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Parent Handbook

Medical Matters

The College has facilities for the short term care of students when medical needs arise. The majority of staff hold First Aid Certificates and some of the administrative staff are rostered to manage daily first aid needs. The College does not have the resources to provide medical supervision for extended periods of time. As such parents will be contacted to arrange for the collection of any child who is too unwell to return to class.
Parents can help the first aid procedures by:
• ensuring that Edumate is updated with current medical information;
• ensuring that contact numbers are regularly updated on Edumate;
• arranging for the care of a sick child at home; and
• being able to arrange collection and care at short notice for a child who falls injured/sick during the day.

First Aid Procedures

1. Minor first aid of Primary students will be managed by the classroom teacher and beyond this, Primary and Secondary students will be tended to by First Aid staff in the College office.

2. Students may only go to First Aid with an injury or illness with the permission of their class teacher or during recess or lunch breaks after speaking to the teacher on duty. They must not contact parents (the College holds responsibility for parent contact.)

3. Students will generally only be allowed to stay for 15 minutes in sick bay before either being returned to class, the playground or having a parent contacted to arrange for collection.

4. Where a student is suspected of having a potentially contagious illness/condition, including head lice, their parent will be contacted to arrange for immediate collection.

5. Staff reserve the right to call an ambulance.

Medications

Parents of students in the Early Learning Centre should leave medications with clear instructions with the educators. All other students with a requirement for medication to be administered during the school day must leave their medication with First Aid staff.

Written authority must be received by the College for any medications to be given to students. The College is not able to give mild pain killers (such as paracetamol) to students without the permission of parents. Parents will receive a phone call before the medication is administered to ensure that the daily recommended dose is not exceeded. Parents are encouraged to provide their own medication which will be kept on file and administered when necessary. A ‘’ form must be completed and submitted to the First Aid Officer.

The College has a duty of care to ensure prescription medications are secure. Medications must not be carried or self-administered by students without prior permission from the Head of Years or Principal. An exception to this rule applies to secondary students who are permitted to self-administer medication prescribed to them by a doctor for asthma, diabetes and anaphylaxis only. No student is permitted to share medication. Parents should not expect class teachers to bear the responsibility for reminding students to take medication at different times of the day; this will be arranged by First Aid staff.

All medications given to the College must be clearly labelled with the student’s name, dose and time to be administered. The College will seek to support parents in this process, but cannot accept responsibility for any missed medication. Individual tablets should not be provided to the College without the relevant packaging to ensure the medication is correctly identified.

Any changes to medication administration must be communicated to first aid in a timely manner, either by calling the school or emailing firstaid@nwcc.nsw.eu.au

Health Fact Sheets

The NSW Department of Health has made available helpful fact sheets on infectious diseases. You can view them .

Notifiable Diseases

There are a number of children’s diseases which if contracted need to be reported to health authorities. Some require specific periods of exclusion. More information can be found on the .

Significant Infectious Epidemics/Pandemics

The College management plan for pandemics is subject to NSW Government plans.

Allergies

All allergies should be noted on Edumate. Parents should be aware that a number of students have significant, and in some instances, life threatening, allergic (anaphylactic) reactions to various food substances. These commonly include dairy products and peanuts (even in minute traces). Parents can assist by not including products containing peanuts or traces of peanuts in children’s recess snacks and lunches. Students should be encouraged to not share their lunches with classmates. Whenever food is provided to classes (eg a birthday cake or for fund-raising events) it must be accompanied by a complete list of ingredients, in writing. When providing food please consider the possible behavioural effects of food colourings and additives.

Some students suffer from chemical sensitivities. In such circumstances, perfume, deodorants or strong vapours can cause illness and an allergic response. Please consider the needs of others when using such substances on campus. For this and other reasons, only roll-on deodorants are permitted to be brought onto the College campus.