Medical Needs
Medical Needs and Allergies
All parents are asked to complete an Allergies and Medical Needs declaration on registering their child. Please advise the school immediately if these needs should change. It is parents' responsibility to ensure that all medications and equipment necessary for their child are in school at all times.
On occasion, children will require medication for a short period of time due to illness or injury. Please note that we are only allowed to dispense medication that:
- has been prescribed by a healthcare professional for a specific medical condition
- is labelled with a dispensary label, stating the child's name and date of birth
- is accompanied by an 'Authorisation to Administer Medication at School' form
Please note that current guidance is that children who are unwell or have a fever (38º or above)should remain off school until they are feeling well and the fever has passed. If your child require medication to suppress a fever, they should remain at home. Please follow this link for more information.
The NHS has published some helpful information to help you to assess whether your child is too ill to attend school. Is my child too ill for school? - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
First Aid
All staff at Archdeacon Cambridge's have basic paediatric First Aid training, whilst a number of staff hold more advanced qualifications. Should your child become unwell or suffer an injury at school, the first adult to speak to them will assess their need. Most children are well enough to continue the school day as usual, but some children will need to visit the Medical Room for further treatment.
Should your child be sent to the medical room due to illness, you will be phoned and asked to collect them from school. Most children will return to class and wait to be collected in a quiet area of the classroom. If children are suffering from nausea, vomitting or diarrhoea, they will be asked to wait in the Medical Room. Please note, that children with vomitting or diarrhoea should only return to school 48 hours after the last occurence of vomitting of diarrhoea.
Should a child require First Aid in the Medical Room due to an injury, they will receive treatment, be given a sticker to wear and be given an accident slip to ensure you are informed of their injury and the treatment provided. Most children are well enough to return to the playground or classroom after treatment. Should the staff member on duty deem it necessary, they may contact you to ask you to collect your child from school, either to rest at home or for further medical assessment.
The Medical Room is manned by staff who would otherwise be supporting children in class. In consideration of the other pupils in our school, it would be appreciated if your child could be collected as soon as possible.
Common Childhood Illnesses
CHILDREN WHO ARE TAKING ANTIBIOTICS SHOULD NOT ATTEND SCHOOL
FOR THE FIRST 24 HOURS OF TREATMENT
Children with sickness and / or diarrhoea are excluded for 48 hours after the last attack of sickness or diarrhoea.
DISEASE | EARLY SYMPTOMS | EXCLUSION PERIOD |
GERMAN MEASLES (RUBELLA) | May be fever, sore throat, stiff neck and rash after 1 or 2 days, usually starts on face | 7 days from onset of rash |
MEASLES | Cough, cold, fever or chill, sore eyes, (photo phobia). White spots in mouth after 1-2 days, rash after 3 – 4 days on face, neck and chest. | 4 days from onset of rash |
CHICKENPOX | May be slight fever, headache, nausea, spots appear on 2nd day starting usually on back | 5 days from the onset of rash and until all blisters have crusted over. |
WHOOPING COUGH (PERTUSSIS) | Catarrhal stage with fever for one week before onset of paroxysmal cough, later with whoop | 24 hours days from commencing antibiotic treatment. |
SCARLET FEVER | Sore throat, headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, followed by a fine red rash (may feel like sandpaper) which typically first appears on the chest and stomach, rapidly spreading to other parts of the body. The face can be flushed red but pale around the mouth. | 24 hours after commencement of antibiotic treatment. |
DIARRHOEA AND VOMITTING | 48 hours after their last episode. | |
CONJUNCTIVITIS | Sore eyes, inflamed with discharge & watering | Exclusion not usually required once treatment has started. |
IMPETIGO | Blisters spreading at edges which are raised, thick yellow crusts when they break | Until lesions are crusted and healed or 48 hours after. commencing antibiotic treatment |
RINGWORM | Round red areas with raised edges | Exclusion not usually required once treatment has started. Please notify school. |
THREADWORM | Irritation around rectum at night | Exclusion not usually required. Please notify school. |
SCABIES | Intense itching, blistering pin-point blood crusts which may wake a child | Child can return after first treatment. Please notify school. |
LICE & NITS | Itching of head | Child can return to school after treatment. Please notify school. |
MOLLUSCUM CONTAGEOSUM | Small firm raised spots on the skin in clusters | No exclusion but affected area must be covered. |
Tick Awareness
In the warmer months, as we head out into the great outdoors, it is important that we are aware of ticks. Please see the poster and video below for some top tips.
