C(P 9) Administration of Medicines
ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICINES IN SCHOOL
Policy Statement
The Stamford Endowed Schools have a clear medicines policy that is understood
and accepted by staff, parents and pupils and which provides a sound basis for
ensuring the proper and safe administration of both prescribed and over the
counter (OTC) medications.
The school nurse is the designated person responsible for the administration and
storage of medicines within the school. Medicines are administered by the school
nurse and appropriately trained first aiders under a “Homely Remedy Protocol”
whereby parents are requested to provide written permission allowing for
administration of certain medicines within school.
Please refer to Appendix 1 for Stamford Junior School and Early Bird Nursery
additions to this policy.
1. Practice for Administering Medications to Pupils
The school nurse will only administer medication to a pupil if aware of:
 The pupil’s medical history
 Any allergies
 Any other medication the pupil is currently taking
 Any possible side effects
 Any contra-indications
The school nurse will establish and check:
 The pupil’s identity
 The pupil’s age
 The reason for giving the medication
 If the pupil has taken that particular medication before and, if so, whether
there were any problems
 Dose of the medication
 Expiry date.
 Any specific instructions relating to that medication
The pupil must take the medication under the supervision of the nurse.
2. Record Keeping
Once a medicine has been administered, an accurate and legible record is made to
provide a complete audit trail for all medicines.
The daily medical record should include:
 Name of pupil
 Date and time
 Name, strength and dosage of medicine
 Signature of member of staff administering medicine
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C(P 9) Administration of Medicines
This document should be kept for all drugs administered (including homely
remedies) and retained for 15 years after the last entry or until the pupil has
reached the age of 26 years.
3. Over the Counter Medications (OTC)
 Are kept securely in a locked cupboard, in a locked room.
 A list is maintained of OTC’s stocked with indications for use,
contraindications, dosages, side-effects and the duration of treatment. See
appendix.
4. Prescribed Medications (POM)
In addition to the above practice for administering medications, the following
principles should be followed when administering short term prescribed medicines
such as antibiotics and analgesics to pupils:
 The pupil must bring the prescribed medicine into school each day and hand
it to the school nurse for storage
 The medicine must only be issued to the pupil for whom it has been
prescribed.
 The medicine must stay in their original container which ideally should be
childproof.
 The original dispensing label must not be altered.
 Stocks of prescription medicines must not be held.
5. Self-administration of Medication
 To ensure the safety of the pupil and others at the school, pupils are
discouraged from self-administration of short term medications. If a pupil
requires medication during the school day, it must be handed to the school
nurse.
 In the case of pupils with long term medical conditions such as diabetes,
asthma, epilepsy and severe allergy, the pupil should keep the prescribed
medicine on their person. After discussion with the pupil, their parents and
the school nurse, a medicine administration (care plan) should be agreed
 Parents and pupils should then sign the medication administration form to
indicate the drugs to be taken and the student’s ability to self-medicate as
and when required
 Small amounts of spare prescribed medicines may be stored by the medical
centre, for example, anti-epileptic drugs, spare inhalers, insulin and epipens
 These medicines should be accurately labelled with the child’s name, drug
name, dose required, frequency of administration and expiry date
6. Procedure for reporting of drug errors and adverse drug reactions
In the event of a drug error or adverse drug reaction, the pupil’s health and safety
will be the initial priority. The school nurse will assess the child and administer any
lifesaving medicines if required.
If deemed necessary, the child will be either seen by a GP from the local practice,
transferred to Stamford Minor Injuries Unit or an ambulance will be called.
Parents will be contacted as soon as reasonably possible. The headmaster and
health and safety officer will be informed and an investigation will take place. An
accident/incident form will be completed.
7. Administration to Save a Life
In extreme emergencies e.g. an anaphylactic reaction, certain medicines can be
given or supplied without the direction of a medical practitioner or there being a
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C(P 9) Administration of Medicines
Patient Group Directive, for the purpose of saving life. For example, the
administration of adrenaline by injection (1:1000), listed under Article 7 of the
Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997 for the administration by
anyone in an emergency for the purpose of saving life.
All staff are given annual updates and training for the administration of epipens
8. Administration of medication by unqualified staff
Training is given to school matrons and some first aiders who provide “cover “in the
medical centres by the School Medical Officer or nurse. The training is for
administration of medication using the “Homely Remedy Protocol” highlighting
issues such as indications, contra-indications, side-effects, dosage, precautions
regarding administration, clear reasons for not giving the drug and duration of
treatment before nursing or medical advice is sought. This training is updated each
year.
9. Storage of Medicines
 All medicines (with the exception of spare asthma inhalers and epipens) are
stored within a locked cupboard within the medical room.
 Asthma Inhalers and Epipens are stored in an easily identifiable individually
named container on the medical room counter to aid easy access.
 Insulin and haemophilia treatment are stored in the fridge
 Control drugs are stored separately in a secure locked cupboard in the
medical room
10. Disposal of Medicines and other medical waste
 Any unused or out of date medicines or waste are disposed of either in the
sharps bin or in a clinical waste bin or returned to the local pharmacy
 Sharps and clinical waste bins are collected on a regular basis and taken to
clinical waste incinerators
11. Controlled drugs
 Good practice dictates that the storage of controlled drugs should comply
with the
Misuse of Drugs (Safe Custody) Regulation (1973) as amended
 A secure, lockable cupboard should be used which contains nothing else
 Only those with authorised access should hold the keys to the cupboard
 Separate records for the administration of controlled drugs should be kept in
an appropriate, bound record book with numbered pages.
 The balance remaining should be checked at each administration and
monthly
 Unused controlled drugs should be returned to the pharmacy and the control
drug book be signed and recorded appropriately.
12. Immunisations
 Nurses directly employed by the school cannot give immunisations unless
they are individually prescribed, labelled and supplied for that pupil by a GP.
An arrangement is made with NHS Nurses to come into the school to
administer the necessary immunisations as per NHS immunisation schedule.
 Individual immunisations for boarders are given at the school GP practice – St
Mary’s Medical Centre
13. Care of Staff
Staff can be provided with over the counter medications (OCMs) using the “Homely
Remedy Protocol”
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C(P 9) Administration of Medicines
14. Consent to Treatment
A pupil’s ability to consent to, or refuse, medical treatment is acknowledged by the
School. This is judged on “competency” and not age. If a pupil is not deemed
“competent‟, parental consent or the consent of a person with parental
responsibility is required, unless it is an emergency.
Children under 16 years of age are not automatically assumed to be legally
competent to make decisions about their health care but will be competent to give
valid consent to a particular intervention if they have “sufficient understanding and
intelligence to enable him or her to understand fully what is proposed”.
Consent is a patient’s agreement for a healthcare professional to provide treatment
or care and may be indicated non-verbally, orally or in a written format.
15. Confidentiality
In accordance with the nurse’s obligations, medical information about pupils,
regardless of age, will remain confidential. However, in providing medical care for a
pupil, it is recognised that, on occasions, the nurse may liaise with the Head and
other academic staff, boarding staff and parents or guardians, and that information,
ideally with the pupil’s prior consent, will be passed on as necessary.
With all medical matters, the nurse will respect the pupil’s confidence except on
extremely rare occasions when, having failed to persuade that pupil or his or her
authorised representative to give consent to divulge, the nurse considers that it is
in the pupil’s best interests, or necessary for the protection of the wider school
community, to breach confidence and pass information to a relevant person or
body.
Useful References.

