Academies Enterprise Trust - Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions

Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions

Aims

This policy aims to ensure that:

Pupils, staff and parents understand how AET schools will support pupils with medical conditions
Pupils with medical conditions are appropriately supported to allow them to access the same education as other pupils, including school trips and sporting activities.
It is recognised that every pupil with a medical condition is different and should be treated as an individual.

Each academy will implement this policy by:

Completing the Responsibilities, Contact and Local Arrangement Template and publishing this on the statutory information page of their academy website
Making sure sufficient staff are suitably trained
Making staff aware of pupils’ condition, where appropriate
Making sure there are cover arrangements to ensure someone is always available to support pupils with medical conditions
Developing and monitoring individual healthcare plans (IHPs)

Legislation and statutory responsibilities

This policy meets the requirements under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which places a duty on proprietors to make arrangements for supporting pupils at their school with medical conditions. It is based on the Department for Education’s statutory guidance: Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions 2014 and should be applied in conjunction with the SEND Code of Practice.

Pupils' medical needs may be broadly summarised as being of two types:

Short-term affecting their participation at school because they are on a course of medication or medical treatment.

Long-term potentially limiting access to education and requiring ongoing support, medicines or care while at school to help them to manage their condition and keep them well, including monitoring and intervention in emergency circumstances.

It is important that parents feel confident that the school will provide effective support for their child's medical condition and that pupils feel safe.

Where pupils have a disability, the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 will apply. For pupils who have medical conditions that require an EHC Plan, compliance with The SEND Code of Practice will ensure compliance with this guidance and respect to those children.

Early Years settings should continue to apply The Statutory framework for Early Years settings.

The Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees holds and delegates responsibility to the Leadership Team to ensure that arrangements are in place to support pupils with medical conditions. In making these arrangements the Leadership Team should take into account that many medical conditions requiring support at school can affect quality of life and may be life threatening. They should therefore ensure that the focus is on the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on their school life.

The Principal

The Principal will:

Have the overall responsibility to oversee the management and provision of support for pupils with medical conditions
Ensure arrangements are made as to how the schools policy will be implemented effectively, including a named person who has overall responsibility for policy 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 such as cover absence and staff turnover
Make sure that academy staff are appropriately insured and aware that they are insured to support pupils in this way as per liability and indemnity set out below
Ensure that systems are in place for obtaining information about a pupil’s medical needs and that this information is kept up to date, kept and shared according to the Data Protection (GDPR) policy
Make sure all staff are aware of this policy and understand their role in its implementation, and that they know they can find it on the Statutory Information page of their academy website.
Ensure that pupils are not denied a school place on the basis of a medical condition unless a pupil's illness is detrimental to the health of others.

The Designated Lead

The Designated Lead will:

Take overall responsibility for the development, monitoring and reviewing of Individual Healthcare Plans, working together with parents, pupils, healthcare professionals and other agencies.
Inform relevant staff of medical conditions (including briefing supply staff).
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
Assist with risk assessments for school visits, transitions and other activities outside of the normal timetable
Make arrangements for the training of identified staff
Ensure that staff are aware of the need to communicate necessary information about medical conditions and where appropriate, taking the lead in communicating this information to other staff members, for example catering staff may need to be notified of specific food allergies and the need for labelling of food likely to be high risk, such as nuts and related allergies.
Seek advice from any relevant healthcare professionals if required.

All staff

Teachers and support staff are responsible for the day to day management of the medical conditions of pupils they work with, in line with training received and as set out in IHPs.

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.

Teachers and support staff will work with the Designated Lead in ensuring that risk assessments are carried out for school visits and other activities outside the normal timetable and provide information to supply staff who will be covering their role when this is known in advance.

Parents

Parents are expected to:

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

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.

School nurses and other healthcare professionals

The school nurse or other healthcare professional 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 paediatricians, will liaise with the schools nurses and notify them of any pupils identified as having a medical condition.

Local Authorities

Local authorities are the commissioners of school nurses and under Section 10 of The Children Act 2004, they have a duty to promote cooperation between relevant partners and must make joint commissioning arrangements for education, health and care plan provision for children and young people with SEN or disabilities.

Day trips, residential visits and sporting activities

Schools should consider what reasonable adjustments need to be made to enable pupils with medical conditions to participate fully and safely on school trips, visits and sporting activities according to AET's Offsite Educational Trips and Visits policy

Risk assessments must 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.

Process following notification 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 individual healthcare plan (IHP). This process follows the guidance within the DfE Supporting pupils with medical conditions.

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 the school.

Process for developing IHPs

Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs)

The Principal has overall responsibility for the development of IHPs for pupils with medical conditions and will appoint a designated lead person to administer IHPs.

Example templates for IHPs are provided (follow this link),

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. Where appropriate, 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, or become part of, any education, health and care (EHC) plan. If a pupil has special educational needs or disability (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 school 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 / Principal 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
Roles and responsibilities of all those involved.

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 parents have provide written consent to do so

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

Pupils under 16 will not be given medicine containing aspirin unless prescribed by a doctor.

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.

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 metres and adrenaline pens will always be readily available to pupils and not locked away.

Record Keeping

The Principal/Headteacher will ensure that written records are kept of all medicine administered to pupils. Link here to an Administration of Medication form.

IHPs must be kept in a readily accessible place which all staff are aware of.

Medicines will be returned to parents to arrange for safe disposal when no longer required.

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.

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.

Food Allergies

Schools must ensure that needs are met for pupils with food allergies. Besides ensuring that IHPs for these pupils are shared with all staff including catering contractors as appropriate, the school will seek further information and advice from guidelines for schools at Allergy UK.

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 for each individual pupil and will set out and explain what to do. IHPs must be kept in a readily accessible place which all staff are aware of.

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.

Schools are advised to consider purchasing a defibrillator as part of their first aid equipment. See DfE arrangements to assist schools who wish to purchase at a reduced cost.

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.

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
Be kept up to date

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.

Liability and indemnity insurance

Insurance arrangements which cover staff providing support to pupils with medical conditions including liability cover relating to the administration of medication is provided under the Risk Protection Arrangements (RPA) for Academy Trusts

For any queries regarding insurance cover, contact procurement@acacdemiesenterprisetrust.org.

Complaints

Should parents be unhappy with any aspect of their child’s care, they must discuss their concerns with the school. This will be with the child’s class teachers in the first instance, with whom any issues should be addressed. If this does not resolve the problem or allay the concern, the problem should be brought to the designated lead or a member of the school leadership team, who will, where necessary, bring concerns to the attention of the Headteacher / Principal. In the unlikely event of this not resolving the issue, the parent must make a formal complaint using AET's Complaints Policy.

This policy will next be reviewed in June 2023.