Litherland Moss Primary School

Supporting pupils with medical needs

September 2017

Review September 2018

Statutory Guidance from the Department for Education April 2014

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on governing bodies of maintained schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions:

  • Pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported o that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education.
  • Governing bodies must ensure that arrangements are in place in schools to support pupils at school with medical conditions.
  • Governing bodies should ensure that school leaders consult health and social care professionals, pupils and parents to ensure that the needs of children with medical conditions are effectively supported.

Children and young people with medical conditions are entitled to a full education and have the same rights of admission to school as other children. This means that no child with a medical condition should be denied admission or prevented from taking up a place in school because arrangements for a medical condition have not been made. However in line with safeguarding duties, governing bodies should ensure that pupils’ health is not put at unnecessary risk from, for example infectious diseases.

Governing bodies should ensure that all schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions that is reviews regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff.

The named person with overall responsibility for this policy and its effective implementation is Sarah Greer. In her absence Joy potter will take responsibility. Dawn Hill is named as the responsible person day-to-day.

Procedures to be followed when notification is received that a pupil has a medical condition:

All parents fill in a medical needs form on registration and as an annual update and this is kept centrally by the school office. Any pupil with medical needs is added to the school’s medical list register. The register is distributed to all classteachers and is also available centrally. Mrs Sears has overall responsibility for this.

All classteachers have the list of:

Pupils with asthma
Pupils with allergies
pupils with other medical needs

These are displayed on the class general notice board and are available for all staff to note (including supply teachers).

Mrs Sears monitors this half termly.

Parents of pupils with asthma needs are required to sign an additional form giving the school permission to administer inhaler treatment. Parents must ensure that medication is kept up to date.

Inhalers are kept in the class ‘grab-bag’ which is taken out with the classteacher during any emergency evacuation and also on school trips.

The school kitchen has up to date allergy lists, which are clearly displayed by the serving hatch.

Welfare staff have their own notice board in the dining hall which has information about all children’s medical needs.

Individual healthcare plans

The format of individual healthcare plans may vary to enable school to choose whichever is the most effective for the specific needs of each pupil. They will be easily accessible to all who need to refer to them, while preserving confidentiality. Plans should not be a burden on a school, but should capture the key information and actions that are required to support the child effectively. The level of detail within plans will depend on the complexity of the child’s condition and the degree of support needed. This is important because different children with the same health condition may require very different support. Where a child has SEN but does not have a statement or EHC plan, their special educational needs should be mentioned in their individual healthcare plan.

Individual healthcare plans, (and their review), may be initiated, in consultation with the parent, by a member of school staff or a healthcare professional involved in providing care to the child. Plans should be drawn up in partnership between the school, parents, and a relevant healthcare professional, eg school, specialist or children’s community nurse, who can best advise on the particular needs of the child. Pupils should also be involved whenever appropriate. The aim should be to capture the steps which school will take to help the child manage their condition and overcome any potential barriers to getting the most from their education. Partners will agree who will take the lead in writing the plan, but responsibility for ensuring it is finalised and implemented rests with the school. The governing body should ensure that plans are reviewed at least annually or earlier if evidence is presented that the child’s needs have changed. They should be developed with the child’s best interests in mind and ensure that the school assesses and manages risks to the child’s education, health and social well-being and minimises disruption. Where the child has a special educational need identified in a statement or EHC plan, the individual healthcare plan will be linked to or become part of that statement or EHC plan.

Where a child is returning to school following a period of hospital education or alternative provision (including home tuition), school will work with the local authority and education provider to ensure that the individual healthcare plan identifies the support the child will need to reintegrate effectively.

When deciding what information should be recorded on individual healthcare plans, the governing body will consider the following:

the medical condition, its triggers, signs, symptoms and treatments;

the pupil’s resulting needs, including medication (dose, side-effects and storage) and other treatments, time, facilities, equipment, testing, access to food and drink where this is used to manage their condition, dietary requirements and environmental issues eg crowded corridors, travel time between lessons;

specific support for the pupil’s educational, social and emotional needs – for example, how absences will be managed, requirements for extra time to complete exams, use of rest periods or additional support in catching up with lessons, counselling sessions;

the level of support needed, (some children will be able to take responsibility for their own health needs), including in emergencies. If a child is self- managing their medication, this should be clearly stated with appropriate arrangements for monitoring;

who will provide this support, their training needs, expectations of their role and confirmation of proficiency to provide support for the child’s medical condition from a healthcare professional; and cover arrangements for when they are unavailable;

Responsibilities

Supporting a child with a medical condition during school hours is not the sole responsibility of one person. Partnership working between school staff, healthcare professionals, the local authority, parents and pupils is critical.

Responsibilities: governing body

The governing bodywill ensure that arrangements are in place to support pupils with medical conditions. In doing so they should ensure that such children can access and enjoy the same opportunities at school as any other child. School, the local authority, health professionals and other support services will work together to ensure that children with medical conditions receive a full education. In some cases this will require flexibility and involve, for example, programmes of study that rely on part time attendance at school in combination with alternative provision arranged by the local authority. Consideration may also be given to how children will be reintegrated back into school after periods of absence.

The governing body will take into account that many of the medical conditions that require support at school will affect quality of life and may be life-threatening. Some will be more obvious than others. Governing bodies should therefore ensure that the focus is on the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on their school life.

The governing body will ensure that their arrangements give parents and pupils confidence in the school’s ability to provide effective support for medical conditions in school. The arrangements should show an understanding of how medical conditions impact on a child’s ability to learn, as well as increase their confidence and promote self-care. They should ensure that staff are properly trained to provide the support that pupils need.

