Medical Support for Pupils – Parent Guidance

Information sent to parents regarding medical support for pupils

  • The role of the First Aiders is to respond to emergencies – accidents at school and sudden onset of illness – and management of long term serious conditions in school – e.g. diabetes, epilepsy.
  • In the case of headaches etc. a teacher can request paracetamol for the pupil. A First Aider will then check the paracetamol register, and if there is a permission reply slip (annual) the parent will then be called to check that the child has not already had medication at home that could cause difficulty. Once the call has been made the pupil will be sent for at the next break time to receive the medication.
  • No other medical interventions will be available, except for the administration of prescription only medicines if they are brought into school by a parent/carer, and the appropriate paperwork is completed with a member of the office team. These medications must be in the original packaging, with the doctor/pharmacy label on, have the child’s name on the label and be in date – and they will only be administered in school if they are not single dose – i.e. most medicines such as hay-fever etc. can be administered in a single dose before school. Reminder: do not ‘break up’ slow release medication, or allow children to chew these tablets – it leads to over and under dosing.
  • It is the parents’ responsibility to replace out of date medication such as epipens.
  • Parents – please do not allow your children to call home and ask you to collect them due to illness. It is vital that school staff know immediately if your child is ill, and that a first aider is then able to assess the child. Pupils are aware of the process if they feel unwell – to tell their class teacher who will assess the urgency of the situations and then request the appropriate support from the First Aid team. If the child needs to come home you will be telephoned by a member of that team.
  • Please keep us up to date with your child’s medical needs. If your child has a long term condition this should be on our medical register, and in the case of a short term condition or injury we will update staff upon receipt of the information.
  • Pupils should not carry medication in school for self-administering unless we have a record of it – e.g. an asthma inhaler. Pupils should NOT carry paracetamol etc.
  • Pupils are never permitted to ‘share’ medication – please emphasise this to your child, and explain the dangers of doing so.

Handbook – Supporting pupils with medical conditions and situations in school

APPENDIX for medical policy – Covid 19