Every day vaccination saves lives and makes it possible for Victorians to live free from the illness and disability caused by many infectious diseases. All Year 7 and 10 Victorian secondary students can receive these vaccines for free.
The Secondary School Vaccine Program offers free vaccines to help make sure students and communities are protected from diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, human papillomavirus (HPV) and meningococcal A,C,W,Y.
Local councils deliver the program and schools distribute the information and consent card booklets.
The Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2009 authorises secondary schools to provide their local council with student and parent/guardian contact information for any student scheduled to receive a vaccination. This information assists local councils to follow-up parents/guardians of students with incomplete or missing consent cards.
Schools provide the following basic student and parent/guardian contact information:
Student name, gender, date of birth, year level, class, language(s) spoken at home
Parent/guardian names, phone numbers, email and postal addresses
To ensure all Year 7 and 10 students are offered the opportunity to access free vaccinations at school.
To improve communication with parents/guardians regarding their child’s vaccination needs
To reduce the administrative burden on school staff to follow-up consent cards
What do I need to do?
Your information will be provided to Wyndham Council in March 2021. If you do not wish for your details to be provided, please advise the college Secondary Principal, Ms. Renee Liprino, in writing before 24 February 2021.
Read the information provided in your child’s consent card booklet and complete all sections, regardless of whether or not you consent for your child to be vaccinated as part of the school-based program.
Detach Part A of the consent card booklet with all fields completed, and return to school.
For further information please go to the following links:
If a student has any ongoing medical condition for example: Asthma, Anaphylaxis, Diabetes, Epilepsy etc, details of the condition should be noted on their enrolment form/school record and the relevant medication, provided to First Aid. Any supporting information can also be provided.
If you feel unwell during the school day, you can ask your teacher for a pass to visit the secondary wellbeing hub. Here the sick bay attendant will assess you and call home to arrange transport home.
Students may not leave unless permission has been provided by the parents.
If any medication, (short-term or long-term) is provided to the school or brought to school by a student, a ‘Medication Authority Form’ is required to be completed and signed by a parent/guardian.
This form can be obtained from the school office or First Aid (located in the Burley Griffin Office on Minindee Road) OR you can call the front office where one can be emailed to you.
Once completed, the form and medication can be provided to First Aid.
All medication, including Epipens, need to be in date as expired medication is unable to be dispensed.
First Aid will write to parents/guardians when stored medication is due to expire to request a replacement.
In relation to medical conditions (other than Anaphylaxis) a Student Health Support Plan will need to be completed by parents/guardians and the school.
Please see www2.education.vic.gov.au OR the link on the right and if this applies to your child, complete the form and make a time to see a school representative or the First Aid Manager . If support to complete the form is required please make an appointment by calling Administration to come and speak to someone.
A Student Health Support Plan must be completed for each student with an identified health care need, other than anaphylaxis or an allergy (see Anaphylaxis and Allergies about the requirements for those conditions).
To develop a Student Health Support Plan, schools must:
work with families to develop the plan, guided by advice from the student’s treating medical/health practitioner
include actions in the plan as to how the school will support the student’s health care needs
communicate regularly with parents about the student’s health care needs at the school and update the plan if necessary.
Students with Asthma, Diabetes, or Epilepsy need to provide their (condition specific) health management plan to the school, and have a Student Health Support Plan developed, which outlines how the school will support the student’s health care needs.
(Download as word doc)
For students with Diabetes, a Management Plan, hypo kit, medication and all other supplies need to be provided to First Aid.
If the student is self-managed, it’s always a good idea to have an emergency supply kept in First Aid should it be required.
For each student diagnosed with epilepsy, schools must have in place:
Student Health Support Plan — outlining the schools role in supporting the student’s health needs (including epilepsy)
Medication Authority Form — for a student who requires regular (non-emergency) medication(s) to be administered at school and ensure a log is kept of any medicine administered
Epilepsy Management Plan — signed by the treating doctor and provided to the school by the student’s parents/carers
Emergency Medication Management Plan (if required) — signed by a doctor and provided by the student’s parents/carers
For each student that has been prescribed emergency medication, an up-to-date individual emergency medication kit must be easily accessible.
The College will call an ambulance immediately if:
we do not know the student
it is the student’s first seizure
there is no epilepsy management plan
a serious injury has occurred
the seizure occurs in water
we have reason to believe the student may be pregnant
other factors outlined on the epilepsy management plan are occurring
For each student diagnosed with asthma, schools must have a written:
Asthma Action Plan provided by the student’s parents or carers
Student Health Support Plan
A copy of the students ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis (prepared by a medical or nurse practitioner) must be obtained from the parent or carer and held by the school. The plan outlines the student’s known severe allergies and the emergency procedures to be taken in the event of an allergic reaction.
It is the parent/carer(s) responsibility to provide the school with a copy of their child's ASCIA Action Plan for Anaphylaxis and an up-to-date photo of the student — to be appended to this plan — and to inform the school if their child's medical condition changes.
An ASCIA Action Plan for Allergic Reactions (Green Plan) is a document completed by the student’s medical practitioner and is for students who have mild to moderate allergies.
It is the responsibility of parents or carers to provide a copy of their child’s Green Plan to the school.
Schools must develop an Individual Allergic Reactions Management Plan for students who have a Green Plan and this plan should be reviewed annually.
Schools are not required to complete an Individual Allergic Reactions Management Plan for every student who has allergies – this is only required for students whose medical practitioner has completed a Green Plan which has been supplied to the school by parents or carers
Any queries can be directed to the school office or to Michelle Shepherdson.