Medicines in school

We are happy to give medicines to children, oviding that:

• The medicines are prescribed by a doctor
• You complete a consent form
• The medicine is brought in the original container from the chemist and is labelled with the child’s name, the name of the medicine, the dose and any other instructions
• You or another responsible adult bring in and collect the medicine in person

We are unable to give any medicines that have not been prescribed by a doctor or if these procedures have not been followed.

Asthma
We recognise that asthma is an serious condition affecting many children and we encourage all children

with asthma to participate in all aspects of school life. It is important that children have immediate access to their reliever-inhalers.

The School Asthma Card is used as a record of the child’s asthma medication and so it is important that these are completed and kept up-to-date. Spare cards and explanatory letters are available from the school receptionist.

In the Early Years and Key Stage One children keep their reliever inhalers in a red box in the classroom. This box is always available to the children and is taken everywhere with the class e.g. on school visits, to PE and drama lessons and to assemblies.

Children in Key Stage Two are encouraged to be responsible for their own inhalers, but we advise that they keep a spare one in the red box in the classroom.

It is important that you make sure that inhalers are in-date, full and match the current prescription.

School Health service

We have a school nurse as part of the School Health Service based at Northfield Health Centre.

The aim of the service is to identify and meet the health needs of school children and to promote a healthy lifestyle.

During your children’s first year at school the school health team will offer your child:

• A height and weight check
• A hearing test
• An eye test
• A health interview with the school nurse

You will be asked to fill in a written consent form for these checks to take place

There are special clinics to advise and support children and families with specific problems, for example bed wetting, hearing, vision, behaviour and emotional problems. The school nurse can arrange an appointment.

The school nurse or doctor can arrange other services such as physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and child psychology. The school health team also works with schools to teach health education and aims to inform and support children in achieving a healthy lifestyle.

If you would like any advice or support from the school nurse, please do not hesitate to contact her at Northfield Health Centre. The telephone number is 0121 478 2000.

Working with other agencies

Our first concerns are your children’s welfare and education and so there may be times when we need to talk to other agencies. These include the School Health Service, Speech and Language Therapy, Behaviour Support Service, Educational Psychology Service, Pupil and School Support Service and Social Services. We will always discuss our concerns with you before we make any referrals.

On rare occasions, we may need to contact Social Services about a child protection concern. We always follow the Birmingham Area Child Protection Procedures when this happens.

Any information we disclose about you or your child will be in line with the Data Protection Act.