Our School
Medical and Surgery
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The health and wellbeing of our students is a top priority. This page provides important information for parents about the school’s surgery medical care, procedures and important medication / consent forms.
Where is the school surgery?
The surgery is located close to Main Reception, adjacent to Main House at the bottom of the steps up to Bradbury Heights.
How do I contact the school nurse?
You can telephone the school nurse directly on 01252 792303 (option 2) or email us at [email protected]
When is the surgery open?
The surgery is open between 8am – 5.30pm Monday-Thursday and 8am – 4.30pm on Fridays during term-time. Outside of these hours, staff who are trained first-aiders are able to give emergency first aid to someone who is injured or becomes ill at school.
Who works in the surgery?
Our registered nurse, Anne Jenkins, works in the surgery from Monday to Friday.
Who can see the school nurse?
Any pupil or member of staff can self-refer to the school nurse during surgery opening hours. However, pupils are discouraged from leaving lessons with minor complaints.
What medical facilities are there at the school?
The school has an Automated External defibrillator (AED) which is located in the surgery waiting room. The waiting room is kept unlocked and the AED is accessible 24 hours a day.
There are over 50 first-aid boxes and 3 emergency asthma and anaphylaxis kits strategically located around the school site.
The surgery has a small sick-bay with a bed, which is used for unwell pupils waiting for a parent or guardian to take them home.
In addition to the school nurse, there are approximately 30 members of the staff who are fully trained first aiders.
My son needs to take medication during the school day. How does he do this?
Parents must inform the school nurse if their child develops a medical condition which will require either prescription or non-prescription medication to be taken at school.
The school requests that medication is only taken at school if it is essential; that it is where it would be detrimental to the pupil’s health not to administer the medication during the school day. Where possible, medicines should be taken at home, before and/or after attending school.
If a pupil requires regular prescribed or non-prescribed medication at school, parents are asked to provide written consent giving the trained staff permission to administer medication on a regular/daily basis using the Consent for medication to be given at school form (download from the bottom of this page).
If a pupil’s medication changes or is discontinued, parents should notify the school immediately. No verbal orders will be accepted for a change in dose or frequency of an already prescribed drug unless an accompanying fax or email, or otherwise written instruction is received.
All medication brought into school should be in its original packaging, labelled with the pupil’s name, the name of the medication, the expiry date and the prescriber’s instructions for administration, including dose and frequency.
Parents of pupils at the school are asked to collect out-of-date medication or medication no longer in use.
School residential trips information
Parents are sent an online Residential Trip Form to be completed before their child leaves for an overnight or extended day visit. This form requests up-to-date information about the pupil’s current condition and their overall health. It also requests information about medication not normally taken during school hours and asks parents for consent, giving the trained staff permission to administer medication on the trip.
All medication should be delivered to the surgery, in normal circumstances by the parent, in the original packaging as originally dispensed, at least two weeks before the trip. The school will not accept items of medication in unlabelled containers.
Medication submitted to the school surgery will be checked and dispensed into clearly named and photograph-identified medicine boxes by the school nurse prior to the trip.
The school will keep records of all medications administered, which will be available for parents as required.
Except in unforeseen circumstances, medications brought into school on the day of the trip’s departure will not be able to accompany your child. This could prevent your child departing on the school trip.
My son has a diagnosed medical condition and will require support at school. How will this work?
Children with a medical condition will have an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP), if deemed appropriate, which details exactly what their needs are and who will help them.
The school nurse will liaise with parents and the child’s paediatric specialist nurse to ensure children with medical conditions are getting the right support at school.
Parents should provide up-to-date information about their child’s needs and all the supplies needed to manage their child’s condition in school.
No child with a medical condition should be excluded from any part of the school curriculum.
Every child with a medical condition should have access to extracurricular activities, including overnight stays and trips abroad.
All school staff who work with groups of pupils will receive annual training and know what to do in an emergency for pupils in their care with medical conditions.
During examinations, specific plans are likely to be included in that year’s version of the pupil’s IHP and agreed between the school, the child and their parents.
Children with medical conditions will not be penalised for poor attendance when absence is related to their condition.
My son has an adrenaline pen. How does this work in practice?
Pupils should have their own adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) on them at school for use in the event of a severe allergic reaction. It is the parent’s responsibility to ensure this AAI is within its expiry date.
Parents are requested to supply an additional AAI to the school surgery, and it will be the nurse’s responsibility to ensure this pen is within its expiry date.
