St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Medical Information
Medicine Administration
If your child requires medicine to be administered during the school day please visit the school office to complete the “permission to administer medicine” form. Please note the following guidelines must be met in order for the school to administer medicine to your child.
- Only medication prescribed by a doctor or authorised health care worker, will be administered in school.
- Medication must be sent into school in its original container. Medicine that doesn’t have the prescription label on either the bottle or box cannot be administered by the school.
- Unless a there are exceptional circumstances all medicine is administered at 11:30am each day by a qualified First Aider.
- Parents must complete a “permission to administer medicines” form when they wish the school to supervise or administer medication.
- Medication will be kept safely according to the instructions on its container. Where medication needs to be kept in a refrigerator, it will be kept in the school office refrigerator.
- All medicine containers must be collected by the parent to be disposed of once the medicine is no longer required.
- Only First Aiders that have been trained and authorised by the headteacher may supervise and administer medication. In emergency, the headteacher will make appropriate alternative arrangements. In some circumstances, as determined by the headteacher, a child’s parents or qualified, specialist, nursing staff may be asked to visit school to administer the medication.
We keep Calpol and Piriton in School for emergency use.
- An emergency constitutes a child showing symptoms of a significant allergic reaction or a significantly high temperature. We would always attempt to contact parents before administration in the first instance
- Calpol and Piriton will not be administered for any other reasons.
Common Childhood Illnesses
As a school we follow the NHS guidelines for all common childhood illnesses. Please click the link below to see the NHS guidance for returning to school after your child has been absent with a common childhood illness.
NHS Guidance on Common Childhood Illnesses Poster
First Aid
We have many members of staff who are qualified first aiders. When your child starts school, we ask you to give us up-to-date details of any medical conditions your child may have. It is your responsibility to inform the office of any changes in medical conditions. If a child has a minor accident the class teacher will inform you at the end of the day. If any medical concerns appear during the day, a first aider, or the class teacher, will contact parents.
If your child requires an inhaler please ensure that your have provided school with one that is labelled with your child's name. You will be asked to record any specific details necessary on a medical form. Please see the office for one of these forms. Staff have regular training on how to deal with asthma attacks.
If a child has a severe allergy, they will need two EpiPens in school. One will be kept in the classroom and one in the staffroom. Each child's EpiPen will be inside a box with their name clearly displayed. If your child requires an epi-pen then a discussion with the school nurse and your child's teacher is needed to discuss a plan for your child. Staff have regular training in how to use EpiPens.
Headlice
In the normal course of events we do have outbreaks of headlice. This is dealt with sensitively and letters are sent home to inform parents.
Medical Conditions
We have dealt with a very wide variety of medical needs and work closely with parents to ensure that they are approached in a sensitive way. Do please come in and discuss any medical issues with your child's teacher.
Hayfever
Please ensure your child has been given their hayfever medicine before school.
Hot Weather
When the weather is very warm children are encouraged to wear summer hats/caps and we ask that parents/carers apply all day sun cream in the morning before the children come to school.