Illness and Medicines

The full Managing Illness and Medicines Policy can be found on our policies page

 

This Policy adheres to Government guidance and recommendations from the following publications -

Supporting pupils with medical conditions at school.  Ref DFE-003393 2014. 

Published 1^st September 2014.  Last updated 16 August 2017.

First aid in Schools.  Ref DFEE-20025-2000.

Published 15^th August 2000.  Last updated 14^th February 2022.

Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR).

 

The policy will be reviewed annually by Cambourne Village College School Nurse who will liaise with the Health and Safety Disability leads.

There are regulations regarding medicines in a school setting.  By law, parents must give written consent for their child to carry their own medication and to be given medication.  Only certain medication for conditions such as allergy- causing anaphylaxis, asthma, and diabetes, will be allowed to be carried by pupils whilst in school.  For other recognised and diagnosed medical conditions, there is provision to store and dispense to the pupil when necessary following correct written consent.

Unless it is deemed essential for their condition, pupils are not allowed to carry their own medication.

All relevant consent forms must be completed by the parent/ carer.  It is the parent/ carer’s responsibility to ensure that medication is handed to the main office/ or direct to the first aid support co-ordinator.  Medication should be in date, original packaging, and clearly labelled with student’s name.

It is NOT the school’s responsibility to notify parents if medication is out of date.

There is no legal duty requiring school staff to administer medication.  This is a voluntary role.  If teaching staff/ support staff wish to administer medication, they must have appropriate training and guidance and follow the school policy on administering medicines. 

Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs

Cambourne Village College believes in promoting equal opportunities for all pupils in every aspect of school life.  The school will assess each individual pupils needs, as young people vary in their ability to cope with health inequalities or a particular medical condition.  Parents/ carers have a responsibility for their child’s health and should provide the school with information about their child’s medical condition. 

There are disabled toilets throughout the school.  There is a lift at the school entrance and lift keys are available when required, such as wheelchair usage.

Emergency cupboard in main reception

The emergency cupboard is located in main reception and contains:

• Student Emergency medication boxes
• An automatic defibrillator with clear instructions for usage attached.
• A blue emergency box which holds spare adrenaline injectors in accordance with government guidance Using emergency adrenaline auto injectors in school – Published 20^th September 2017.
• A white emergency box which holds emergency salbutamol for use in emergency Asthma attacks, adhering to government guidance from Emergency asthma inhalers for use in schools – Published 4^th September 2014.

Emergency medication and Adrenaline auto injector (Epipen /Jextpen etc).

All emergency medication such as an adrenaline auto injector, should be placed in a plastic box with student’s name on all sides, with a recent photograph of the pupil attached.  Individual protocols together with signed consent forms should be inside the box.  Parent/ carers should make a note of expiry dates to ensure medication is renewed when necessary.

Emergency boxes are stored in the emergency cupboard in main reception.

Medication

Medicines should only be taken at school when essential: that is where it would be detrimental to a child’s health if the medicine were not administered during the school day.  We would encourage parents to ask the prescriber to consider the use of medicines that only need to be taken outside of school.  If medication were required three times a day, it could be taken before school, after school and before bedtime therefore removing the need to bring medicines into school.

Consent forms

Each medication requires a completed consent form.

Parents / carers should complete Form 1 for medication that has been prescribed by the doctor or for analgesics bought over the counter.  School Nurse/ First Aider can administer the medication to the student in the Medical Room.

Form 3 requires completion if a parent/carer wish for their child to be allowed to carry their own medication at school.  Medicines should always be provided in the original container or box as dispensed by pharmacist or on purchase from shop. 

No child will be given medicines without their parent/ carer’s written consent

Illness

If a pupil is unwell, they should not be in school.  Please do not send your child to school if he or she is ill.  Any pupil who vomits and or has diarrhoea will be sent home.  Pupils who have vomited and or had diarrhoea within the last 48 hours should not be sent to school.  If your child has had diarrhoea or vomiting your child must not return to school until 48 hours from last episode. Parents/ carers should contact the Pupil Absence Line or send an email to thecollege@cambournevc.org, to inform the school if their child is going to be off school due to illness.

If your child becomes unwell / injured whilst at school

If your child becomes unwell or is injured whilst at school, they should inform their teacher.  The teacher will send them to the Medical Room to be assessed by the First Aider.  If Medical Room is closed, the student will access first aid from the main Reception.  Pupils will always be examined and assessed by the School Nurse/ First Aider and appropriate triage of symptoms given.  If it is deemed that a pupil needs to go home, then a parent/carer will be contacted and asked to collect their child.  Parent/ carers should ensure contact details are current and that they have arrangements in place for their child to be collected from school should the need arise.  A responsible adult must collect them.  A student is generally not allowed to walk or cycle home alone if unwell.   The First Aider will email staff to inform them that the student has gone home.

