First Aid Policy

Please download our First Aid Policy

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Contents

What is first aid?

First aid and medication

List of emergency first aiders

First aid kits

Accident books

Ofsted requirement to notify parents and the Data Protection Act

Administration of medication

Sickness

Treatment of head injuries to children

Disposing of blood

Splinters

ICE PACKS

Asthma

Epi-Pens

Appendix

Cambridge Education @ Islington’s guidelines on the ‘Treatment of Head injuries to Children’

The first aid training handbook 

What is first aid?

First aid can save lives and prevent minor injuries becoming major ones. Under health and safety legislation employers have to ensure that there are adequate and appropriate equipment and facilities for providing first aid in the workplace.

First aid and medication

At least one member of staff with current first aid training is on the premises at any one time.  The first aid qualification includes first aid training for infants and young children.

The emergency first aiders with valid certificates in school are:

• Donna Shah (ICT Subject Leader) –  expiry date 18/06/2018 (‘First aid at work’ and  ‘Safe use of an automated external defibrillator’)
• Marcia Carey (Teaching Assistant and Midday Meals Supervisor based in Key Stage 2 and Breakfast Club Leader) – (‘First aid      at work’ Level 3 – expiry date 06/07/2019 and ‘Safe use of an automated   external defibrillator’ – expiry date 04/07/2017)
• Carrie-Ann Miller (Teaching Assistant based in Key  Stage 2 and Midday Meals Senior Supervisor for Key Stage 2) – (First aid      at work) expiry date 01/2017
• Lisa Burton (Teaching Assistant based in Key Stage  1, Breakfast Club Worker and Midday Meals Senior Supervisor for Key Stage 1) – (First aid at work) expiry date 01/2017
• Charlene Edwards (Senior Nursery Nurse based in Nursery) – (First aid at work) expiry date 01/2017
• Shpetime Ismaili (Midday Meals Supervisor in Nursery and   Key Stage 2) – (‘First aid at work’ Level 3 – expiry date 06/07/2019 and  ‘Safe use of an automated external defibrillator’ – expiry date  04/07/2017)
• Carly Johnson (Nursery Nurse based in Year 2) –   (First aid at work) expiry date 01/2017  and (Paediatric) expiry date 06/2017
• Linda Miller (Administration Officer) – (Paediatric) – expiry date 06/2017
• Mica Benjamin (Teaching Assistant for Key Stage 2) –   (First aid at work Level 3) – expiry date 02/2017
• Hannah David (Lead Practitioner for 2 year old provision) – (Paediatric First Aid Level 3) – expiry date 12/07/2018
• Caroline Gartan (Clubs Manager) – (Paediatric First  Aid) – expiry date 22/03/2017
• Meno Furtado (After School Club Worker) – (First Aid  for Baby and Child) – expiry date 21/10/2017

Our First Aid Kits:

• Comply with the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981 and British Standard – BS 8599-1:2011;
• Are regularly checked.  Class teachers and support staff are responsible for maintaining the kits in their individual rooms.  Senior midday meals supervisors are responsible for the resourcing of their lunch time bags.  The school office hosts one of five main first aid kits which is regularly checked and restocked by the first aid team on rotation.  Nursery takes care of the second kit, which is maintained by Charlene Edwards.  The 2-year-old provision contains the third kit, which is updated regularly by Hannah David.  The remaining two are located in the PE  hall and multi-purpose room.  These are checked and restocked at the end of every half term by Carly Johnson.  The multi-purpose room kit also contains cling film (for burns), blue plasters (to be worn in the kitchen area) and child-sized gloves.
• Are re-stocked as necessary;
• Are easily accessible to adults; and
• Are kept out of the reach of children.

Our accident books:

• Are kept safely and accessibly.  The infant and junior playgrounds have separate books for accidents that happen at playtimes and lunchtimes.  The school office has its own book for accidents that happen at any other time.  ALL serious accidents must be recorded in the office book, on the same day, and then placed on Sue’s desk (or another member of the office team in her absence) to be uploaded onto IRIS within 24 hours.

• The nursery and 2-year-old provision staff maintain  their own records for their own children, which are shown to and signed by      the parents at the end of the day.
• All staff and volunteers know where they are kept and how to complete them; and
• Are reviewed at least half termly to identify any  potential or actual hazards.  Carly Johnson reviews the accident book kept in the school office and the playtime one too.  Lisa Burton reviews the infant (KS1) lunchtime accident book and Carrie-Ann Miller reviews the junior (KS2) lunchtime accident book.  Charlene Edwards monitors the nursery accident book and Hannah      David oversees the 2-year-old provision one.

Our accident books keep a record of any first-aid treatment given by first aiders and other members of staff.  These accident books MUST be written in pen, completed on the same day of the incident, and include:

• The date, time and place of the incident.
• The name of the injured or ill person.
• Details of the injury or illness and first-aid given.
• What happened to the person immediately afterwards (for example, whether they went home, went back to class, or went to      hospital).

The information in the accident books can:

Help the school identify accident trends and possible areas for improvement in the control of health and safety risks;

• Be used for reference in future first-aid need assessments;
• Be helpful for insurance and investigative purposes.

All completed accident books should be given to Sue who will store them for reference in future.

Ofsted requirement to notify parents and the Data Protection Act

Parents must be informed of any accidents, injuries sustained and/or first aid treatment given to their child whilst in school; parents can view the accident record in the nursery and sign to say they have seen it.

