Asthma in school

If your child needs an asthma inhaler in school, you must provide the school with an asthma action plan, a prescription labelled box containing the inhaler and a spacer. 

Emergency Inhalers

 In line with “Guidance on the use of emergency salbutamol inhalers in schools” March 2015, the school will keep emergency reliever (blue) inhalers for the emergency use of children whose own inhaler is not available for any reason. They will be stored in the main school office, along with appropriate spacers

Prescribed medications 

Prescription medicines should be administered at home wherever possible, for example medicines that need to be taken 3 times a day can usually be taken before school, after school and at bed time. Parents are encouraged to ask the GP to whether this is possible. Prescription medicines will only be administered by the school where it would be detrimental to a child’s health if it were not done.

Medicines should always be provided in the original container as dispensed by a pharmacist and include the prescriber’s instructions for administration. The exception to this is insulin which must still be in date, but will generally be available to school inside an insulin pen or a pump, rather than in its original container. School should never accept medicines that have been taken out of the container nor make changes to dosages on parental instruction.

In all cases it is necessary to check:

• Name of child

• Name of medicine

• Dosage

• Written instructions provided by prescriber

• Expiry date

A Parental Consent to Administer Medicine form must be completed and signed by the parent / carer. No medication will be given without the parent’s written consent.

Long Term Medical Needs

It is important for the school to have sufficient information regarding the medical condition of any pupil with long term medical needs. The school will draw up a health care plan for such pupils, involving the parents and the relevant health professionals.

Appropriate training will be arranged for the administration of any specialist medication
( e.g. adrenaline via an epipen, Buccal midazolam, insulin etc.) Staff should not administer such medicines until they have been trained to do so.