QuestionsPlease explain your setting's policies and procedures of setting to deal with children/young people’s illness. How to recognise when children/young people are ill, including when they cannot communicate, eg. fever, rashes, headache, crying and breathlessness

Recognition of symptoms How to deal with symptoms

School Policy and Proceedures

Chicken pox – patches of itchy red spots with white centres.

Treat with calomine lotion to relieve itching.

Inform parents of symtoms immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise parents to keep their child at home for five days from onset of rash.

German measles (rubella) – pink rash on head, trunk and limbs; slight fever, sore throat.

Treat by resting. Inform parents of symtoms immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Keep infected child away from pregnant women. Advise parents to keep their child at home for five days from onset of rash.

Impetigo – small red pimples on the skin, which break down and weep.

Treat with antibiotic cream or medicine. Antibiotic treatment may speed up healing. Wash hands well after touching the child’s skin.

Inform parents of symtoms immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise parents to keep their child at home until lesions are crusted and healed.

Ringworm – contagious fungalinfection of the skin. Shows as circular flaky patches.

Treat with anti-fungal ointment;it may require antibiotics.

Inform parents of symtoms and advise them to seek treatment from a doctor.

Diarrhoea and vomiting – child has runny stools and is also sick and dehydrated.

Advise parents that they must keep giving the child clear fluids but no milk.

Inform parents of symtoms immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise parents to keep their child at home for 24 hours after the diarrhoea and vomiting has settled.

Conjunctivitis – inflammation or irritation of the membranes lining the eyelids

Advise parents to wash withwarm water on cotton wool swab, and wash hands thoroughly afterwards as it is highly contagious.

Inform parents of symtoms and immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise them to seek treatment from a doctor who may prescribe eye drops.

Measles – fever, runny eyes, sore throat, cough; red rash, which often starts from the head, spreading downwards.

Advise parents to give the child rest, plenty of fluids andparacetamol for fever.

Inform parents of symtoms and immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise them to seek treatment from a doctor.

Meningitis – fever, headache, stiff neck and blotch skin; dislike of light.

It is treated with antibiotics. Inform parents of symtoms and immediately and ask them to collect their child as symptoms may develop very quickly and prompt medical attention will be needed. Advise parents that there could be severe complications and., at worse,be fatal. Any child suspected of meningitis should be taken to the hospital.

Tonsillitis – inflammation of thetonsils by infection. Very sore throat,fever, earache, possible ear infection, enlarged red tonsils,which may have white spots.

It is treated with antibiotics and rest.

Inform parents of symtoms and immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise them to seek treatment from a doctor.

Common Cold - sneezing, partial deafness, sore throat, headache, runny nose and a temperature.

A child with a common cold should rest, have plenty of fluids and encouraged to blow their nose.

Inform parents of symtoms and advise to monitor and treat symptoms as colds are highly infectious.

Scarlet fever - fever, loss of appetite, sore throat and a pinpoint rash over the face and body.

A child with scarlet fever should rest, drink plenty of fluids.

Inform parents of symtoms and immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise parents to observe the child for any further complications.

Rubella - cold, sore throat and swollen glands behind the ears.

A child with rubella will need to rest.

Inform parents of symtoms and immediately and ask them to collect their child to prevent infection to other children. Advise parents to observe the child for any further complications.

Anaphylactic shock-child possibly has difficulty breathing, possibly has a rash, possible panicking, possible vomiting, possible unconsciousness

The child may have difficulty breathing, may have a rash, may be panicking, may be unconscious

This is a severe allergic reaction and can be due to the eating of a particular food, eg nuts, or caused by insect stings. It could cause narrowing of air passages and can be fatal. Sit the child up and find out if they have any medication. Seek emergency help. If they lose consciousness, open the airway and start resuscitation.

General signs that children are ‘off colour’ may include:• pale skin • flushed cheeks • rashes • different behaviour to normal (quiet, clingy, irritable, tearful) • rings around the eyes.

If a child complains of feeling unwell during the day, staff make a number of suggestions to them before sending them them home. There may be a number of reasons why, for example, a child has a stomach ache. They may be hungry, thirsty, or may need to go to the toilet. They may be feeling anxious about something and be in need of a little reassurance. If all these possibilities are exhausted and the child still feels poorly, then they are taken to a first aider. If necessary, the child is given a sick bowl in case they feel that they might vomit. If the child does not feel any better within ten minutes, then the first aider agrees with the child's teacher that they should be sent home. A member of staff will go down to the school office where a member of the administration staff will look up the child's details on the school database. The parents/carers are then contacted and asked to come and pick up their child. A member of staff will gather together all of the child's belongings, eg, coat, book bag, lunchbox, whilst the child waits in the office for their parent/carer to arrive.

Sometimes it is easy to tell that a child is not feeling well, or they may come to you complaining of a headache or stomach ache. Sometimes are parent/carer will indicate, when dropping their child off in the morning, that they felt unwell the previous evening and to keep an eye on them. At all times it pays to be vigilant and keep an eye on children for uncharacteristic behaviour, eg, a usually cheerful child looking tearful and red faced. It would be worth, in this instance, taking the child out of the classroom situation to have a one to one to try to find out the problem, and report this back to the class teacher in an appropriate way and at a suitable time. Outside the staff room there is a list of every child with an allergy or particular condition eg asthma. Every first aider within the school is aware of this and is trained to deal with each situation as it arises.