Supporting pupils with medical conditions policy 

Policy details

Date created - January 2022

Date approved by AGC - March 2022

Next review date - Spring 2024

Reviewed - February 2023

Contents

1. Aims        2

2. Legislation and statutory responsibilities        3

3. Roles and responsibilities        3

3.1 The governing body        3

3.2 The headteacher        3

3.3 Staff        4

3.4 Parents        4

3.5 Pupils        4

3.6 School nurses and other healthcare professionals        5

4. Equal Opportunities        5

5. Being notified that a child has a medical condition        5

5.1 Admission Procedure        5

5.2 Responsibility for medical conditions        6

7. Managing medicines        7

7.1 Controlled drugs        8

7.2 Pupils managing their own needs        8

7.3 Unacceptable practice        8

8. Emergency procedures        9

9. Training        9

10. Record keeping        10

11. Liability and indemnity        10

12. Complaints        10

13. Monitoring arrangements        11

14. Links to other policies        11

Appendix 1- process to decide whether the pupil requires an IHP.        11

Appendix 2 - Individual Health Care Plan template.        12

Appendix 3 - parental agreement for setting to administer medicine        14

Appendix 4 - School asthma card

Appendix 5  - Pupil Information Sheet        16

1. Aims

This policy aims to ensure that:

● Pupils, staff and parents understand how our school will support pupils with medical conditions

● Pupils with medical conditions are properly supported to allow them to access the same education as other pupils, including school trips and sporting activities

● The governing board will implement this policy by delegating the following tasks to the SENDCo and maintaining oversight:

○ Making sure sufficient staff are suitably trained

○ Making staff aware of pupil’s condition, where appropriate

○ Making sure there are cover arrangements to ensure someone is always available to support pupils with medical conditions

○ Providing supply teachers with appropriate information about the policy and relevant pupils

○ Developing and monitoring individual healthcare plans (IHPs) and risk assessments

The named person with responsibility for implementing this policy is the SENDCo.

2. Legislation and statutory responsibilities 

This policy meets the requirements under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which places a duty on governing boards to make arrangements for supporting pupils at their school with medical conditions.

It is also based on the Department for Education’s statutory guidance: Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions. 

We use the templates which have been developed by the Department for Education. These include:

● individual healthcare plan

● parental agreement for setting to administer medicine

● record of medicine administered to an individual child

● record of medicine administered to all children

● staff training record – administration of medicines

● contacting emergency services

● a model letter inviting parents to contribute to individual healthcare plan development can be found here.

This policy also complies with our funding agreement and articles of association.

3. Roles and responsibilities

3.1 The governing body

The governing body has ultimate responsibility to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions. The governing board will ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they are responsible for supporting children with medical conditions.

3.2 The headteacher

The headteacher will:

● Make sure all staff are aware of this policy and understand their role in its implementation ● Ensure that there is a sufficient number of trained staff available to implement this policy and deliver against all individual healthcare plans (IHPs), including in contingency and emergency situations

● Take overall responsibility for the development of IHPs

● Make sure that school staff are appropriately insured and aware that they are insured to support pupils in this way

● Contact the school nursing service in the case of any pupil 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

● Ensure that systems are in place for obtaining information about a child’s medical needs and that this information is kept up to date

3.3 Staff

Supporting pupils with medical conditions during school hours is not the sole responsibility of one person. Any member of staff may be asked to provide support to pupils with medical conditions, although they will not be required to do so. This includes the administration of medicines.

Those staff who take on the responsibility to support pupils with medical conditions will receive sufficient and suitable training, and will achieve the necessary level of competency before doing so.

Teachers will take into account the needs of pupils with medical conditions that they teach. All staff will know what to do and respond accordingly when they become aware that a pupil with a medical condition needs help.

