Medicines in School

Prescription medicines

Medicine should only be brought to school when it is essential to administer it during the school day. In the vast majority of cases, doses of medicine can be arranged around the school day thus avoiding the need for medicine in school. Antibiotics for example are usually taken three times a day, so can be given with breakfast, on getting home from school and then at bedtime. Parents/guardians are expected to remove any remaining medicine from school once the prescribed course has been completed.

Non-prescription medicines

Under exceptional circumstances where it is deemed that their administration is required to allow the pupil to remain in school the school will administer non- prescription medicines. The school will not administer alternative treatments i.e. homeopathic or herbal potions, pills or tinctures or nutrition supplements unless prescribed or recommended by a Doctor and detailed on an IHP or EHC as part of a wider treatment protocol. As recommended by the Government in ‘Supporting Pupils at School with Medical Conditions December 2015’ the school will also not administer aspirin unless prescribed. The storage and administration for non- prescription medication will be treated as prescription medicines.

If the relevant symptoms develop during the school day as detailed under the paragraph below ‘short term ad-hoc non-prescribed medication’ the school will administer the following non-prescription medications:

paracetamol (to pupils of all ages)
antihistamine,

All other non-prescription medications will only be administered by staff, providing:

The parent/guardian confirms daily the time the medication was last administered and this is recorded on Template C1 (Appendix 2).
medication is licensed as suitable for the pupil’s age.
medication is suitable for the pupil i.e. if a child is asthmatic the medication is suitable for that condition.
administration is required more than 3 to 4 times per day.
medication is supplied by the parent or guardian in the original packaging with the manufacturer’s instructions and/or (PIL).
and accompanied by parental/guardian consent Template C and C1 (Appendix 2) and confirmation the medication has been administered previously without adverse effect.

The school will NOT administer non-prescription medication:

as a preventative, i.e. in case the pupil develops symptoms during the school day;
if the pupil is taking other prescribed or non-prescribed medication, i.e. only one non-prescription medication will be administered at a time;
Any requirement for a non-prescription medication to be administered during school hours for longer than 48 hours must be accompanied by a Doctor’s note. In the absence of a Doctor’s note and, if following the administration of a non-prescription medication, symptoms have not begun to lessen in the first 48 hours the school will advise the parent to contact their Doctor. If symptoms have begun to alleviate, the medication can continue to be administered at home out of school hours. Under very exceptional circumstances, where the continued administration of a non-prescribed medication is required to keep the pupil in school and this requirement has not been documented by a medical professional, the school will continue to administer medication at their own discretion.
A request to administer the same or a different non-prescription medication that is for the same/initial condition will not be repeated for 2 weeks after the initial episode; and not for more than 2 episodes per term - it will be assumed that the prolonged expression of symptoms requires medical intervention, and parents/guardians will be advised to contact their Doctor.
Skin creams and lotions will only be administered in accordance with the Schools Intimate Care Policy and procedures.
Medication that is sucked i.e. coughs sweets or lozenges, will not be administered by the school.
if parents/guardians have forgotten to administer non-prescription medication that is required before school – requests to administer will be at the discretion of the school and considered on an individual basis.

Short term ad-hoc non-prescribed medication

A small stock of standard paracetamol and antihistamine will be kept by the school for administration if symptoms develop during the school day.

ONLY the following will be administered following the necessary procedures:

For relief from pain

Standard Paracetamol will be administered in liquid or tablet form for the relief of

pain i.e. migraine, headache and temperature

For mild allergic reaction – anti-histamine (see Anaphylaxis) NB parental consent should be gained for those pupils known to require anti-histamine as part of their IHCP. Verbal consent to administer for hay fever will be gained at the time of administration by contacting the parents and this will be recorded in writing. In an emergency medication can be administered with the consent of the emergency services.

For travel sickness – medication will be administered if required before educational visits and must be age appropriate and supplied by the parent/guardian in its original packaging with the PIL if available.

Only 1 dose of any of the above medications suitable to the weight and age of the pupil will be administered during the school day.

Pain relief protocol for the administration of paracetamol If a request for non-prescribed pain relief is made by a pupil or carer/staff (advocate for a non-verbal/non-communicating pupil) before 12pm:

The school will contact the parent/guardian and confirm that a dose of pain relief was NOT administered before school, parents/guardians will also be asked if any other medication containing pain relief medication i.e. decongestants e.g. Sudafed, cold and flu remedies and these conversations will be recorded. If a dose of pain relief has not been administered in the past 4 hours the school will with parental consent administer 1 dose.

If the school cannot contact the parent/guardian and therefore cannot confirm if pain relief was administered before school then the school will refuse to administer pain relief.

If a dose of pain relief has been administered before school:

PARACETAMOL - The school will not administer paracetamol until 4 hours have elapsed since the last dose (assume 8am) no more than 4 doses can be administered in 24 hours.

If a request for pain relief is made after 12pm:

The school will assume the recommended time between doses has elapsed and will with parental consent, administer 1 standard of dose of Paracetamol without any need to confirm with the parent/guardian if a dose was administered before school, but if appropriate the pupil will still be asked if they have taken any other medication containing pain relief medication and this conversation will be recorded.

The school will inform the parent/guardian if pain relief has been administered this will include the type of pain relief and time of administration.

Hay fever

Parent(s)/guardian(s) will be expected to administer a dose of antihistamine to their child before school for the treatment of hay fever. The school will only administer antihistamine for symptoms of allergic reaction and not as a precautionary measure.

Parental permission form to administer medication

Parental permission form to administer ad-hoc medication (paracetamol & antihistamine)