Rules and policies

Administering medication at school If your child requires staff to administer medication to them at school, please contact the school office ASAP to discuss your child’s requirements. Please note, school staff will only administer medication that:

• has been prescribed by a qualified health practitioner (e.g. doctor, dentist)
• is in its original container
  
• has an attached pharmacy label (including the Doctor’s name on the label).

Office staff will ask you to complete and sign Section 1 of the Administration of medication at school record sheet. Available at the school office.

N.B. If your child requires more than one medication, you will need to complete a form for each medication.

Requirements for students at risk of anaphylaxis

If your child is at risk of anaphylaxis, it is important for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their ASCIA Anaphylaxis Action Plan, completed by your doctor. This Anaphylaxis Action Plan provides the instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication in an emergency, which is specific to respond to their health condition.

If you have any concerns about your child’s health condition, please contact the Principal on (07) 4167 2154.

Requirements for students at risk of asthma

If your child has asthma and requires assistance to administer their medication, it is important for you to provide the school with your child’s emergency medication and their Asthma Action Plan, completed by your doctor. An Asthma Action Plan provides specific instructions for the school to administer your child’s medication. If you have any concerns about your child’s asthma, please contact the Principal on (07) 4167 2154.

Providing medication to the school

Before you provide the school with your child’s medication, check the expiry date to ensure it is in-date and there is enough for the agreed time period. It is also a good idea to take a note of the expiry date so that you can replace the medication before it expires.

Please note, school staff will not administer medication that you can buy over-the-counter at chemists and supermarkets (e.g. paracetamol, eye drops, cough syrup) unless it has been prescribed by your child’s qualified health practitioner.

For example, the school would administer paracetamol to a student only if it has been prescribed by their dentist to be taken for a short time after dental treatment.

School staff are bound by these regulations and we hope that all parents will acknowledge and cooperate with these rules.

It is safer for all students if you can provide medication to the school in person (rather than send medication with the student). If you can’t provide the medication in person, contact the school to determine the easiest and safest approach for the school to receive the medication.

When your child’s medication is no longer required to be kept at school, please collect all unused medication.

Thank you for your assisting the school in keeping our students safe and healthy.

Infectious diseases

The Principal has to exercise due care and attention to all students in his or her charge. This may necessitate his or her right to exclude and/or report an infected child or one suffering from neglect or maltreatment to the proper authorities.

Refer to Queensland Health's timeout poster for the minimum recommended exclusion time for more common diseases.

https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/426820/timeout_poster.pdf​ ​

Leaving the school grounds

Children are not permitted to leave the confines of the school area and/or school activities during school hours without the express permission of the Principal. A note or phone call from parent/caregiver is also required. When a child needs to leave the school grounds within school hours a parent/caregiver is required to sign them out in the student register in the school office.

Permission forms

From time to time permission forms will be sent home for students to be allowed to attend functions, sports events, excursions, camps, have photographs taken etc. at school or another site away from school.

As this is an onerous task for the staff to prepare and send home and also for parents to remember to return, a generic (one will do for all) form, will cover most activities undertaken throughout the year. Parents will be kept informed through school newsletters and notes sent home throughout the year.

If at any time parents object to their child attending or performing please inform the school as soon as possible. The whole school usually attends such functions. Any other activities not included in the above permission form will have a form sent home as the activity is organised, for parents to return to the school office by a certain date.

If the permission form in question is not returned to the school, that student will not be able to participate in the related activity or activities. As we are a small school most activities that the school undertakes are usually whole school activities so every student can participate.

Naming of belongings

Please ensure all articles of clothing, books and stationery items are clearly marked with the student’s name in permanent ink, especially those items likely to be discarded during the day such as cardigans, raincoats, shoes, socks and hats. This helps us to find the rightful owners when lost articles are handed in.

Cleanliness of pupils

It is a parental responsibility to ensure that children come to school in a state of cleanliness. Head lice are at times prevalent state wide. From time to time, when the school receives notification from a parent that head lice have been found, a general notice will go out to all parents. Your co-operation in this matter would be appreciated by all, so please check your child’s head regularly and notify the school promptly if any sign of head lice are found. Regular washing (even though head lice seem to like clean hair!) and daily bathing is desirable as children lead a strenuous life in the playground and body odour is distressing and embarrassing to all who must contend with it in the classroom.

Teeth should also be brushed before school and at bed time to keep teeth healthy and breath fresh. These habits are life forming and become a necessary part of everyday life. The school dentist (upon availability) visits the school to check children’s teeth.