3.4 Parents

Parents will:

● Provide the school with sufficient and up-to-date information about their child’s medical needs

● Be involved in the development and review of their child’s IHP and may be involved in its drafting

● Carry out any action they have agreed to as part of the implementation of the IHP e.g. provide medicines and equipment

3.5 Pupils

Pupils with medical conditions will often be best placed to provide information about how their condition affects them. Pupils should be fully involved in discussions about their medical support needs and contribute as much as possible to the development of their IHPs. They are also expected to comply with their IHPs.

3.6 School nurses and other healthcare professionals

Our school nursing service will notify the school when a pupil has been identified as having a medical condition that will require support in school. This will be before the pupil starts school, wherever possible.

Healthcare professionals, such as GPs and pediatricians, will liaise with the schools nurses and notify them of any pupils identified as having a medical condition.

4. Equal Opportunities

Our school is clear about the need to actively support pupils with medical conditions to participate in school trips and visits, or in sporting activities, and not prevent them from doing so.

The school will consider what reasonable adjustments need to be made to enable these pupils to participate fully and safely on school trips, visits and sporting activities.

Risk assessments will be carried out so that planning arrangements take account of any steps needed to ensure that pupils with medical conditions are included. In doing so, pupils, their parents and any relevant healthcare professionals will be consulted.

5. Being notified that a child has a medical condition

When the school is notified that a pupil has a medical condition, the process outlined below will be followed to decide whether the pupil requires an IHP.

The school will make every effort to ensure that arrangements are put into place within 2 weeks, or by the beginning of the relevant term for pupils who are new to our school.

See Appendix 1.

5.1 Admission Procedure

When a child starts school with us we require parents or carers to complete new starter paperwork. The paperwork contains questions about any medical needs or special educational needs or disabilities the child may have. Please see Appendix 4 - Pupil Information Sheet

Parents will also be asked for documentation from medical professionals to confirm a medical condition along with any medical recommendations.

If any medical conditions or SEND needs are communicated through the admission procedure, the admin team will notify the SENDCo and the class teacher immediately so that any arrangements that need to be made can be put into place straight away. This may involve a meeting between health professionals, parents and school staff and may require additional training of school staff prior to the child starting school. This may also require contact with a child’s previous setting/school.

5.2 Responsibility for medical conditions

The Admin team will notify the SENDCo and class teacher about any medical conditions and/or SEND needs reported.

If the class teacher is made aware of any health conditions by the parent or carer, they will speak to the SENDco so that plans can be put in place. They will also need to notify the Admin team so that SIMS can be updated.

The SENDCo has an overarching responsibility for ensuring that the relevant healthcare plans are in place, training for staff and risk assessments if necessary. All healthcare plans must be electronically stored on Provision Maps.

6. Individual healthcare plans - please see Appendix 2 for template 

The headteacher has overall responsibility for the development of IHPs for pupils with medical conditions. This has been delegated to the SENCo and supported by the Admin team.

Plans will be reviewed at least annually, or earlier if there is evidence that the pupil’s needs have changed.

Plans will be developed with the pupil’s best interests in mind and will set out:

● What needs to be done

● When

● By whom

Not all pupils with a medical condition will require an IHP. It will be agreed with a healthcare professional and the parents when an IHP would be inappropriate or disproportionate. This will be based on evidence. If there is not a consensus, the headteacher will make the final decision.

Plans will be drawn up in partnership with the school, parents and a relevant healthcare professional, such as the school nurse, specialist or paediatrician, who can best advise on the pupil’s specific needs. The pupil will be involved wherever appropriate.

IHPs will be linked to Education, health and care (EHC) plan. If a pupil has SEND but does not have an EHC plan, the SEND will be mentioned in the IHP.

