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First Aid Information
The school has trained first aiders who are able to deal with minor injuries and children who are taken ill in school. Parents/carers who do not want their child treated by a first aider for minor injuries must write to the school stating this.
What happens if a child feels unwell during the school day?
Students who are unwell during the school day must report concerns to their class teacher or a break/lunchtime adult, so a first aider can assess them. The first aider will contact home if there are concerns about carrying on during the school day and/or in the case of serious illness or injury.
What happens if my child needs medication during the school day?
Students should not carry any medication on them. Emergency medication, such as epi-pens or asthma pumps will be stored in the classroom and taken with the child if they are offsite. All other medication should be brought into the school office first thing in the morning, in the orginal packaging.
In order for school to hold or administer any short or long term medication (including epi-pens and asthma pumps), parents must complete an Authorisation Form for Prescribed Medication.
Medicines required by students during school hours may be administered/supervised by the school’s first aider acting in loco parentis. School will only administer prescribed antibiotic medication if there is a requirement for it to be taken four times per day.
Some medication (i.e. controlled drugs) that requires locking away, is stored in the school office.
Parents are able to come into school during the day to administer non-prescribed medication, such as calpol.
Authorisation Forms for Prescribed Medication can be found here.
What sort of things can be treated or assessed by the first aider?
- Complaints about feeling hot or running a temperature
- Sickness
- Nosebleeds
- Insect stings/bites
- Burns or scalds
- Accidental injuries
- Rashes
- Minor Head Injuries
What common ailments can the first aider NOT treat?
- Sore throats, coughs and colds; as a school we do not hold any cough mixtures, throat sweets or any other remedies.
- Hay fever; we can only offer saline solution to bathe their eyes.
- Headaches/migraines; we can only offer cold water and somewhere quiet to rest
The school can not provide paracetamol, aspirins or other medications. Similarly, we are not allowed to administer antiseptic creams or lotions.
Asthma Attacks
What happens if my child has an Asthma attack at school?
Asthma is a common long-term condition that can cause coughing, wheezing, chest tightness and breathlessness.
If your child has asthma, please ensure that he/she has their Asthma pump in school with them at all times. The school is responsible for ensuring the Asthma pump follows the child offsite.
The severity of these symptoms varies from person to person. Asthma can be controlled well in most people most of the time, although some people may have more persistent problems. Occasionally, asthma symptoms can get gradually or suddenly worse. This is known as an "asthma attack", although doctors sometimes use the term "exacerbation".
Severe attacks may require hospital treatment. In such cases, the school would place an emergency call and also contact parents/carers.
Further information about asthma can be found at:
Head Injuries
What happens if my child suffers a head injury?
If your child experiences a knock or bump to the head, we aim to gather us much information as possible about the circumstances. We then assess to see whether there is any mark or bruising. We will ask the child a simple series of questions to check their alertness.
The first aid team will make an assessment to determine whether your child is fit to remain in school or whether further medical observation is required.
If an assessment determines that your child is fit to remain in school, you will receive a 'head bump' slip at the end of the day, explaining more about what happened and any treatment received.
In cases where we feel your child needs to be collected from school or has a visible mark/bruising/swelling, we will contact you to make you aware.
In the case of a serious head injury, the school would place an emergency call and also contact parents/carers.
Further information can be found at:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/head-injury-minor/Pages/Introduction.aspx