Staff must be aware of the Data Protection Act and not allow parents to view personal information other than that relating to their child and must not allow parents to take notes, photographs or obtain a copy of the accident record.

Administration of medication

• Only prescribed medication may be administered.  It must be in-date  and prescribed for the current condition.
• Children taking prescribed medication must be well enough to attend the school.
• Children’s prescribed drugs are stored in their original containers, in the school office or nursery staffroom, are clearly      labeled and are inaccessible to the children.
• Parents give prior written permission for the administration of medication.  This states the name of the child, name/s of parent(s), date, the name of the  medication, the dose and time, or how and when the medication is to be administered.  Parents should administer medication before school so that staff only gives one dosage during the school day.

• If the administration of prescribed medication requires medical knowledge, individual training is provided for the relevant member of staff by a health care professional.

Sickness

Our policy for the exclusion of ill or infectious children is discussed with parents.  This includes procedures for contacting parents – or other authorised adults – if a child becomes ill while in the school.

• We do not provide care for children, who are unwell, e.g. have a temperature, or sickness and diarrhea, or who have an infectious disease.
• Children with head lice are not excluded, but must be treated to remedy the condition.
• Parents are notified if there is a case of head lice in the school.
• HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) may affect children or families attending the school.  Staff may or may not be informed about it.
• Children or families are not excluded because of HIV status.
• Good hygiene practice concerning the clearing of any spilled bodily fluids is carried out at all times by the Health and Safety Coordinator and the Emergency First Aiders.

Treatment of head injuries to children

• Children often fall and bang  themselves, and thankfully most bangs to the head are harmless events and      can be dealt with by the supervising adult by applying a cold compress (wet tissue or cloth) for the child’s own comfort.   Parents/Carers must be contacted if the  child has a visible or grazed bump to the head.  All head bumps must be recorded into the      accident book and a letter sent home informing parents of possible symptoms to look out for.  It is the responsibility of the first aider dealing with the head bump to inform the class teacher who must then relay the information back to the parent.  Head bump letters and possible symptoms to look out for are kept in the school office and are given out to ensure parents receive the correct information and advice.  The bottom section of the letter must also be completed and retained by the school.

Under no circumstances, should ICE PACKS be applied to head bumps.  It will reduce swelling but it can actually do more harm if there is a hairline fracture this could result in the child needing additional emergency hospital treatment.

Emergency First Aiders should be sought if the child:

• becomes unconscious;
• is vomiting or shows signs of drowsiness;
• has a persistent headache;
• complains of blurred or double vision;
• is bleeding from the nose or ear; and/or
• has pale yellow fluid from the nose or ear.

If any of the above symptoms occurs in a child who has had a bang to the head, urgent medical attention is needed.  Parents should be contacted and the emergency service too.

In the event of an accident in which the child cannot stand up unaided, he/she should be left in the position that he/she was found (even if this is in the toilets or playground) so long as it is safe to do so and the emergency first aider must be called immediately to assess the situation.

Disposing of blood

 Blooded items should be placed in the yellow clinical waste bags and disposed of in the sanitary bin in the female staff toilets.

Splinters

Splinters can be removed if they are small and you can see the angle it went in but not if they are embedded or in a joint.  They must be extracted in the same direction they went in.  Sterile single-use tweezers are stored in the main first aid box located in the school office.  Nursery have their own stock.

ICE PACKS 

Instant ice packs are single-use only and for the treatment of sprains, strains and bruises and must be kept out of children’s reach.  These are stored in the main office cupboard.

Guidance on the use of ice packs: Ideally an ice pack should be applied within 5 -10 minutes of the injury occurring.  The pack must be wrapped in a cloth to prevent cold burns and applied to the injured area for 20 – 30 minutes and repeated every 2 to 3 hours for the next 24 – 48 hours.  Emergency first aiders must check the colour of the skin after 5 minutes of applying the pack.  If the skin is bright red or pink, remove the pack.

With injuries older than 48 hours, a heat source can be applied to bring more blood to the injured area to stimulate the healing process.

Precautions when using ice and heat

DO NOT USE ICE OR HEAT

• If the casualty is diabetic
• Over areas of skin that are in poor condition
• Over areas of skin with poor sensation to heat or cold
• Areas with known poor circulation
• In the presence of visible or know infection(s)

Asthma 

We have many children at Newington Green with Asthma.  All pumps are labelled and kept in the school office except for nursery children who store theirs in the nursery.   In the event of an attack, the inhaler must be taken to the child.  All inhalers should accompany children when they are off the school grounds e.g. on a trip, swimming, visiting another school, etc.  Children on the asthma register who have parental consent for the use of the emergency inhaler are clearly indicated.  An emergency inhaler can be used if the child’s prescribed inhaler is not available (for example, because it is broken, or empty).  There are six emergency kits which are clearly labelled for use in school, on trips and in the event of an evacuation.  Five of these are kept in the school office and the other stored on the first floor in the resource room.

In the event of an asthma attack follow the T.I.M.E advice from Whittington Health. Link provided at the top of this page.

ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE/ATTENTION OF A QUALIFIED FIRST AIDER IN THE EVENT OF AN ASTHMA ATTACK

 For more information please see the school’s asthma policy. 

Epi-Pens 

All Epi-Pens are labelled and kept in the school office except for nursery children who store theirs in the nursery.

Anyone can administer an Epi-Pen in an emergency if the adult/child is unable to do it themselves.  Staff should have training from a healthcare professional but if this is not the case then the emergency services must be informed at the same time as the Epi-Pen is administered.