Prescribed Medicines

Medicines should only be taken to school or settings when essential; that is where it would be detrimental to a child’s health if the medicine were not administered during the school or setting ‘day’. Schools and settings should only accept medicines that have been prescribed by a doctor, dentist, nurse prescriber or pharmacist prescriber. Medicines should always be provided in the original container as dispensed by a pharmacist and include the prescriber’s instructions for administration and dosage.

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Non-Prescription Medicines

Staff should never give a non-prescribed medicine to a child unless there is specific prior written permission from the parents. Where the head agrees to administer a non-prescribed medicine it must be in accordance with the employer’s policy. The employer’s policy should set out the circumstances under which staff may administer non-prescribed medicines. Staff should check that the medicine has been administered without adverse effect to the child in the past and that parents have certified this is the case – a note to this effect should be recorded in the written parental agreement for the school/setting to administer medicine. A short written agreement with parents may be all that is necessary

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Short-Term Medical Needs

Many children will need to take medicines during the day at some time during their time in a school or setting. This will usually be for a short period only, perhaps to finish a course of antibiotics or to apply a lotion. To allow children to do this will minimise the time that they need to be absent. However, such medicines should only be taken to school or an early years setting where it would be detrimental to a child’s health if it were not administered during the day.