SENSE Learning - Supporting Students with Medical Conditions Policy

This Supporting Students with Medical Conditions Policy is made accessible to all Parents, Students, Local Authorities, Schools and SENse Learning associates.

Person responsible for ensuring that these policies are implemented and reviewed in line with the review dates: Sophie Amos, Operational Director

Introduction & Purpose

This Policy is the Supporting Students with Medical Conditions policy for SENse Learning, which will be followed by all members of the Organisation and promoted by those in leadership positions within the Organisation. This policy will be applied to all students and followed by all SENse Learning associates.

Policy Principles & Values

• The Organisation aims to ensure that all students, associates, parents, and carers understand how SENse Learning supports students with medical conditions.

• We want to ensure that any students with medical conditions are properly supported to allow them to access the same education and opportunities as other students, including SENse Learning’s educational trips and activities.

• The Organisation will ensure that associates are suitably trained.

• The Organisation will ensure that associates are aware of the students’ conditions, where appropriate.

• The Organisation will write individual healthcare plans (IHPs) as needed for students with medical needs, where these are highlighted to us by parents/carers, and/or follow any IHPs created by the student’s medical teams, where these are shared with us by parents/carers.

Procedures

Legislation and statutory responsibilities

This policy takes into account the requirements under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 to ensure there are arrangements in place for supporting pupils with medical conditions. It also takes into consideration the Department for Education’s statutory guidance for schools on Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions At Schools, where this is appropriate and relevant to our non-school setting.

Responsibilities

• The Organisation will ensure that all associates are aware of this policy and understand their role in its implementation.

• The Organisation will ensure that there is a sufficient number of trained associates available to implement this policy and deliver against individual healthcare plans (IHPs), including in contingency and emergency situations

• Ensure that all associates who need to know are aware of a student’s medical condition.

• Work with other providers, on-roll schools, medical teams and parent/carers to create and implement IHPs.

• Make sure that associates are appropriately insured and aware that they are insured to support students in this way.

• Ensure that systems are in place for obtaining information about a student’s medical needs and that this information is kept up to date.

Associates

• Supporting students with medical conditions during their session time is not the sole responsibility of one person. Any associate may be asked to provide support to students with medical conditions, although they will not be required to do so. This includes the administration of medicines.

• Associates who take on the responsibility of supporting students with medical conditions will receive sufficient and suitable training and will achieve the necessary level of competency before doing so.

• Associates will take into account the needs of students with medical conditions that they support. All associates will know what to do and respond accordingly when they become aware that a student with a medical condition needs help.

Parents/carers

• Parents/carers will provide the Organisation with sufficient and up-to-date information about the child's medical needs.

• Parents/carers will be involved in the development and review of their child’s IHP and may be involved in its drafting.

• Parents/carers will carry out any action they have agreed to as part of the implementation of the IHP, e.g. provide medicines and equipment, and ensure they or another nominated adult is contactable at all times.

Students

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

• Students will be fully involved in discussions about their medical support needs and contribute as much as possible to the development of their IHPs, where possible and appropriate. They are also expected to comply with their IHPs.

Other Healthcare Professionals

• Healthcare professionals, such as GPs and paediatricians, will liaise with SENse Learning where necessary at the parents’ request. They may also provide advice on developing IHPs.

Being notified when a student has a medical condition

• When the Organisation is notified that a student has a medical condition by the parent or carer, the Case Coordinator will liaise with parents/carers to decide whether the student requires an IHP.

• The Organisation 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 the Organisation.

• Where the Organisation is informed of a student’s medical condition as part of the initial referrals process or home visit, the referrals team will send a blank IHP form for the parent/carers to complete, or asked to send us any existing IHP the student has, which will then be added to the student’s folder for those working with them to refer to.

Individual Healthcare Plans

• Case Coordinators oversee IHPs for individual students in coordination with the parent/carers.

• 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 interest in mind and will set out:

  • What needs to be done

  • When

  • By whom

• Not all students with medical conditions 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 no consensus, parents/carers will make the final decision.

• Plans will be drawn up in partnership with the Organisation, parents/carers and a relevant healthcare professional, such as the student’s medical 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 may already form part of, any EHC plan.

• The level of detail in the plan will depend on the complexity of the student’s condition and how much support is needed.

• The Case Coordinator will use information provided by the parent/carer and/or healthcare professionals to inform the IHP, this information can include:

  • The medical condition, its triggers, signs, symptoms, and treatments

  • The pupil’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 activities.

