needs and Administering of Medicines to Children And for Supporting Pupils with Special Medical Needs. Definition Pupils medical needs may be broadly summarised as being of two types: Short-term affecting their participation in school activities which they are on a course of medication. Long-term potentially limiting their access to education and requiring extra care and support (deemed special medical needs). Rationale We have a responsibility for the health and safety of pupils in our care. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 makes Sheriffhales responsible for the health and safety of employees and anyone else on the premises. In the case of pupils with special medical needs, the responsibility of the employer is to make sure that safety measures cover the needs of all pupils at the school. This may mean making special arrangements for particular pupils who may be more at risk than their classmates. Individual procedures may be required. Sheriffhales is responsible for making sure that relevant staff know about and are, if necessary, trained to provide any additional support these pupils may need. The Children and Families Act 2014, from September 2014, places a duty on Sheriffhales to make arrangements for children with medical conditions. Pupils with special medical needs have the same right of admission to school as other children and cannot be refused admission or excluded from school on medical grounds alone. However, teachers and other school staff in charge of pupils have a common law duty to act in loco parentis and may need to take swift action in an emergency. This duty also extends to teachers leading activities taking place off the school site. This could extend to a need to administer medicine. The prime responsibility for a child's health lies with the parent who is responsible for the child's medication and should supply the school with information. Sheriffhales takes advice and guidance from the Shropshire Council Medicines in Schools section of the Health and Safety Policy which encourages self- administration of medication when possible. Contact details for our School Nurse can be found on the website and a copy of this policy is available to parents. Aims Sheriffhales aims to: assist parents in providing medical care for their children; educate staff and children in respect of special medical needs; adopt and implement the LA policy of Medication in Schools; arrange training for volunteer staff to support individual pupils; liaise as necessary with medical services in support of the individual pupil; ensure access to full education if possible. monitor and keep appropriate records.
Entitlement Sheriffhales accepts that pupils with medical needs should be assisted if at all possible and that they have a right to the full education available to other pupils. We believes that pupils with medical needs should be enabled to have full attendance and receive necessary proper care and support. We accept all employees have rights in relation to supporting pupils with medical needs as follows: choose whether or not they are prepared to be involved; receive appropriate training; work to clear guidelines; have concerns about legal liability; bring to the attention of management any concern or matter relating to supporting pupils with medical needs Expectations It is expected that: parents will be encouraged to co-operate in training children to self-administer medication if this is practicable and that members of staff will only be asked to be involved if there is no alternative; where parents have asked the school to administer the medication for their child they must ask the pharmacist to supply any such medication to be dispensed in a separate container, containing only the quantity required for school use. The prescription and dosage regime should be typed or printed clearly on the outside. The school will only administer medicines in which the dosage is required 4 times a day. The name of the pharmacist should be visible. Any medications not presented properly will not be accepted by school staff. Pupils should not bring in their own medicine. This should be brought into school by the parent. Employees will consider carefully their response to requests to assist with the giving of medication or supervision of self-medication and that they will consider each request separately. the school will liaise with the School Health Service for advice about a pupil s special medical needs, and will seek support from the relevant practitioners where necessary and in the interests of the pupil. Any medicines brought into school by the staff e.g. headache tablets, inhalers for personal use should be stored in an appropriate place and kept out of the reach of the pupils. Any staff medicine is the responsibility of the individual concerned and not the school.
Union ruling Because of the issues regarding the administering of medication, all teacher unions have stated that their members should not be forced to give out medication. Sheriffhales is within its rights to refuse any form of medication on the school premises. Procedures for the Administering of Medication (Please note, parents will, of course, be allowed to give their own children medicine if they are able to do so.) Parents/carers should see the school administrator to request permission for bringing medication on site. This particularly applies to those children who are diabetic or suffer from long term illnesses. We will administer medicines as follows: Only the parent or guardian can be allowed to request that medication should be taken on the school premises. If permission is granted, a consent form must be completed by the parent or guardian, which will also require information to be given about the dosage, type of medicine and whether it needs to be refrigerated. The medication must be clearly labelled with the child's name and the dosage to be taken. The school will only administer medicines in which the dosage is required 4 times a day. According to the health authorities, medicine which is taken three times a day (even if before meals) can be taken in the morning, in the afternoon after school and just before bed time. The medication must be handed to the school administrator who will administer the medicine. If the administrator is not available, arrangements MUST be made with an appropriate school staff member to administer the medication. Children must be made aware of the procedures for receiving medication. Every child must go to the Administrator ( or designated adult) to receive their medicine at the prescribed time. If any of these procedures are unsuitable for the child, he/she must remain at home until fit to return to school. If there is any doubt about any of these procedures, please contact the Head Teacher for further information Asthma Blue inhalers used with asthmatic children are allowed in school so long as the child can administer the medication him/herself or a parent is prepared to come into school to assist the child - unless the child is in the Reception Class or has some special need which means that assistance is necessary.the medication consent form must be completed for all asthmatic
children to enable the teacher to have access to all the information needed. The child MUST be included on the ASTHMA register. Only the blue inhalers should be used in school. All other inhalers are to be used for different purposes to the short term fix which is the purpose of the blue inhaler. Every child who is asthmatic must have full details regarding their illness placed on school records. Children who go swimming must take their inhalers to the pool. The inhaler must remain at the pool side in case of emergency. Children on school visits must take their inhalers with them on the visit. Every inhaler must be clearly marked with the child's name and class. Emergency procedures for any child likely to suffer from breathing difficulties must be known by every member of staff. Parents are reminded that the spacers should be taken home for a regular wash at least once a week if they are used frequently. Other illnesses 1. All illnesses must be recorded on the admissions form and updated whenever there are any changes. 2. It is imperative that the school is able to inform every member of staff who teaches a particular child about the nature of any illness and the procedures for dealing with it. 3. It is vital that every child has a contact number on the school records in case of emergencies 4. Parents/guardians of any child with a particular illness e.g. diabetes, must keep the school fully informed of the child's progress and update the school with any relevant procedures for dealing with the illness. Accidents and children taken ill at school 1. In the event of a child being involved in an accident or becoming ill, parents will always be informed of the incident and the procedures carried out by the qualified first aiders. 2. If the accident is slight (e.g. a minor graze), first aid will be applied according to the code of practice. 3. If the accident is more serious or a child complains of being unwell, parents will be contacted immediately and requested to come to school. Normally, it will be expected that the child will then go home and that parents will be able to deal with the situation themselves. If the incident has involved an injury to the head, parents are reminded to keep an eye on their child for symptoms which would merit a visit to the hospital or doctor. If in doubt, always consult professional help. A report back from parents concerning the seriousness of the illness/accident would be much appreciated. All serious accidents, especially those to the head, are formally recorded. 4. In the event of a parent not being contacted, a child may remain at school under the supervision of a first-aider whilst efforts are made to contact parents. A form will
be sent home with the child informing parents of the injury, if a child-minder has been the one to collect the child. 5. If the accident or illness is sufficiently serious to require hospital attention and parents cannot be contacted immediately, the child will be taken to the hospital whilst every effort is made to contact parents so that they may follow the child to the hospital as soon as possible, to authorise any necessary treatment. 6. IT IS VITAL THAT ALL CONTACT NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES ARE CONSTANTLY UPDATED FOR OFFICE RECORDS TO ENSURE THAT ANY CHILD WHO IS ILL RECEIVES IMMEDIATE PARENT/GUARDIAN SUPPORT POLICY REVIEWED BY SALLY LILL (HEADTEACHER) NOVEMBER 2014