Illness
If your
child is unwell, he/she should be kept home. Unwell children are unable to operate effectively and contagious illnesses
are quickly spread to other children.
When students are obviously
unwell, parents or emergency contacts will be called and requested to collect
their child from school and sign them out before leaving.
At times, students will
indicate they are unwell, but an avoidance pattern may be noted by either the
teacher or parent. Parents will be contacted and offered
the option of the school monitoring their child for 1 hour, with a possible
re-entry to class or parent collection after this time. Contact will be made with parents to
discuss further the situation if students are regularly accessing the sick
room.
As with absenteeism, missing
classroom sessions seriously affects academic performance and needs to be
minimised.
Administering
medication at school
If your child requires staff to administer medication to
your child at school, please contact the school office in the first instance to
discuss your child’s requirements.
Please note, school staff will only administer medication
that:
- has been
prescribed by a qualified health practitioner (e.g. doctor, dentist)
- is in its
original container
- has an
attached pharmacy label.
Office staff will ask you to complete and sign Section 1 of
the Administration of medication at school record sheet.
N.B. If your child requires more than one medication, you
will need to complete a form for each medication.
Requirements
for students at risk of anaphylaxis
If your child is at risk of anaphylaxis, it is important for
you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their
ASCIA Anaphylaxis Action Plan, completed by your doctor. This Anaphylaxis
Action Plan provides the instructions for the school to administer your child’s
medication in an emergency, which is specific to respond to their health
condition.
If you have any concerns about your child’s health
condition, please contact the office.
Requirements
for students at risk of asthma
If your child has asthma and requires assistance to
administer their medication, it is important for you to provide the school with
your child’s emergency medication and their Asthma Action Plan, completed by
your doctor. An Asthma Action Plan provides specific instructions for the
school to administer your child’s medication.
We recognise that some students are capable of managing
their asthma without adult assistance. If you are confident that your child can
confidently, competently and safely self-administer their asthma medication,
let the school administration know. The school will record your decision and
will not require your child’s Asthma Action Plan. Please note that if your
child requires assistance in an asthma emergency, staff will provide Asthma
First Aid.
If you have any concerns about your child’s asthma, please
contact the office.
Providing
medication to the school
Before you provide the school with your child’s medication,
check the expiry date to ensure it is in-date and there is enough for the
agreed time period. It is also a good idea to take a note of the expiry date so
that you can replace the medication before it expires.
Please note, school staff will not administer medication
that you can buy over-the-counter at chemists and supermarkets (e.g.
paracetamol, eye drops, cough syrup) unless it has been prescribed by your
child’s qualified health practitioner. For example, the school would administer
paracetamol to a student only if it has been prescribed by their dentist to be
taken for a short time after dental treatment.
School staff are bound by these regulations and we hope that
all parents will acknowledge and cooperate with these rules.
It is safer for all students if you can provide medication
to the school in person (rather than send medication with the student). If you
can’t provide the medication in person, contact the school to determine the
easiest and safest approach for the school to receive the medication.
If you believe your child is capable of self-administering
their own medication at school, please contact me to discuss, as this requires
my approval.
When your child’s medication is no longer required to be
kept at school, please collect all unused medication. Thank you for your assisting the school in keeping our
students safe and healthy.
Working with
the school to support your child’s asthma needs
For many students, asthma will be a lifelong health condition,
so it is important for students as they become older and more capable, to
recognise their signs and symptoms and be confident to administer their own
medication independently when required.
If your child is not yet confident with this and you would like
the school to administer asthma medication to your child, it would assist us if
you could provide an Asthma Action Plan, completed and signed by your child’s
doctor when you provide their prescribed medication to the school.
However, when you feel that your child can confidently,
competently and safely administer the right dose of their own medication at the
right times and can store their medication securely, let the office know. We
will note/update your child’s medical records to reflect your decision.
The school only needs your child’s Asthma Action Plan if
staff are administering or helping your child to administer their asthma
medication, or if their emergency response is complex.
Our school has staff trained to provide Asthma First Aid in
an emergency to any student demonstrating signs and symptoms of serious asthma
attack.
If you are unsure whether your child is ready to
self-administer, or if your child’s health condition changes, please contact
the school to discuss
further. Thank you for assisting us in supporting your child’s health
needs.
Working with the school to support your child’s medication
needs
Once you have completed the school’s required paperwork and
provided your child’s medication for the school, School staff will administer
it as required, but it is important for you to tell the school:
of any
advice provided by your child’s medical practitioner or pharmacist concerning
the medication
- if changes
occur to your child’s medication requirements (provide the school with an
accompanying letter/action plan from the prescribing health practitioner about
these changes)
- if
medication is being transported with your child for purposes other than
administration at school (e.g. respite, shared parental arrangements, before
and after school care).
If your child has routine medication (i.e. it is
administered on a regular or long term basis e.g. insulin, Ritalin) or
emergency medication (e.g. adrenaline auto-injector, asthma reliever), it is
important to discuss your child’s specific needs with their teacher and the
principal. School staff involved will discuss how they will plan to support
your child’s needs, which will depend on their health condition.
Talking to doctors and pharmacists about your child’s
medication
You can help the school in administering medication to your
child, by talking to your doctor and pharmacist about the packaging of medications.
In particular, you could:
- ask your
doctor if your child’s medication could be:
- administered
before or after school, rather than during school hours
- dispensed in
a form to make administration easier (e.g. blister packs for tablets, liquid form
rather than tablets for gastrostomy devices)
- ask the
pharmacist if the medication could be provided in a multi-dose pack with clear
administration directions (where appropriate), particularly when multiple
medications are prescribed
Where your child’s medication dosage may vary on a daily
basis (e.g insulin), you should ask your doctor:
- for written
advice to identify who will advise the school of the dosage and
- under what
specific criteria (e.g. blood glucose level, behaviour) the dosage will vary.
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s health and
medication requirements, please talk to your child’s teacher.