Medical Conditions
Children with temporary or recurring medical or mental health needs are valued as full and participating members of our school community. We understand the importance of medication being taken as prescribed.
All staff understand the common medical conditions that affect children at school and have received training on the impact medical conditions can have on pupils. Two members of staff administer medicines, Mrs Price and Mrs Gillott.
If a child has a temporary medical need, and requires medication to be administered at school, then a Parental Agreement for School to Administer Medicine form needs to be completed.
Before any medication is accepted by the school, the parent/carer must bring along a completed form to the office.
Once the administration of the medication has been agreed, the medication must be brought in to the office.
This school understands the importance of medication being taken as prescribed:
- Medicine can only be administered in school if it is unreasonable for it to be given at home (x4 times per day).
- The medicine must be prescribed for the child by their doctor and be in its original container with the chemist’s label showing name of child, dosage, frequency, method of administration, date of issue and expiry date.
- Non prescribed medicines are not administered in school.
Vomiting and Diarrhoea
From time-to-time children are sick, either at home or at school. Unfortunately, it is not possible to distinguish between the causes, and therefore it is essential that the same rule of exclusion applies in all cases of vomiting or diarrhoea.
In the Health Protection Agency document, “Guidelines for the Control of Infection and Communicable Disease in School and Early Years Settings”, the guidance is: "Diarrhoea and/or vomiting commonly affects children and staff and can be caused by a number of different germs, including viruses, parasites and bacteria."
Infections can be easily spread from person to person (by unwashed hands), especially in children. A child with diarrhoea and/or vomiting symptoms must stay away school until they have been free of symptoms for 48 hours (the ‘48 hour rule’) and feel well. Personal hygiene whilst ill must be very strict.
If your child is sick at school, we will ask you or your emergency contact to take your child home. They should not return for 48 hours. This should reduce the risk of infection for all children in school. As an example, if your child is sick at lunchtime on a Tuesday, they should not return to school until Friday, provided there have not been any further episodes of vomiting.
We follow the Public Health Agency advice on infection control which you can access below.