Brookside School
POLICY FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION IN SCHOOL
The Board of Governors and staff of Brookside school wish to ensure that pupils with medication needs receive appropriate care and support at school. The Headteacher will accept responsibility in principle for members of the school staff giving or supervising pupils taking prescribed medication during the school day where those members of staff have volunteered to do so. The Headteacher and Governors of Brookside Primary School will support staff who are willing to administer medication to pupils and this will include training and any other provision as necessary e.g. cover for other duties where they interfere. Such staff acting in the course of their employment will be insured in the event of any claim for negligence as long as they have followed policy and procedures and/or acted reasonably under the circumstances.
Please note that parents should keep their children at home if acutely unwell or infectious Parents are responsible for providing the Headteacher with comprehensive information regarding the pupil’s condition and medication.
The Governing Body’s and school's senior management team ensure that a properly instigated and understood procedure is maintained and is available to be audited. This is communicated to all concerned including parents through the prospectus and website.
A young person under 16 should never be given aspirin or medicines containing ibuprofen unless prescribed by a doctor.
Non-Prescribed medication
Staff are able to administer a non-prescribed medicine to a child (including throat and cough tablets) although most medications can be, and, should only need to be administered before and after school.
Taking into consideration the few situations where medication needs to be administered in school (see prescribed medication below) we agree to administer non-prescribed medication under the following conditions:
1. The child is fit to be at school.
2. All feasible effort has been made by the parent to obtain the medicine via prescription first.
3. All feasible effort has been made by the parent to manage administration times around school times, i.e., if the dose is to be given three times per day these could be given before school, after school and before bedtime.
4. The medication should be brought into the school office by an adult and should be taken home each night by an adult.
5. The medication should be in a container which has been labelled by the child’s parent/carer with the child’s name, time of dosage and amount of dosage.
6. If the medication is in liquid form, then a spoon should be provided by the child’s parent /carer.
7. If a child needs a drink with the medication a plastic cup should be supplied by the child’s parent/carer.
8. The parent/carer should complete an administration of non-prescribed medication form which will be kept on file.
9. The office staff will sign the form to confirm that the above steps have been followed.
Staff will only administer one dose of medication in school time. Parents should accommodate this by ensuring the child takes medication just before school in the morning.
If school is concerned about use of non-prescribed medication, we reserve the right to deny administration until a medical professional’s opinion is sought. Staff will then meet with parents to advise referring the matter to the child’s GP or seek advice from our school nurse. All administration of medication will be recorded as detailed within this policy.
Prescription Medication:
Medicines should only be taken at school when essential; that is where it would be detrimental to a child or young person's health if the medicine were not administered during the school 'day'. The school will only accept medicines that have been prescribed by a doctor, dentist, nurse prescriber or pharmacist prescriber. An example of such medicines would be antibiotics like amoxicillin etc.
Medication that is required 3 times per day can usually be arranged by parents to coincide with dosage timings outside of normal school hours and should be. There are relatively few situations where prescribed medication needs to be given during the school day, such situations however, would include:
Medication to be given 4 times per day;
Medication to be given prior to, or directly following, a meal;
Medication to be given at fixed hourly intervals;
Medication that is required should a complaint flare up;
Prescribed medication will not be accepted in school without complete written and signed instructions from the parent.
Medication must be handed in at the school office by an adult who is able to complete and sign the appropriate forms. It should not be given to a child to bring into school.
Only reasonable quantities of medication should be supplied to the school (for example, a maximum of four weeks supply at any one time).
Each item of medication must be delivered to the Headteacher or Authorised Person, in normal circumstances by the parent, in a secure and labelled container as originally dispensed. Each item of medication must be clearly labelled with the following information:
Pupil’s Name
Name of medication Dosage
Frequency of administration Date of dispensing
Storage requirements (if important) Expiry date
The school will not accept items of medication in unlabelled containers.
If a child requires a spoon for a liquid medication or needs a drink with the medication a spoon and plastic cup should be provided by the parents.
The Headteacher is responsible for making sure that medicines are stored safely (can be delegated accordingly) and securely. Pupils will be made aware of where their own medication is stored and who has access to it. A few medicines, such as asthma inhalers, will be made readily available to children and not locked away. These will be kept in the relative classroom in a labelled plastic box. Some pupils may be allowed to carry their own inhalers but in deciding this, the age and aptitude of the pupil concerned will be considered and the views of
the parent and, where appropriate, the child will be sought. Other medicines will be kept in a secure place e.g. a locked cupboard not accessible to pupils. If medication that a pupil might need in an emergency is locked away, all staff (including supply and temporary staff) will be made aware of how to obtain keys to the cupboard or cabinet. Where medicines need to be refrigerated, they will be stored in a clearly labelled airtight container and kept in the fridge located in the staffroom. Access to the refrigerator holding medicines will be restricted to staff.
If medication is to be taken on an off-site visit a container will be used for this purpose and checks made with the host venue (for residential visits) that a suitable refrigerator is available for storing medication which needs to be stored in low temperature conditions.
The school will keep records, which they will have available for parents.
If children refuse to take medicines, staff will not force them to do so, and will inform the parents of the refusal, as a matter of urgency, on the same day. If a refusal to take medicines results in an emergency, the school’s emergency procedures will be followed.
If a child spits out medication the staff will not re-administer the medication but will inform the parent of the incident and place a note on the medication log.
It is the responsibility of parents’/carers to notify the school if the pupil’s need for medication has ceased. Any medication in school will have to be disposed of by the parents and a signed note made on the administration of medication by the parent.
It is the parents’ responsibility to renew the medication when supplies are running low and to ensure that the medication supplied is within its expiry date.
The school will not make changes to dosages on parental instructions.
School staff will not dispose of medicines. Medicines, which are in use and in date, should be collected by the parent at the end of each term. Date expired medicines or those no longer required for treatment will be returned immediately to the parent for transfer to a community pharmacist for safe disposal.
For each pupil with long-term or complex medication needs, the Headteacher, will ensure that a Health Care Plan and Protocol is drawn up, in conjunction with the appropriate health professionals. It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that this plan is in place and arrange for any amendments to be made. Plans must be reviewed at least annually. This plan will include:
Details of the young person’s condition
Special requirements e.g. dietary needs, pre-activity precautions etc Medication and any side-effects
What to do, and who to contact in an emergency Record keeping
The role the school can play
Where it is appropriate to do so, pupils will be encouraged to administer their own medication, if necessary, under staff supervision. Parents will be asked to confirm in writing if they wish their child to carry their medication with them in school.
Staff who volunteer to assist in the administration of medication will receive appropriate training/guidance through arrangements made with the School Health Service.
The school will make every effort to continue the administration of medication to a pupil whilst on trips away from the school premises, even if additional arrangements might be required.
However, there may be occasions when it may not be possible to include a pupil on a school trip if appropriate supervision cannot be guaranteed.
Sharps/Needles/etc
Where pupils require medication which is administered with a syringe or epi-pen, or where blood needs to be tested (e.g. in the case of diabetics), staff must dispose of the needles and/or sharps appropriately. A genuine medical sharps box will used for this purpose. They can be purchased from any medical equipment supplier and the child’s medical professional may provide one to the young person to give to their school if they ask. Arrangements will be made to take a sharps container on school off-site visits if required. Appropriate measures should be taken to dispose sharps of correctly.
Asthma
School has an asthma policy in place.
All staff will be made aware of the procedures to be followed in the event of an emergency.
SIGNED:
……….. Headteacher
………..Chair of the Governing Body
