Medical

Should I send my child to school today?

Click here for advice on the common childhood illnesses.

Medication

It is our aim to support children who have medical needs whilst they are in school.

• Some medication can be administered in school by the child with guidance eg asthma inhalers.
• When prescribed by the doctor emergency medication will be administered, eg, Epipens. 
• Where possible the need for short term medicines (eg antibiotics) to be administered at school should be avoided. We ask you to make arrangements to come personally into school to administer medicines if at all possible.  In certain circumstances prescribed medicines may be administered by school staff to children during school hours, subject to specific conditions.

We ask parents to help by:

1. Reading the points below before making a request for administration of medication 

• Teaching staff cannot be legally required to administer prescribed medication or supervise children taking it.
• School staff may be prepared to act as volunteers and administer prescribed medicines when it is impossible for parents to make other arrangements and where all the written information required is in place where the medication has been provided. Medicines should only be taken to 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.
• Wherever possible it would be helpful if medication can be prescribed in dose frequencies that occur outside school hours. Eg 3xday medication before school, at 3pm pick up time and at bedtime. Parents are asked to consult the prescribing doctor about this
• Teachers and other school staff have a duty of care to act as any reasonably careful parents would to make sure that pupils in their care are healthy and safe.

2. Following the procedures below when requesting school staff to administer medication

• Parents should read carefully the guidance on the Pupil Medication request form. (The relevant form may be obtained from the school office.)
• All written details must be completed on the request form and the form signed to indicate parental consent.
• Parents should bring the request form to the school office for approval. If a member of staff is prepared to volunteer to administer medication and all the paperwork is in place then the form will be signed by a member of the Admin Team to indicate agreement.
• It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that medicines do not exceed the expiry date.  Medicines that do exceed the expiry date will not be administered.
• The school cannot accept any non-prescribed medication.
• Prescribed medication must be in the original container/packing with pharmacy label giving details of the child’s name, type of medicine, dosage, storage instructions and expiry date.
• Medicines should be brought and collected from school by a responsible adult. Children must not carry medication to and from school.
• Parents are to collect medication containers once the course has been completed. School staff should not dispose of medicines or empty containers.

When a child falls ill at school

Should your child become ill at school we attempt to contact you immediately.  We do not have the facilities to care for sick children and will therefore contact you to enable your child to be taken home.  It is very important that we have an up-to-date contact number for parents and an alternative adult in the event of an emergency. 

Please notify us if your child has an infectious illness such as measles, mumps etc as we are required to report some illnesses to the medical authorities.

If your child has been unwell they should not return to school until they are fully recovered (48 hours after the last bout of sickness or diarrhoea).

Head bumps

If your child receives a bump to their head whilst at school, you will be alerted by a 'bump note' in your child's book bag.  We will call you if your child appears to be out of sorts or has received injuries to the head, but if your child appears to be well following a head bump we will monitor them at school and inform you of the incident through a note placed in your child's book bag. For this reason, please check your child's book bag every day.

The NHS leaflet posted below provides advice for parents and carers on how to care for a child following an injury to the head. 

Head Lice

If we are made aware of a case of head lice in school we will inform parents by ParentMail and enlist parents' support in monitoring their child's hair. This is most easily done by 'wet detection combing' on a weekly basis during regular hair washing sessions.

The NHS website has excellent guidance on how detect, treat and prevent head lice: 

Chickenpox

Chickenpox is an acute generalised viral disease, which is highly infectious. It is usually a mild disease and the child makes a full recovery. If you have already had the infection then you are immune and won’t get it again. If you have not previously had it the disease can rarely be much more serious: notably in adults, particularly pregnant women; in infants, and in any immunosuppressed individuals. Very rarely, chickenpox in children can be complicated by a severe infection caused by a bacterium called invasive Group A streptococcus, which appears infecting the spots and surrounding area. If you are concerned you should consult with your GP.

The main symptom of chickenpox is a rash in which groups of small, red, itchy and sometimes painful, fluid filled (blister-like) spots appear on many parts of the body. After a few days the spots burst or dry out and then crust over. In addition to the rash, a child may also have a slightly raised temperature, but in general does not appear very ill.

Chickenpox is transmitted directly by personal contact or droplet spread. Children are infectious from 1-2 days prior to the start of the rash and continue to be so until all lesions are crusted (usually about 5 days). Children should therefore be kept away from school until 5 days after the onset of the rash or until all spots are crusted over if longer than 5 days.

The virus can remain dormant in the body for many years and may reactivate later in life causing Shingles.

If you have any concerns please consult your GP.

General advice on childhood illnesses

Worried by symptoms a child or young person is experiencing? Healthcare professionals at Frimley Healthier Together offer advice on symptoms including coughs, colds, vomiting, rashes and mental health, plus when and where to access medical help. Watch today - https://bit.ly/Healthadvice