First Aid Provision at Co-op Academy Failsworth

Co-op Academy Failsworth provides access to trained First Aid staff on site for all pupils and staff.  We do not have a nurse but we do have access to the Local Authority School Nursing Team which we can refer to should we need advice or information for students.When a student starts on roll at Coop Academy Failsworth we ask for all pre-existing medical conditions, GP details and any other relevant health information so we can provide the right medical assistance for each student that has specific medical needs/conditions to enable them to access the full school curriculum effectively.

We provide access to a Healthcare Administrator (First Aid Trained) who is responsible for the monitoring of pupil medical information and provision of First Aid.  We also have a team of people who have basic First Aid training in the building that can assist if necessary. Our medical room is unmanned and access to this is gained through our First Aid Triage System coordinated through our Pastoral Teams.

Medication in School

We have several staff who are trained in the Administration of medication, however, as the guidelines indicate this is not a legal requirement, it is a voluntary act.  The guidelines on Supporting Pupils with Medication Needs published by the Department of Education can be found: https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/supporting-pupils-medication-needs

Students that have a medical need will have an Individual Care Plan in place and if they need to take/keep medication in school and a parental consent form for the self-administration of medication will be completed.  Assistance with medication mayl be provided should it be necessary.  All medication must be prescription medication and in the correct packaging, labelled correctly and dosage displayed.  Medication will not be accepted if it is just a sleeve/blister pack.

If antibiotics are to be taken, they are usually taken before school, after school and before bedtime unless the GP states otherwise.  In these cases, the student will be provided with a temporary medication pass and staff will collect them as necessary to assist.

School do not hold a stock of any painkillers and should a student request paracetamol then parent/guardian may be called and asked to bring some into school if the need is severe.

All students who suffer from Asthma are expected to carry on them at all time the appropriate inhaler and should have a back up one that can be left in the medical room in a locked cabinet.

School hold emergency inhalers and Epi pens.

Ibuprofen will not be given to any student under the age of 16 unless they are prescribed by a GP.

All medication left in school once the school year is over or the student leaves the school must be disposed of by the parent so school will contact as and when necessary.

For safety of all students the following procedures will be followed in school:

To ensure the safety of every student we operate a triage system.  This is to avoid students wandering round the school unaccompanied or standing outside the medical room potentially being at risk if they are unwell.  The teacher will request First Aid either via Arbor or by sending a student to get help.  Once the request is received a member of the pastoral team will go to the classroom and ascertain if they need to attend the medical room or not (We are a school of 1500 students and we aim to see all who put a first aid request in). Students who have Pink Medical Passes issued to them for specific medical needs will be treated as urgent and this may result in others having to wait a little longer to be assessed. 

Any student that suffers a nosebleed will be sent to the first aid room immediately so they can be seen to.

All students are able to seek First Aid at break and lunch time via the Healthcare Administrator.

If a student presents at school in the morning with an injury/condition sustained outside of school hours we will contact parent/guardian and if necessary ask them to take them to the GP or A & E.

If a student falls ill during the school day and needs to go home, the parent/guardian will be required to pick them up.