Illness and Medicines

Illness

There are some circumstances when a child cannot attend school. If a student is unwell they should not be in school.  Please do not send your child to school if they are ill. Any student who vomits or has diarrhoea will be sent home. If a student is ill with sickness or diarrhoea they should remain off school for 48 hours after the last bout of sickness or diarrhoea. The NHS provides further guidance on when a child should not attend school this can be found at NHS Is my Child Too Ill for School?.

Parents/carers should contact the Attendance Officer before 8am each day to report your child unwell for school, by phoning 01763 223400 or email absence@melbournvc.org providing the name of your child, their year and tutor group, on each day of absence 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 during lesson time or any member of the pastoral team during social time. The member of staff will then notify a trained first aider for your child to be assessed. We have a medical room and several First Aid Trained members of staff including pastoral members of staff. If it is considered 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 always have arrangements in place for their child to be collected from school should the need arise. A responsible adult must collect them and if this is not a person with parental responsibility, we will require written permission from the registered email address of a parent/carer with details of the authorised person collecting. A pupil is generally not allowed to walk or cycle home alone if unwell.

Please note, students are not permitted to use their mobile phones at all during the school day. If a pupil decides they do not feel well enough to be in school and contacts their parent/carer direct to be collected, this absence will be unauthorised.

If you need to contact your child urgently during the day, please telephone reception and the school will help. If your child needs to contact you urgently, a member of staff from the pastoral office will telephone home.

Accidents and Emergencies

If a pupil has an accident at school, they will be examined by a 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/carers will be contacted and asked to refer the child to their GP or Accident/Minor Injuries Department at the local hospital.

If a parent/ carer cannot be contacted and it is felt the pupil requires emergency 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.

The school will follow internal procedures for contacting emergency services.

Medication

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

Unless it is deemed essential for their condition, pupils are not allowed to carry their own medication. This includes over the counter and prescription medications for pain relief.

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 team. Medication must be in date, in its original packaging, and clearly labelled with pupil’s name.

Parents/carers are responsible for ensuring that the medication held by the school is in date and remains appropriate for their child’s condition. They are also responsible for notifying the school of any changes to the administration protocol for the medication. Any out-of-date medication will be disposed of. It is NOT the school’s responsibility to notify parents/carers if medication is out of date.

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

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

Vaccinations

All vaccinations are provided by the Cambridgeshire School Immunisation Team. For more information please contact them on Tel: 0300 555 5055 or visit the School Vaccination UK website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/nhs-vaccinations-and-when-to-have-them/