Medical Matters

Sometimes students may request or require pain relief (analgesics) at school e.g. Paracetamol or Ibuprofen. Generally, school staff will not give non-prescribed medication to pupils. This is because they may not know whether the pupil has taken a previous dose or whether the medication may interact with other medication being taken. If, however, the medical room first aider decides that the administration of pain relief will enable the student to remain at school there must be written or verbal consent from the parent.

In such cases a Parental Agreement Form (PAF1)  (see “Electronic Forms for Parents” below) should be completed and returned for the attention of “Medical Room First Aider”. Please ensure that the child has been given the stated medication without any adverse reaction in the past. In addition, it is essential that you are confident that the student is able to give accurate information to the first aider of any medications they have taken already on that day. You will always be informed on the same day, when such medication has been given either by details written in the planner or on an administration slip, if the student does not have their planner to hand.

Some parents may decide that their child is responsible enough to carry their own pain relieving medication. In such instances, a child should carry a single dose of medication, for their own use in their school bags. Consideration should be given to the choice of analgesia. A child under 16 should never be given aspirin unless prescribed. If the student suffers from pain and regularly takes medication, medical advice should be sought.

As with any medication, records must be kept of when pain relief has been administered. The agreement forms and medication will be stored and locked in the medical room, reviewed annually and destroyed once the student has left the school.

Very few medicines need to be taken during school hours and in most cases, the appropriate dosage of medicine can be “three times a day”, and can be administered before and after school.

If prescribed medications need to be administered during the school day, then please complete a Parental Agreement for School to Administer Prescribed Medication Form (PAF2) (see “Electronic Forms for Parents” below) and return for the attention of the Medical Room First Aider. Medicines must be in the pharmacist’s original container, clearly labelled with the student’s name and the dosage instructions.

Students requiring controlled drugs will not be able to carry their own medication, as this type of medication has to be kept in a locked cupboard. Please contact the medical room first aider to discuss.

Excluding emergency and ADHD medication, students are responsible for administering their own medications. Please ensure the medication is in its original packaging and they take as prescribed. If for any reason this is not appropriate please contact the medical room first aider to discuss in advance of the trip.

Asthmatic students must carry their inhalers at all times or leave them with a designated adult during PE lessons. We hold emergency spacers and Salbutamol for use in an emergency. If you would like the academy first aider to hold detailed information regarding your son or daughter’s condition, please print and complete the Asthma Card (see Downloads below) and return for the attention of the Medical Room First Aider.

For a copy of our Asthma Policy, please see Medical Policy Downloads below.

Students requiring Emergency medication for Anaphylaxis will have their Individual Health Care plan stored in the Medical Room. Students who have been prescribed an EPIPEN / JEXT must carry their two devices with them at all times. These must be taken on day, residential trips and sports fixtures.

From 1 October 2017 the Human Medicines Regulations 2017 allow all schools to buy adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) devices without a prescription, for emergency use in children who are at risk of anaphylaxis if their own device is not available or not working (e.g. because it is broken, or out-of-date). We now store an Emergency anaphylaxis kit (Epipens 300mgs) for use in emergencies. It is imperative that the school is notified if your prescription is different for any reason. Please refer to the medical conditions policy for further details.

We currently have several students at St John’s who have severe allergic reaction to nuts and other products. The allergy to nuts is the most common high risk allergen and, as such, we would request that students do not come to St John’s with lunches that contain whole nuts or nut spreads, for example, peanut butter or similar nut based spread, or bars that contain nuts, in order to help minimise the unlikely risk that these children may accidentally come into contact with nuts and suffer a severe allergic reaction.

Please refer to the schools Allergens Policy (see Downloads below) for further details.

Students who have epilepsy rescue medication will have an Individual Health Care Plan and medication stored in the Medical Room. Please ensure the medication is within date and any changes to the care plan or medication is communicated to the Medical Room First Aider.

Students that have diabetes will have their Individual Health Care Plan supplied by their diabetes specialist team. Your son or daughter will have space to store additional kit and emergency supplies within the Medical room. Please keep the medical room first aider informed of any developments or changes to treatment as required.

Please do not hesitate to contact the medical room first aider to discuss any issues relating to the health and wellbeing of the students.

If you would like further information, please refer to The Medical Conditions policies available on our Policies & Finance page (in the About Us drop-down menu in the vertical navigation on the left).