Children and young people with medical conditions are entitled to a full education and have the same rights of admission to school as other children. This means that no child with a medical condition should be denied admissionor prevented from taking up a place in school because arrangements for their medical condition have not been made.

However, in line with their safeguarding duties, the governing body will ensure that pupils’ health is not put at unnecessary risk from, for example infectious diseases. We therefore do not have to accept a child in school at times where it would be detrimental to the health of that child or others to do so.

The governing body will ensure that the arrangements they put in place are sufficient to meet their statutory responsibilities and should ensure that policies, plans, procedures and systems are properly and effectively implemented. This aligns with their wider safeguarding duties.

Responsibilities: headteacher

The headteacher will ensure that the school’s policy is developed and effectively implemented with partners. This includes ensuring that all staff are aware of the policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions and understand their role in its implementation. The headteacher will ensure that all staff who need to know are aware of the child’s condition. They will also ensure that sufficient trained numbers of staff are available to implement the policy and deliver against all individual healthcare plans, including in contingency and emergency situations. This may involve recruiting a member of staff for this purpose. The headteacher has overall responsibility for the development of individual healthcare plans. He/ she will also make sure that school staff are appropriately insured and are aware that they are insured to support pupils in this way. The school nursing service will be contacted in the case of any child who has a medical condition that may require support at school, but who has not yet been brought to the attention of the school nurse.

Responsibilities: school staff

Any member of school staff may be asked to provide support to pupils with medical conditions, including the administering of medicines, although they cannot be required to do so. Although administering medicines is not part of teachers’ professional duties, they should take into account the needs of pupils with medical conditions that they teach. School staff will receive sufficient and suitable training and achieve the necessary level of competency before they take on responsibility to support children with medical conditions. Any member of school staff should know what to do and respond accordingly when they become aware that a pupil with a medical condition needs help.

Responsibilities: school nurse

The school has access to school nursing services. The nursing service is responsible for notifying the school when a child has been identified as having a medical condition which will require support in school. Wherever possible, they should do this before the child starts at the school. They would not usually have an extensive role in ensuring that schools are taking appropriate steps to support children with medical conditions, but may support staff on implementing a child’s individual healthcare plan and provide advice and liaison, for example on training. School nurses can liaise with lead clinicians locally on appropriate support for the child and associated staff training needs – for example there are good models of local specialist nursing teams offering training to local school staff, hosted by a local school. Community nursing teams will also be a valuable potential resource for a school seeking advice and support in relation to children with a medical condition.

Responsibilities: parents

Parents should provide the school with sufficient and up-to-date information about their child’s medical needs. They may in some cases be the first to notify the school that their child has a medical condition. Parents are key partners and should be involved in the development and review of their child’s individual healthcare plan, and may be involved in its drafting. They should carry out any action they have agreed to as part of its implementation, eg provide medicines and equipment and ensure they or another nominated adult are contactable at all times.

Training and support for staff

The school’s policy is clear that any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training. This should have been identified during the development or review of individual healthcare plans. Some staff may already have some knowledge of the specific support needed by a child with a medical condition and so extensive training may not be required. Staff who provide support to pupils with medical conditions will be included in meetings where this is discussed.

The relevant healthcare professional should normally lead on identifying and agreeing with school, the type and level of training required, and how this can be obtained.

Training will be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support pupils with medical conditions, and to fulfil the requirements as set out in individual healthcare plans. They will need an understanding of the specific medical conditions they are being asked to deal with, their implications and preventative measures.

Staff must not give prescription medicines or undertake health care procedures without appropriate training (updated to reflect any individual healthcare plans). A first-aid certificate does not constitute appropriate training in supporting children with medical conditions.

Healthcare professionals, including the school nurse, will provide confirmation of the proficiency of staff in a medical procedure, or in providing medication.

Whole school awareness training takes place annually for asthma and general medical conditions so that all staff are aware of the school’s policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions and their role in implementing that policy. Induction arrangements for new staff are included. The relevant healthcare professional should be able to advise on training that will help ensure that all medical conditions affecting pupils in the school are understood fully. This includes preventative and emergency measures so that staff can recognise and act quickly when a problem occurs.

The family of a child will often be key in providing relevant information to school staff about how their child’s needs can be met, and parents will be asked for their views. They should provide specific advice, but should not be the sole trainer.

Managing medicines

Ideally, parents or guardians should administer medicines themselves by visiting the school or administering at home. However in some circumstances this may be impractical.

There are two main circumstances in which we may be asked to administer medicines:

For children with chronic conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy, asthma or severe allergic reactions.

For children recovering from short term illness who may be well enough to attend school but need to finish a course of medication.

Medication can take many forms including tablets, eye drops, inhalers, injections, cream and suppositories. Medication can be prescription or over the counter.

School will only administer medication that has been prescribed by a doctor, in the original packaging and labelled clearly with the child’s name.

Each case will be looked at dependent on individual need;

The final decision lies with the headteacher;

In the case of long term, chronic conditions advice will be sought and appropriate training given.

With the exception of cases where the policy allows pupils to carry their own medication e.g. inhalers, all medicines will be stored in a secure location, ideally locked, out of reach of children.

Medication must be in original containers which must be labelled with the name of the pupil, the name and dose of the drug and the frequency of administration.

Where medicines need top be refrigerated they will be kept in the fridge, ideally in a labelled and air tight container.

Where medication is locked away, relevant staff should know where to obtain the keys in case of an emergency.