Policy Statement
Mengham Junior School will undertake to ensure compliance with the relevant legislation and guidance in Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings published by the Department of Health with regard to procedures for supporting children with medical requirements, including managing medicines. Odele Davies and Edd Harrison, who are the responsible managers, hold responsibility for all administration of medicines at Mengham Junior School. Delegation for the day-to-day administration of prescribed medicines is given to Stephanie Latham. All new parents are required to complete a questionnaire regarding Medical Information.
It is our policy to ensure that all medical information will be treated confidentially by the responsible managers and staff. All administration of medicines is arranged and managed in accordance with the Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings document. All staff have a duty of care to follow and co-operate with the requirements of this policy. It should be read in conjunction with the policy Supporting Children with Medical Conditions.
The Headteachers will check record keeping each term and report back to the resources committee. The Health and Safety Governors’ team will monitor this as part of their annual audit.
Aims & Objectives
Our administration of medicine requirements will be achieved by:
- Establishing principles for safe practice in the management and administration of:
- prescribed medicines
- non-prescribed medicines
- maintenance drugs
- emergency medicine
- Providing clear guidance to all staff on the administration of medicines
- Ensuring that there are sufficient numbers of appropriately trained staff to manage and administer medicines
- Ensuring that there are suitable and sufficient facilities and equipment available to aid the safe management and administration of medicines
- Ensuring the above provisions are clear and shared with all who may require them
- Ensuring the policy is reviewed periodically or following any significant change which may affect the management or administration of medicines
Administration
The administration of medicines is the overall responsibility of the parents. The Headteachers are responsible for ensuring children are supported with their medical needs whilst on site, and this may include managing medicines where appropriate and agreed with parents.
Routine Administration
Prescribed medicines
- It is our policy to manage prescribed medicines (eg. antibiotics, inhalers) where appropriate following consultation and agreement with, and written consent from the parents. Inhalers are kept in the child’s classroom cupboards in a named bag. A child may access these when required.
Non-prescribed medicines
- It is our general policy not to take responsibility for the administration of non-prescribed medicines, (eg. Calpol or cough mixtures provided by the parents) as this responsibility rests with the parents.
- On occasions when children require paracetamol, it is our policy to administer providing that written consent from the parents has been received in advance and administration is in accordance with guidance provided in the Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings document.
- Before being administered, parents are contacted for verbal permission checking when they last had paracetamol and whether it may interact with other medication the pupil may be on. A record sheet is completed of the phone calls/text messages made, recording who was contacted, date, time, reason and phone number.
- Children under 16 years old are never to be administered aspirin or medicines containing Ibruprofen unless prescribed by a doctor.
- Responsibility for decision-making about the administration of all non-prescribed medicines will always be at the discretion of the responsible manager who may decide to administer under certain miscellaneous or exceptional circumstances.
Maintenance drugs
- It is our policy to manage the administration of maintenance drugs (eg. Insulin) as appropriate following consultation and agreement with, and written consent from the parents. On such occasions, a health care plan will be written for the child concerned.
Controlled Drugs (CD’s)
All schedule 2 controlled drugs must be kept in a non-portable locked container and only named staff should have access. The container should only contain controlled drugs. A second member of staff must provide witness to the drug being administered. Parents/carers sign when the balance of drugs is returned to them.
The controlled drugs form is used for recording as it requires the balance of the drugs to be recorded.
Non-Routine Administration
Emergency medicine
- It is our policy (where appropriate) to manage the administration of emergency medicines such as (for example):
- Injections of adrenaline for acute allergic reactions
- Oral medication for major fits
- Injections of Glucagan for diabetic hypoglycaemia
- In all cases, professional training and guidance from a competent source will be received before commitment to such administration is accepted.
Procedure for Administration
When deciding upon the administration of medicine needs for children we will discuss this with the parents concerned and make reasonable decisions about the level of care required.
Any child required to have medicines will have an ‘administration of medicines/treatment’ consent form completed by the parent and kept on file.
