The Forest Academy

Once your child reaches the age of five years, his or her weight, height, hearing and sight are checked by the school nurse and their general health is discussed with you.

Any child who becomes ill in school will be cared for until you can be contacted. We will need your telephone numbers and numbers of other emergency contacts in school. You will need to ensure that these are kept up to date.

If a child has an accident in school, they will be attended to by a qualified First Aider and appropriate treatent will be given. All accidents are logged and parents are contacted by phone so that they are aware of an accident which required their monitoring.

If you have any medical concerns about your child and feel like you need to speak to someone or need advice, pleae call to the school office who will put you in touch with the right person.

Medication

If your child has a medical condition that school need to be aware of – e.g. an allergy or a lifelong medical condition such as asthma – please ensure that you have informed school by completing the required information on the admission forms or by updating school immediately that any condition is diagnosed.

If your child has been ill and is required to take prescription medication to assist their recovery, school will of course support their return to school whilst taking medicines provided that the condition is not contagious to other pupils. If your child has medication that needs to be administered during the school day (that prescribed for administration FOUR times a day) please speak to us in the school office so that you can complete the ‘Parental Consent Form’. All medicines will be kept in the school office and should be collected by an adult at the end of each day. Medicines intended to manage pain of a temperature (e.g Calpol) cannot be administered by school staff, but we are happy to support parents who wish to come in to school during the day to give their child a medicine which does not comply with school policy requirements.

Please note that we can only administer medication to be given four times a day which has been prescribed by a GP or by the hospital and is clearly labelled with your child’s name and instructions for administering the medication. We cannot accept medication bought over the counter at a chemist, and we cannot administer medicines which can be given outside of the school day (i.e. three times a day or less) although we will allow you to come into school to give the medicine yourself if you would prefer.

Headlice

The Facts About Headlice

• Head lice are small insects (about the size of a sesame seed when fully grown) that live very close to the scalp.
• Nits are not the same as lice.  Nits are the empty egg cases which stick to the hair.
• You only have head lice if you find a living moving louse (not a nit).
• Anybody can get head lice – adults and children.
• Head lice don’t care if the hair is dirty or clean, short or long.
• A lot of infections are caught from close family and friends in the home and community, not at school.
• Head lice can walk from one head to another, if the heads are pressed together for some time.  They do not fly, jump or swim.
• Regular hair care may help to spot lice early.
• The best way to stop infection is for families to check their heads regularly using detection combing.

How to detect head lice

You will need: A PLASTIC DETECTOR COMB

(These are available from your pharmacist -ask for help if there are none on display)

1) Wash the hair well and rinse, apply lots of conditioner but do not rinse.

2) Ensure that there is good lighting – daylight is best.

3) First, comb the hair with an ordinary comb.  Then, using the detector comb, begin at the top of head and making sure that the comb is touching the scalp, slowly draw the comb towards the ends of the hair.

4)Check the teeth of the comb carefully.

5)  Repeat steps (3) and (4), working your way around the head from the top of the scalp to the ends of the hair.

If there are head lice, you will find one or more on the teeth of the comb

6) If you find lice, or something which you are unsure about, stick it to a piece of paper with clear sticky tape and take it to your GP or local pharmacist.

The best way to stop infection is to do detection combing regularly. NEVER use insecticidal liquids, lotions or shampoos to PREVENT infection, or just in case.

How to treat head lice

DO NOT TREAT UNLESS YOU ARE SURE YOU HAVE FOUND A LIVING, MOVING LOUSE

Ask your GP or pharmacist which head louse lotion or liquid to use. 

REMEMBER

It doesn’t matter how many nits you have, or how itchy your scalp is – if you can’t find a living, moving louse, you don’t have lice.

In a well ventilated room….

1) Apply the lotion or liquid to dry hair

2) Part the hair near the top, put a few drops of the lotion or liquid on to the scalp and rub in some more of the lotion or liquid.  Do this again and again until the whole scalp is wet.  You don’t need to take the lotion or liquid any further than where you would put a ponytail band.  Take care not to get the lotion or liquid in the eyes or on the face.

You should use at least one small bottle of lotion or liquid per head, more if the hair is thick

3) Let the lotion or liquid dry on the hair naturally.  Keep well away from naked flames, cigarettes or other sources of heat.  Do NOT use a hair dryer.

4) Leave on the hair for 12 hours or overnight.  Then, wash and rinse as normal.

5) Repeat the entire treatment seven days later, using second bottle of the same lotion or liquid.

6) Check the head two days after the second treatment.  If you still find living, moving lice ask your School Nurse for advice.


The problem Won’t Go Away?

Contact Tracing

You need to find where the lice came from or you may be re-infected.  The source is probably a family member or close friend, who probably does not know they have lice.

Use the check list below to make sure you get in touch with everyone who has been in close (head to head) contact with the infected person.  All the people on your list should check themselves and their families for head lice using detection combing.  Anyone who is infected with living, moving lice should be treated straight away.

Contact check list:

DID YOU …

…  Use enough lotion or liquid?

…  Apply it correctly?

…  Let it dry naturally?

…  Leave it on for 12 hours?

…  Use a second bottle 7 days after the first?

… Check all your close family and friends?

…  Check adults as well as children?

…  Treat all infected contacts at the same item?

A copy of the Managing Medications and Infection Control Policy can be accessed on our School Policies website page on the below link: 
School Policies