The level of detail in the plan will depend on the complexity of the child’s condition and how much support is needed. The governing board, the headteacher, SENCo and the Admin Assistant will consider the following when deciding what information to record on IHPs:

● 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, e.g. 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, including in emergencies. If a pupil is self-managing their medication, this will 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 pupil’s medical condition from a healthcare professional, and cover arrangements for when they are unavailable

● Who in the school needs to be aware of the pupil’s condition and the support required

● Arrangements for written permission from parents and the headteacher for medication to be administered by a member of staff, or self-administered by the pupil during school hours

● Separate arrangements or procedures required for school trips or other school activities outside of the normal school timetable that will ensure the pupil can participate, e.g. risk assessments

● Where confidentiality issues are raised by the parent/pupil, the designated individuals to be entrusted with information about the pupil’s condition

● What to do in an emergency, including who to contact, and contingency arrangements

7. Managing medicines

Prescription and non-prescription medicines will only be administered at school:

● When it would be detrimental to the pupil’s health or school attendance not to do so and ● Where we have parents’ written consent

● If we do not have written consent, verbal consent may be given but an administering medication form must be completed by the parent as soon as possible in retrospect

The only exception to this is where the medicine has been prescribed to the pupil without the knowledge of the parents.

Parents/carers must complete a form (see Appendix 3) giving consent and details of the medication to be administered. On the bottom of the form is a table - details of when medication is given must be recorded on here. When the parent/carer brings the completed form to the office, they will be asked when the medication was last administered and this needs to be recorded on the form. Anyone giving a pupil any medication (for example, for pain relief) will first check maximum dosages and when the previous dosage was taken. Parents will always be informed.

Pupils under 16 will not be given medicine containing aspirin unless prescribed by a doctor. The school will only accept prescribed medicines that are: 

● In-date

● Labelled

● Provided in the original container, as dispensed by the pharmacist, and include instructions for administration, dosage and storage

● The school will accept insulin that is inside an insulin pen or pump rather than its original container, but it must be in date. 

● All medicines will be stored safely. Pupils will be informed about where their medicines are at all times and be able to access them immediately. Medicines and devices such as asthma inhalers, blood glucose testing meters and adrenaline pens will always be readily available to pupils and not locked away. 

● Medicines will be returned to parents to arrange for safe disposal when no longer required or disposed through a pharmacy. 

7.1 Controlled drugs

Controlled drugs are prescription medicines that are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and subsequent amendments, such as morphine or methadone.

A pupil who has been prescribed a controlled drug may have it in their possession if they are competent to do so, but they must not pass it to another pupil to use. All other controlled drugs are kept in a secure cupboard in the school office and only named staff have access.

Controlled drugs will be easily accessible in an emergency and a record of any doses used and the amount held will be kept.

7.2 Pupils managing their own needs

Pupils who are competent will be encouraged to take responsibility for managing their own medicines and procedures. This will be discussed with parents and it will be reflected in their IHPs.

Pupils will be allowed to carry their own medicines and relevant devices wherever possible. Staff will not force a pupil to take a medicine or carry out a necessary procedure if they refuse, but will follow the procedure agreed in the IHP and inform parents so that an alternative option can be considered, if necessary.

7.3 Unacceptable practice

School staff should use their discretion and judge each case individually with reference to the pupil’s IHP, but it is generally not acceptable to: 

● Prevent pupils from easily accessing their inhalers and medication, and administering their medication when and where necessary (although individual staff are not obliged to administer medicine - its is voluntary)

● Assume that every pupil with the same condition requires the same treatment ● Ignore the views of the pupil or their parents

● Ignore medical evidence or opinion (although this may be challenged)

● Send children with medical conditions home frequently for reasons associated with their medical condition or prevent them from staying for normal school activities, including lunch, unless this is specified in their IHPs

● If the pupil becomes ill, send them to the school office or medical room unaccompanied or with someone unsuitable

● Penalise pupils for their attendance record if their absences are related to their medical condition, e.g. hospital appointments

● Prevent pupils from drinking, eating or taking toilet or other breaks whenever they need to in order to manage their medical condition effectively

● Require parents, or otherwise make them feel obliged, to attend school to administer medication or provide medical support to their pupil, including with toileting issues. No parent should have to give up working because the school is failing to support their child’s medical needs

● Prevent pupils from participating, or create unnecessary barriers to pupils participating in any aspect of school life, including school trips, e.g. by requiring parents to accompany their child

● Administer, or ask pupils to administer, medicine in school toilets

8. Emergency procedures

Staff will follow the school’s normal emergency procedures (for example, calling 999). All pupils’ IHPs will clearly set out what constitutes an emergency and will explain what to do.

