Medicines, Diseases, Accidents &c
►Pupil Welfare
►Medicines at school
►Infectious Diseases
►Sickness and Accidents at school/on school visits
►Smoking
►Pupil Welfare
The first, and main, guardian of pupil welfare is the Form Tutor, who will meet the children for twenty minutes on every school day during am registration.At Willowgarth the year 7 team of Form Tutors plays a crucial role in making the transition to secondary school as smooth as possible. After year 7, pupils pass on to another Form Tutor who will, as far as possible, remain with them throughout the remainder of their school lives. Thus, we try to ensure that each pupil is well known by the school and that his/her individual needs are understood and met. The pastoral work of the Form Tutor teams is managed by a team of senior staff led by the Deputy Head.
The school provides extra help, both in the classroom and in the Special Needs Suite, in small groups and on an individual basis, for those children who are encountering difficulty with reading, writing and basic mathematics. The Education Welfare Officers (EWO) work in close cooperation with the pastoral team to arrange the best possible individual welfare provision. For full details of the school's SEN policy, please contact Miss S. Chamberlain.
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►Medicines at school
The School cannot normally prescribe or administer medicines of any kind to pupils.Pupils should only bring medicines to school if they are prescribed and have to be taken (self-administered) during the school day.
In all such cases, School must be informed in writing by parents and (with the exception of inhalers for asthma and other special cases) the medicines must be left in the safe care of the designated member of staff, who will then arrange times during the day when the pupil can report in order to take the appropriate dose.
Where a pupil has a long term condition or unusual short term medical requirements, parents must contact School in order to agree an appropriate care plan to ensure that their children's needs are met. The aim of the plan will always be to ensure that each pupil is able to take the fullest possible part in normal school life. Staff will be informed, as appropriate, on a 'need-to-know' basis.
A few medicines, for example inhalers for asthma, must remain with the pupil for use when the condition becomes acute. We would still ask in these cases that parents inform School of their child's condition and that the medicine will be carried for self-administration. Back to top
►Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases must be notified to the Health Department immediately and to school as soon as possible. Under no circumstances should the child return to school without a certificate from his/her doctor confirming that he/she is fit to do so. Notifiable diseases include; chicken pox, shingles, some forms of diarrhoea and food poisoning, measles and German measles, glandular fever, hepatitis, meningitis, mumps and whooping cough, lice and scabies. Back to top►Sickness and Accidents at school/on school visits
Especially in the cases where both parents are at work until the evening, we have sometimes had difficulty in contacting parents of pupils who have been taken ill at school or who have had to be taken to hospital after an accident. In the best interest of pupils, it is important that parents complete and return promptly the information/medical attention slip which will be issued to new pupils in September. The permission given thereon will only be used in cases of emergency when every reasonable attempt to contact parents has been made.The day before pupils have to leave school to keep dental or medical appointments they should obtain a treatment form from their form tutor and ensure that it is returned to school completed by parents before the absence for treatment is recorded. This ensures that the child's absence is registered as authorised. Children should also bring their appointment cards, which should be shown to the appropriate Head of Year between 8.30 a.m. and 9.00 a.m. and to the Form Tutor at registration. Pupils are asked to sign out by reporting to the Office before leaving school and to sign in again on return so that we are fully aware of the situation.
Emergency visits to the doctor will, of course, continue to be arranged by the designated person. It is appropriate to remind parents at this point that the designated person (though first-aid trained) is not a qualified nurse/medical practitioner and is prevented by law from offering any form of treatment to any type of injury or illness (except first-aid). ON NO ACCOUNT, THEREFORE, SHOULD PARENTS SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL IF THEY KNOW THEM TO BE IN NEED OF MEDICAL TREATMENT. THIS MUST BE PROVIDED BY THE PARENTS THEMSELVES OR A SUITABLY QUALIFIED PERSON BEFORE THE CHILD IS SENT TO SCHOOL. Back to top