Students, staff and parents/carers understand how our academy will support students with medical conditions
Students with medical conditions are properly supported to allow them to access the same education as other students, including school trips and sporting activities

The Governing Board will implement this policy by:

Making sure sufficient staff are suitably trained
Making staff aware of pupil’s condition, where appropriate
Making sure there are cover arrangements to ensure someone is always available to support students with medical conditions
Providing supply teachers with appropriate information about the policy and relevant students
Developing and monitoring individual healthcare plans (IHPs)

The named person with responsibility for implementing this policy is the DSL and DDSL.

Legislation and Statutory Responsibilities

This policy meets the requirements under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which places a duty on governing boards to make arrangements for supporting students at their school with medical conditions.

It is also based on the Department for Education’s statutory guidance: Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions.

Roles and Responsibilities

The Governing Board

The Governing Board has ultimate responsibility to make arrangements to support students with medical conditions. The Governing Board will ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they are responsible for supporting children with medical conditions.

The Principal

The Principal will:

Make sure all staff are aware of this policy and understand their role in its 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
Take overall responsibility for the development of IHPs
Make sure that school staff are appropriately insured and aware that they are insured to support students in this way
Contact the school nursing service in the case of any student 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
Ensure that systems are in place for obtaining information about a child’s medical needs and that this information is kept up to date

Staff

Supporting students 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 students with medical conditions, although they may not be required to do so. This includes the administration of medicines.

Those staff who take on the responsibility to support students with medical conditions will receive sufficient and suitable training, and will achieve the necessary level of competency before doing so.

Teachers will take into account the needs of students with medical conditions that they teach. All staff will know what to do and respond accordingly when they become aware that a student with a medical condition needs help. All staff involved in medical care have safeguarding training. They are able to securely report any safeguarding concerns to the DSL who will act appropriately in line with our Safeguarding Policy.

Parents

Parents will:

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

Students

Students with medical conditions will often be best placed to provide information about how their condition affects them. Students 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

Our school nursing service will notify the school when a student has been identified as having a medical condition that will require support in school. This will be before the student starts school, wherever possible.

Healthcare professionals, such as GPs and paediatricians, will liaise with the school nurses and notify them of any students identified as having a medical condition.

Equal Opportunities

Our academy is clear about the need to actively support students with medical conditions to participate in school trips and visits, or in sporting activities, and not prevent them from doing so.

The academy will consider what reasonable adjustments need to be made to enable these students to participate fully and safely on school trips, visits and sporting activities.

Risk assessments will be carried out so that planning arrangements take account of any steps needed to ensure that students with medical conditions are included. In doing so, students, their parents/carers and any relevant healthcare professionals will be consulted.

Being notified that a child has a medical condition

When the school is notified that a student has a medical condition, the process outlined below will be followed to decide whether the student requires an IHP.

The academy will make every effort to ensure that arrangements are put into place within two weeks, or by the beginning of the relevant term for students who are new to our academy.

Individual Healthcare Plans

The Principal has overall responsibility for the development of IHPs for students with medical conditions. This has been delegated to the DSL and DDSL.

Plans will be reviewed at least annually, or earlier if there is evidence that the student’s needs have changed.

Plans will be developed with the student’s best interests in mind and will set out:

What needs to be done
When
By whom

Not all students with a medical condition will require an IHP. It will be agreed with a healthcare professional and the parents when an IHP would be inappropriate or disproportionate. This will be based on evidence. If there is not a consensus, the Principal will make the final decision.

Plans will be drawn up in partnership with the academy, parents/carers and a relevant healthcare professional, such as the school nurse, specialist or paediatrician, who can best advise on the student’s specific needs. The student will be involved wherever appropriate.

IHPs will be linked to, or become part of, any Education Health and Care (EHC) Plan. If a student has SEN but does not have a statement or EHC plan, the SEN 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 Assistant Director of Inclusion will consider the following when deciding what information to record on IHPs:

The medical condition, its triggers, signs, symptoms and treatments
The student’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 student’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 student 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 student’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 student’s condition and the support required
Arrangements for written permission from parents/carers and the Principal for medication to be administered by a member of staff, or self-administered by the student 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 student can participate, e.g. risk assessments
Where confidentiality issues are raised by the parent/student, the designated individuals to be entrusted with information about the student’s condition
What to do in an emergency, including who to contact, and contingency arrangements

Managing Medicines

See Administration of Medication Policy.

Emergency Procedures

Staff will follow the academy’s normal emergency procedures (for example, calling 999). All students’ IHPs will clearly set out what constitutes an emergency and will explain what to do.

If a student needs to be taken to hospital, staff will stay with the student until the parent arrives, or accompany the student to hospital by ambulance.

Training

Staff who are responsible for supporting students 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 students 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 and will agree this with the Assistant Director Inclusion. Training will be kept up to date.

Training will:

Be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support the students
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

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.

Record Keeping

The Governing Board will ensure that written records are kept of all medicine administered to students. Parents/carers will be informed if their child has needed first aid.

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

Liability and Indemnity

The Governing Board will ensure that the appropriate level of insurance is in place and appropriately reflects the academy’s level of risk.

Complaints

Parents/carers with a complaint about their child’s medical condition should discuss these directly with the Assistant Director Inclusion in the first instance. If the Assistant Director Inclusion cannot resolve the matter, they will direct parents to the academy’s complaints procedure.

Monitoring Arrangements

This policy will be reviewed and approved by the Governing Board every year.

Links to other policies

This policy links to the following policies:

Accessibility plan
Complaints
Health and safety
Safeguarding
Special educational needs information report and policy

Page Supporting Students with Medical Needs Policy-January 2023

Co-op Academy Swinton

Supporting Students with Medical Needs Policy

Contents

Aims