Administration of Medicine Policy
Parents have the prime responsibility for ensuring a child’s health and for deciding whether they are fit to attend school. Parents should also provide all necessary information about their child’s medical needs to the school.
DfE April 2014 – Supporting Pupils At School With Medical Conditions key points are:
- Pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they can 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.
This policy may be superseded by a child’s EHCP or Individual Care Plan, or may be used in conjunction with them.
Staff Duties
School teachers have no legal obligation to administer medicines to pupils nor supervise them while they take medicine, unless contracted to do so. Staff may volunteer to assist in the administration of medicines but must be given appropriate training and guidance.
As a school, we have a duty to plan how administering medicines can be accommodated in school and on educational visits to allow children who have medical needs to attend.
Process for the Administration of Medicines in School – short term medical needs
Medicines should normally be administered at home and only taken into school when absolutely necessary (where it would be detrimental to the child’s health, or would greatly impact on a child’s school attendance, if the medicine were not taken during the school day).
The school will only accept:
→ Medicines prescribed by a medical practitioner
→ Medicines that need to be administered in excess of 3 times per day
→ Medicines that are in date
→ Medicines in their original container, as dispensed by a pharmacist
→ Containers with labelling identifying the child by name and with original instructions for administration, dosage and storage.
The school will not accept or administer:
→ Medicines that are to be administered 3 times per day
→ Non-prescription drugs
On accepting medication, the parent must sign a form disclosing all details and giving permission for the medication to be administered by member of school staff (template B).
The medicine must be kept in a locked cupboard (except where storage in a fridge is required) and only accessed by named adults, or with the permission of the Headteacher.
For chronic or long term conditions and disabilities, an Individual Health Care Plan (IHCP) (Template A) will be developed in liaison with the pupil, parents/carers, the Headteacher, SENCO and medical professionals. If a child has a medical condition which requires pain relief or other medication to be kept in school this must be prescribed by a doctor and supported by an IHCP or a letter from a doctor.
Inhalers and Epi-pens
All children who have asthma will have immediate access to their reliever inhaler when they need them.
Parents and carers will be asked to complete a medication administration form when the inhaler is first brought into school and an annual review should be carried out by the child’s doctor/asthma nurse and details brought into school.
The school has an inhaler for emergency use and will be administered in the event of the loss or failure of the pupil’s own inhaler.
Epi-pens are kept in containers in the school office out of reach of all children but easily accessible if required.
Under no circumstances should a parent send a child to school with any medicines, eg throat sweets/tablets, without informing the school. These could cause a hazard to the child or to another child if found and swallowed.
Parents are welcome to come into school to administer medicines themselves that the school refuse to administer, for reasons given above.
Process for the Administration of Medicines in School – long term medical needs
Where a child has long-term medical needs, a care plan must be written with the assistance of the school nurse and in the presence of the parent/guardian of the named child. An individual risk assessment may also being required. The care plan must be followed and reviewed at least annually.
It is the parent’s responsibility to inform the school of any changes to the child’s condition that may require the details of the care plan to be altered.
The Headteacher must ensure that named staff are trained to administer or give the level of care required by the details of the care plan.
As a school, we try to ensure that we have sufficient information about the medical condition of any child with long-term medical needs and will request meetings with parents and recognised medical practitioners regularly to provide the correct level of training. Training should be specific to the individual child concerned. There will also be regular/annual training for all staff on more generalised needs eg asthma awareness and epi-pen training, diabetes and epilepsy. The school is well supported by the School Nurse Service who provides staff with advice and any relevant training on request.
Process for the Administration of Medicines during residential visits– all medical needs.
For the purpose of residential visits, there will be a named person with responsibility for the administration of medicines and care of children as above. Prescription and non-prescription medication may be administered by staff on residential trips. Parents will be asked to complete a form (Template B) and may be required to meet with the named staff to ensure that staff are aware of all medical requirements.
In the case of higher levels of care eg intimate care, a named member of staff will also meet with the school nurse, or other recognised medical advisor to ensure that they are trained in dealing with the level of care required.
Downloadable version of Template A
Downloadable version of Template B