Accidents and Emergencies

If a pupil has an accident at school, they will be examined by the First Aider.  The First Aider will follow guidance and training received on their First Aid Course and take appropriate action.  If there are concerns about the injury, parents will be contacted and asked to refer the child to the GP or Accident Department at the local hospital.  If a parent/ carer cannot be contacted and it is felt the pupil requires immediate medical attention, an ambulance will be called.  If a parent/ carer cannot be contacted, then an appropriate staff member will accompany the pupil in the ambulance and remain with the child until a parent/ carer arrives.  Staff will notify parents/ carer as soon as reasonably possible about the incident.  If a staff member accompanies a pupil to hospital in an ambulance, they should take a printout with the pupil’s details and contact numbers with them.

Information that may be needed by Emergency Services

Postcode for SATNAV is CB23 6FR.  Continue past BMW garage along Sheepfold Lane, cross the speed bump, turn left and the school will be visible.

Cambourne Village College

Sheepfold Lane

Cambourne

CB236FR

01954 284000

Inform ambulance control of the best entrance and state that the crew will be met there by a member of staff.  Inform site team that an ambulance has been requested.

RIDDOR and Accident recording

If a pupil has an accident in school, this will be recorded on the daily medical occurrence spreadsheet.  If the accident is reportable, following guidance from Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) the form is completed online and returned to the Health and Safety Executive.  Copies of the incident are kept in the shared drive -Site - RIDDOR and placed in a folder in medical room.  All accidents will be audited each term and reviewed on a termly basis within the Health and Safety meetings.  This is to assist with improving the health, safety and welfare of all pupils and staff at Cambourne Village College.

Pupils’ Medical information

Emergency information that is pertinent to administering emergency medication such as known potential anaphylaxis is shared with all staff.  Electronic information is held on Progresso/ Go 4 Schools and hard copies of all emergency protocols are kept in the emergency cupboard and in the Medical Room.

All other medical information is documented on Progresso.  All medical information is treated in the strictest confidence.

Controlled Drugs

Any medication that is prescribed for students that is controlled by the Misuse of Drugs Act will be stored as per guidance and kept in a locked cupboard.  The administration of this medication to a student requires the signature of two members of staff. 

Storing of Medicines

Medicines will be stored in a locked cupboard in the Medical Room except for emergency medication such as auto adrenaline injectors, which are stored in the emergency cupboard in main Reception.  Medicines requiring refrigeration will be stored in the Medical Room fridge.  Keys for the Medical Room are held with the first aid support co-ordinator.  In the event of the co-ordinator not being available, the appointed First Aider can access the Medical Room.  All medication brought into school must be accounted for, stored in the correct conditions and signed for when given to the student.  Each medication requires a completed consent form.   Any out-of-date medication should be collected by parents.  All medication should be taken home by pupils at the end of each year.

Record Keeping

All attendance to the Medical Room will be documented by the First Aider on the password-protected Daily Medical Occurrence spreadsheet. 

Protocols and procedures can be found on sharepoint.  Hard copies of all procedures pertaining to Medical Room can be found in folder on the shelf in the Medical Room.

Signed and completed consent forms are held in folders on the shelf in Medical Room.

Any medication given to a student by staff will be documented both on the daily medical occurrences spread sheet, and on Form 6 held in a folder in Medical Room.

If a pupil refuses to take medication, staff should not force them to do so but should make a note of this on the Daily Medical Occurrence spreadsheet and inform parents by phone or email. 

Staff should not administer medication unless suitable trained.  If there is any doubt about procedures, staff should check with parents/ carer or a health professional before taking further action.

Training for Staff

Training needs will be assessed to ensure the school provides adequate first aid cover.  A list of qualified First Aiders is held on the S drive in Admin/ Medical file.

Training for Anaphylaxis/ Epilepsy/ Asthma/ Diabetes is offered to all staff via online training from the community School Nurse team.

All staff are required to attend the medical training. This occurs annually on training days within school or another suitable time. Catch up sessions are held for any member of staff not able to attend.

School Trips / Visits

The school follows all procedures as set out in the County School Visits guidance.  The rules on administration of medicine are concordant with those above.

The school Trips Policy can be viewed on the Policies Page.

PE and Activities

Most students with medical conditions can participate in physical activities and extra-curricular sport.  Some students may need to take precautionary measures before or during exercise and may need immediate access to their medicines such as asthma Inhalers.  Staff and pupils should make sure such medication is accessible.  If it is not possible for the pupil to carry their own inhaler themselves, they should make sure it is given to the staff member in charge of the sport or activity.  This should be labelled clearly with the pupil’s name, to avoid any confusion, as there may be many inhalers handed in.  Parents have a responsibility to name medication clearly.  Staff cannot be held responsible if unable to give medication because it is not correctly named.

 

Reviewed May 2023