  • Specific support for the pupil’s educational, social, and emotional needs. For example, how absences will be managed, requirements for extra time to complete exams, use of the rest periods or additional support in catching up with lessons, counselling sessions.

  • The level of support needed, including in emergencies. If a pupil is self-managing their medication, this will be clearly stated with appropriate arrangements for monitoring.

  • Who will provide this support, their training needs, and expectations of the role.

  • Who in SENse Learning needs to be aware of the pupil’s condition and the support required.

  • Arrangements for written permission from parents/carers for medication to be administered by an associate or self-administered by the pupil during SENse Learning sessions.

  • Separate arrangements or procedures that may be required for SENse Learning trips or other SENse Learning activities outside of the normal SENse Learning timetable that will ensure the pupil can participate, e.g. risk assessments.

  • Where confidentiality issues are raised by the parent/pupil, a discussion will be had a round who the designated individuals to be entrusted with information about the pupil’s condition.

  • What to do in an emergency, including who to contact and contingency arrangements

Managing medicines

Prescription and non-prescription medicines will only be administered at SENse Learning:

• When it would be detrimental to the student’s health and attendance not to do so

and

• Where we have parents/carers' written consent.

The only exception to this is where the medicine has been prescribed to the student without the knowledge of the parents.

Students under 16 will not be given medicine containing aspirin unless prescribed by a doctor.

Anyone giving a student any medication (for example, for pain relief) will first check maximum dosages and when the previous dosage was taken. Parent/carers will always be informed by the end of the session at the latest.

The Organisation will only accept prescribed medicines that are:

• In-date

• Labelled

• Provided in the original container, as dispensed by the pharmacist, and includes instructions for administration, dosage, and storage

The Organisation will accept insulin that is inside an insulin pen or pump rather than its original container, but it must be in date.

All medicines will be stored safely.

Students will be informed about where their medicines are at all times and be able to access them immediately.

Medicines and devices such as asthma inhalers, blood glucose testing metres and adrenaline will always be readily available to students and not locked away.

Medicines will be returned to parent/carers to arrange for safe disposal when no longer required

Controlled Drugs

Controlled drugs are prescription medicines that are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and subsequent amendments, such as morphine or methadone.

A student who has been prescribed a controlled drug may have it in their possession if they are competent to do so, but they must not pass it to another pupil to use.

Controlled drugs will be easily accessible in an emergency, and a record of any doses used and the amount held will be kept.

Students managing their own needs

Students who are competent will be encouraged to take responsibility for managing their medicines and procedures. This will be discussed with parents, and it will be reflected in their IHPs.

Students will be allowed to carry their own medicines and relevant devices wherever possible. Associates will not force a student to take a medicine or carry out a necessary procedure if they refuse, but will follow the procedure agreed in the IHP and inform parents so that an alternative options can be considered, if necessary.

Unacceptable practice

The Organisation will use it’s discretion and judge each case individually with reference to the student's IHP, but it is generally not acceptable to

• Prevent students from easily accessing their inhalers and medication, and administering their medication when and where necessary.

• Assume that every student with the same condition requires the same treatment.

• Ignore the views of the student or their parents/carers.

• Ignore medical evidence or opinion (although this may be challenged).

• Send students with medical conditions home frequently for reasons associated with their medical condition, or prevent them from staying for normal activities, including lunch, unless this is specified in their IHP.

• Penalise students for their attendance record if their absences are related to their medical condition, e.g. hospital appointments.

• Prevent students from drinking, eating or taking toilet or other breaks whenever they need to in order to manage their medical condition effectively.

• Administer, or ask students to administer, medicine in the toilet.

Emergency procedures

Associates will follow the Organisation’s normal emergency procedures. 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 the hospital, associates will stay with the student until the parent/carer arrives, or accompany the student to the hospital by ambulance.

Training

Associates 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 the IHPs. Associates who provide support to students with medical conditions will be included in meetings where this is discussed, where appropriate.

The relevant healthcare professionals will lead on identifying the type and level of training required and will agree on this with the student’s parent/carers and inform the Case coordinator.

Training will be kept up to date and will:

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

• Fulfil the requirements in the IHPs.

• Help associates to have an understanding of the specific medical conditions they are being asked to deal with, their implications and preventative measures.

Record keeping

The Organisation will ensure that written records are kept of all medicine administered to students for as long as these students are at SENse Learning. Parents will be informed if their child has been unwell at SENse Learning.

IHPs are kept in a readily accessible place within the student’s shared drive folder, which all associates are aware of.