Do you have a child in your school with a serious medical condition such as asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, anaphylaxis. Or even more complex conditions?
Are you sure all your staff working with this child can manage their medication, fully understand their condition and spot any worrying symptoms, know where and how their medication is stored, when it expires and what they are giving them and why?
So often I have teaching staff arrive at my classes with no real prior understanding of a child’s medical problem in their class or under their care, how to manage this and they simply don’t know what is in the medication they give them and why.
It’s important that children with medical conditions don’t miss out on school life and get the same opportunities as every other child. So that’s where you as teachers and school staff get together with parents and health professionals by working together to ensure the child has an individual healthcare plan, which we’ll talk about later. Serious medical emergencies can be avoided, time away from school is limited and less stress all round for both the child, parent and school.
Not only should your team know about serious medical conditions but also be confident in dealing with the unexpected emergencies and minor injuries too. Only this year a child choked at a school in Reading. Thankfully the staff were well trained to deal with the situation but not everyone is and three years is a long time to wait between the three year mandatory paediatric first aid certificate so refreshing skills is a must.
Every school has a responsibility for managing medicines in the workplace. Child Matters can help as we offer classroom learning and online training for individuals or groups on a public course or an in-house setting. This specialist training not only teaches school staff how to recognise signs and treat these conditions but also gives training on how to store, dispose of, monitor and administer medication such as Epi-pens.
These are a few of the courses we teach:-
Just email us for a detailed description of each course type, length and cost. More than 12 staff? No worries, we run courses with additional trainers for larger groups, up to 60 candidates in one day.
For further information or to book a private course at your school, contact Claire Street on 07788720612 or email contact@childmatters.info to discuss your individual requirements.
Alternatively you can view our public listed courses and attend as an individual. These classes are held across the country in Bucks, Berks, Herts, Oxon to name a few. Take a look at public courses here.
It says what care the child needs in school, when they need it and who is going to give it. Together with input from the child, parents, school staff and healthcare specialists it should include information on the impact any health condition may have on the child’s learning, behaviour or classroom performance. The IHP can be thought of as a type of written agreement that’s drawn up with school, so it needs to be as detailed as possible and kept updated as needs change. The Health Conditions in Schools Alliance offers downloadable IHP and care plans for individual conditions like allergies.
• Written permission from parent and the head teacher for any medication to be administered by a member of staff, or self-administered by your child during school hours.
• Exactly what help the child needs, what they can do themselves and what they need from somebody else.
• Who is going to give that help and when.
• Details of any medication needed, the dose needed, when it’s needed and the procedure for using any equipment.
• Details of any testing the child needs to do, the procedures involved and the action to be taken depending on the result.
• Description of the symptoms and possible triggers which requires urgent attention (eg asthma attack, seizure, anaphylaxis, hypo). What staff will do if any of these occurs. Include what parent/carer should be contacted and when an ambulance should be called.
• The things that need to be done before, during or after PE.
• Details of where medication and other supplies will be stored and who will have access to them. Include what supplies will be needed, how often the supplies should be checked and by whom.
• Any support needed around the child’s educational, emotional and social needs, eg how absences will be managed, support for catching up with lessons or any counselling arrangements.
• A description of the training that has been given to whom.
• Any details of when the child needs to eat meals and snacks, what help they need around meal or snack time, eg whether they need to go to the front of the lunch queue or have any other special arrangement around meal/snack time.
• What plans need to be put in place for any school trips (including overnight) or other school activities outside of the normal timetable.
It needn’t be a daunting process so don’t forget help. The Health Conditions in Schools Alliance provide downloadable templates to make the process of completing a IHP easier and a handy diagram to help schools identify the steps they need to take. Particularly useful for making plans if children are away from school for long periods and for when they later return.
And don’t forget to ensure first aid training is up to date for new and existing staff.