The school keeps five spare AAIs for use in an emergency when a pupil’s own AAI is unavailable or has expired. The spare AAIs can only be used by pupils:
- Known to be at risk of anaphylaxis and have medical authorisation;
- Who have been prescribed an AAI;
- For whom written parental consent for use of the emergency AAI has been given.
What do we do with household medications?
The school approves a list of medicines whereby the registered nurse, and those members of the staff who have been assessed as competent to administer medicines and trained as such, are authorised to administer some medicines at their own discretion (List of approved medications below).
Members of the staff may only administer the household medications if the parents have already provided their written consent for this to happen and only if there is a health reason to do so. All such intervention is recorded.
Parents will only be informed about the administration of the household medications at school if a pupil requests medication during more than two consecutive days or if there is a danger of the pupil being overdosed on their returning home.
What do I do if my son is asthmatic and/or is prescribed a reliver inhaler?
Pupils should have their own reliever inhaler on them at school for use in the event of an acute asthma attack.
Where it is appropriate to do so, pupils will be encouraged to administer their own inhaler under staff supervision.
It is the parent’s responsibility to renew the pupil’s inhaler when the canister is empty and to ensure the inhaler is within its expiry date.
The school keeps five spare Salbutamol inhalers, for use in emergencies when a pupil’s inhaler is unavailable, broken, empty or has expired.
The emergency Salbutamol inhaler can only be used by children:
- Who have been diagnosed with Asthma, and prescribed an inhaler;
- And who have been prescribed a reliever inhaler;
- And for whom written parental consent for use of the emergency inhaler has been given in advance (consent form below).
What happens with a head injury?
If your son sustains a knock to the head at school, he will be seen by one of the school nurses and a notification will be sent to parents.
If symptoms of concussion are experienced following a head injury, the incident will be recorded in the Return2Play system, allowing parents to book an online appointment with a concussion specialist.
What do we do about dietary requirements?
If your son has specific dietary requirements, please contact the school nurse. We will liaise with the kitchen staff and make any necessary arrangements.
The school is a NUT FREE environment, because we have several boys who have severe nut allergies. Parents are asked to be very careful about snacks brought into the school, and to read the food labels carefully. Items in pupils’ possession containing nut traces will be confiscated by the staff.
Information about confidentiality
The school surgery provides a safe environment where pupils can seek advice and support and can trust the school nurse with private and personal information. The nurse will respect a pupil’s right to confidentiality. The only time when this confidentiality may be breached is when the nurse feels that it is in the child’s best interests or in the public interest.
Information about diarrhoea and vomiting illnesses
If your son has experienced diarrhoea and / or vomiting they should not return to school for 48 hours from the last episode.
Information on headlice
Although exclusion from school is not required, if live lice have been seen, treatment should be started before sending your son to school. In addition, the school nurse should be informed so that a communication can be sent out to advise other pupils’ parents to increase their vigilance.
Information on conjunctivitis
Exclusion from the school is not necessary and eye drops can be instilled in the school surgery by the nurse (see ‘My son needs to take medication during the school day’ section above).
Information on rashes and skin infections
Infection or complaint | Recommended period to be kept away from school. | Comments |
Athlete’s foot | None. | Athlete’s foot is not a serious condition. Treatment is recommended. |
Chickenpox | Until all vesicles have crusted over. |
|
Cold sores, (Herpes simplex) | None. | Avoid kissing and contact with the sores. Cold sores are generally mild and self-limiting. |
German measles (rubella) | Four days from onset of rash. | Preventable by immunisation (MMR x2 doses). |
Impetigo | Until lesions are crusted and healed, or 48 hours after starting antibiotic treatment. | Antibiotic treatment speeds healing and reduces the infectious period. |
Measles | Four days from onset of rash. | Preventable by vaccination (MMR x2). |
Molluscum contagiosum | None. | A self-limiting condition. |
Ringworm | Exclusion not required. | Treatment is required. |
Scabies | Child can return after first treatment. | Household and close contacts require treatment. |
Scarlet fever | Child can return 24 hours after starting appropriate antibiotic treatment. | Antibiotic treatment is recommended for the affected child. |
Shingles | Exclude only if rash is weeping and cannot be covered. | Can cause chickenpox in those who are not immune, i.e. have not had chickenpox. It is spread by very close contact and touch. |
Warts and verrucae | None.
| Verrucae should be covered in swimming pools, gymnasiums and changing rooms. |