At Woodley Primary School, we are an inclusive community that aims to support and welcome pupils with medical conditions. We have a Medical Conditions in School Policy which follows Local Authority guidelines. This can be found on our Policies page.
Please click on the link to find and view the policy. If you require a hard copy you can request this from the office.
In the event of an emergency, school staff are required under common law duty of care to act like any reasonable prudent parent/carer.
Woodley Primary works closely with the School Nursing Team to ensure we are following our medical conditions policy and providing the best possible care for your child at all times. Please be aware that information regarding your child and their medical condition may be shared with the school nurse.
If your child has an accident in school they would be attended to by a qualified first aider. We have support staff who are Paediatric First Aid trained. If the injury is minor you will be emailed an accident report informing you of what has happened. If the injury is more severe you will be contacted by phone and informed if it is advised that your child should be consulted by a doctor/medical professional. In the case of a major accident an ambulance will be called immediately and every effort will be made to contact parents/carers. It is vital that emergency contact details are kept up to date including home, work and mobile telephone numbers.
If your child is absent from school due to illness please telephone school at the start of the day to inform the office of the reason or alternatively, please complete the form on ParentApps. Certain illnesses are notifiable to the Local Authority and extra precautions may need to be taken to protect the health and well-being of vulnerable students and staff, for example pregnant females and those with chronic health conditions. If the reason your child is absent is due to vomiting or diarrhoea, Public Health England recommends that they should be kept off school for 48 hours after their last episode. The school follows advice given by the local Primary Health Care Trust for guidance on infection control within school.
In certain circumstances your child may require medication throughout the day, wherever possible medication should be given before or after school. School will only administer medication in exceptional circumstances taking into account the following guidance:
- Medicine must be prescribed by a doctor and be labelled with the prescription containing the child’s name.
- A parental consent form must be filled in and signed by the parent/carer
- Medicine must be brought into and collected from the school office by an adult
It is the parents/carers responsibility to inform school if their child has any chronic medical condition including asthma, epilepsy, diabetes and allergies. If your child has a more severe medical condition the school’s designated person for medical conditions will liaise and work with parents/carers and the school nurse to complete an Individual Health Plan (IHP) for your child. The IHP records important and relevant information regarding your child’s medical needs within school, their triggers, signs and symptoms, medications and other treatments.
If your child suffers with asthma it is required that they have an emergency blue reliever inhaler and spacer in school at all times. They will be stored in a secure but accessible red medical box in the classroom, clearly labelled with your child’s name. If your child suffers from severe allergies and has an EpiPen it is also required that they have one in school at all times for use in an emergency, this will be stored securely in your child’s classroom.
It is the parent’s/carer’s responsibility to:
- Inform school of any changes to their child’s medical condition (this includes any newly diagnosed conditions, changes to treatments or medication and any admissions to hospital relating to such conditions).
- Ensure all medication in school (emergency and non-emergency) is prescribed by a doctor, is clearly labelled with the child’s name, the name of the medicine, the route of administration, the dose and frequency.
- Ensure that school has an adequate supply of medication that is required during school hours and that it is within the expiry date.
- Collect out of date or no longer required medication from school for safe disposal.
- Complete a Medicine Form for the administration of prescribed medicine required for both short term and long term medical conditions and state the reason for the medication.
- Ensure school has full and up to date emergency contact details for your child.