If a pupil needs to be taken to hospital, staff will stay with the pupil until the parent arrives, or accompany the pupil to hospital by ambulance.

9. Training

Staff who are responsible for supporting pupils with medical needs will receive suitable and sufficient training to do so.

The training will be identified during the development or review of IHPs. Staff who provide support to pupils with medical conditions will be included in meetings where this is discussed.

The relevant healthcare professionals will lead on identifying the type and level of training required and will agree this with the headteacher. Training will be kept up to date.

Training will:

● Be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support the pupils

● Fulfil the requirements in the IHPs

● Help staff to have an understanding of the specific medical conditions they are being asked to deal with, their implications and preventative measures

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

All staff will receive training so that they are aware of this policy and understand their role in implementing it, for example, with preventative and emergency measures so they can recognise and act quickly when a problem occurs. This will be provided for new staff during their induction.

10. Record keeping

The governing board will ensure that written records are kept of all medicine administered to pupils. Parents will be informed if their pupil has been unwell at school. Records will be retained for the period of time recommended by the Information Records Management Society https://irms.org.uk/page/AcademiesToolkit 

IHPs are stored on ‘Provision Map' which all staff are aware of.

11. Liability and indemnity

The governing board will ensure that the appropriate level of insurance is in place and appropriately reflects the school’s level of risk.

The details of the school’s insurance policy are as follow:

Employers’ Liability Insurance - Zurich Municipal

Public Liability Insurance - Zurich Municipal 

Co-op Academy Co-op Academy Smithies Moor has been added to the Co-operative Academies Trusts’ Combined Personal Accident & Travel Policy

12. Complaints

Parents with a complaint about their child’s medical condition should discuss these directly with the class teacher in the first instance. If the class teacher cannot resolve the matter, they will direct parents to the school’s complaints procedure.

13. Monitoring arrangements

This policy will be reviewed and approved by the governing board annually.

14. Links to other policies

This policy links to the following policies:

● Accessibility plan

● Complaints

● Equality information and objectives

● First aid

● Health and safety

● Safeguarding

● Special educational needs information report and policy

Appendix 1- process to decide whether the pupil requires an IHP.

Appendix 2 - Individual Health Care Plan template.

_______________________ School Individual Child Specific Health Care Plan

Where a young person specific health needs indicate that a child specific care plan is reqrueid this

document will be completed by school, parents/carers and relevant health care professionals and

reviewed at agreed intervals.

NEXT REVIEW OF CARE PLAN ON: _______________________________________

This care plan has been prepared and agreed by relevant health care professionals, parents/carer of the child named in it  and school representatives, and will be reviewed at regular intervals to ensure it remains relevant. It is the parent’s responsibility to notify school of any relevant changes in their child’s needs.

Signature of Parent/Carer ………………….....……………Date……..........……………………………..…..

Signature of Health Care Professional: ..................................................................................................

Signature of School Representative:  .....................................................................................................

A PERSONAL EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLAN (PEEP) MAY ALSO BE REQUIRED 

Appendix 3 - parental agreement for setting to administer medicine

Appendix 4 - School asthma card

Appendix 5 - Pupil Information Sheet

POST CODE HOME TELEPHONE

MOBILE EMAIL ADDRESS

EMERGENCY CONTACT 1 EMERGENCY CONTACT 2

MEDICAL AND SEND INFORMATION