Individual health care plans will be completed for children where required and reviewed periodically in discussion with the parents to ensure their continuous suitability.
For any child receiving medicines, a ‘record of prescribed medicines’ sheet will be completed each time the medicine is administered and this will be kept on file.
Oral syringes are the most accurate method of measuring liquids. They come with a plastic adapter. Both the syringe and the adapter can be washed in fresh warm soapy water for repeated use.
If a child refuses to take medication, the parents will be informed at the earliest available opportunity.
Staff sign all record sheets in full.
When administering medicines, staff will ask the pupil their name and then follow the following check list:
- Touch the pupil’s name on the pharmacy label and the administering medicine chart – do they match?
- Touch the name of the medicine on the label and the administering medicine chart – do they match?
- Touch the strength of the medicine on the label and the administering medicine chart – do they match?
- Touch the form of the medicine on the label administering medicine chart – do they match?
- Touch the directions on the label and the administering medicine chart – do they match?
- Check the expiry date/discard-by-date – is the item in date?
Paperwork Retention
All paperwork relating to a child’s medical needs including record sheets and permission forms etc. are to be sent with the pupil’s other records when a pupil leaves our school.
Contacting Emergency Services
When a medical condition causes the child to become ill and/or requires emergency administration of medicines, then an ambulance will be summoned at the earliest opportunity.
Informing parents
Parents will be informed by phone if their child has been seriously injured or is unwell at school and requires collection. In the event of a head bump, or another more serious physical injury, a letter will be sent home to inform parents so they can monitor at the child at home (see appendix). For children who are looked after (LAC) a letter will always be sent home informing carers of injuries, even less significant injuries.
Medical Accommodation
The medical room will be used for medicine administration/treatment purposes. The room will be made available when required.
Training
Where staff are required to carry out non-routine or more specialised administration of medicines or emergency treatment to children, appropriate professional training and guidance from a competent source will be sought before commitment to such administration is accepted. A ‘staff training record’ sheet will be completed to document the level of training undertaken. Such training will form part of the overall training plan and refresher training will be scheduled at appropriate intervals. A standard risk assessment will be carried out annually.
Insurance
Staff at the school are indemnified under the County Council self-insurance arrangements. The County Council is self-insured and have extended this self-insurance to indemnify school staff who have agreed to administer medication or undertake a medical procedure to children. To meet the requirements of the indemnification, we will ensure that staff at the school have parents’ permission for administering medicines and members of staff will have had training on the administration of the medication or medical procedure.
Storage
The storage of medicines is the overall responsibility of the Headteachers who will ensure that arrangements are in place to store medicines safely. The storage of medicines will be undertaken in accordance with the Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Setting document and product instructions. Medicines should be stored in the original container in which they were dispensed.
It is the responsibility of all staff to ensure that the received medicine container is clearly labelled with the name of the child, the name and dose of the medicine and the frequency of administration. It is the responsibility of the parents to provide medicine that is in date. This should be agreed with the parents at the time of acceptance of on-site administration responsibilities. When receiving medicine from parents/carers, staff record the date the medicine is received and the date it is returned, the quantity and its expiry date.
When a medicine is opened for the first time it is best practice to record the date it was opened.
| Item | Shelf life once opened |
| Oral liquids | 6 months |
| Creams packed in tubes | 3 months |
| Creams in jars/pots | 1 month |
| Ointments packed in tubes | 6 months |
| Ointments packed in jars/pots | 3 months |
| Eye drops (that contain preservatives) | 28 days |
Fridge
Due to storing insulin and antibiotics in the Medical Room fridge, daily minimum and maximum temperatures are recorded.
Disposal
It is not Mengham Junior School’s responsibility to dispose of medicines. It is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that all medicines no longer required, including those which have date-expired, are returned to a pharmacy for safe disposal. ‘Sharps boxes’ will always be used for the disposal of needles. Collection and disposal of the boxes will be arranged locally as appropriate.
Administration of Medicines Policy (Review Aut 2022)