The National Minimum Standards for Boarding Schools, Inspection
Regulations.
Available from:
http://www.csci.org.uk/care_professionals/service_providers/guidance/guid
ance_for_boarding_schools.aspx

The Administration and Control of Medicines in Care Homes and Children’s
Services.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, June 2003.
www.rpsgb.org.uk

Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings - Department for
Education and
Skills/Dept of Health guidance, March 2005. Contains templates which can
be downloaded.
Available from:
www.teachernet.gov.uk/publications
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

C(P 9) Administration of Medicines
Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs - a good practice guide - Department
for Education
and Employment, 2004.
Boarding Briefing Paper 4 – Medical Protocols and Practice. Boarding Schools
Association.
www.boarding.org.uk

Nursing and Midwifery Council (2002b) Guidelines for the administration of
medicines.
London: NMC.
www.nmc-uk.org

The Administration of Medicines in Schools – MOSA – Medical Officers of
Schools
Association. This Guideline has been endorsed by the Chief Pharmacist of the
CSCI.
February 2007
www.mosa.org.uk/.../Administration%20of%20medicines%20in%20s...
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C(P 9) Administration of Medicines
APPENDIX 1
The following document is an additional addendum to the Stamford Endowed
Schools, Administration of Medicines Policy. This is for sole use of Stamford
Junior School and Early Bird Nursery. It is to be used in conjunction with the
attached policy.
1. Practice for Administering Medicines to Pupils


A signed permission form must be completed and returned to the
nursing staff before medicines will be administered.
All medication will be given under direct supervision of the nursing
staff, with the exception of Inhalers for the Year 6 pupils.
2. Record Keeping
 Following a medicine being administered a written note will be sent
home with pupils stating what has been given, dosage and time.
4. Prescribed Medication
 A written, signed letter should accompany the medication to be given.
Or a temporary medication form can be completed, which can be
obtained from the nursing staff. Prescribed medication will not be
administered without the above.
5. Self-Administration of Medication
 No medication will be self-administered, with the exception of inhalers
for Year 6 pupils.
7. Administration to Save a Life
 The dosage of ADRENALINE by injection is 1:2000 for SJS.
14. Consent to Treatment

Parents would be contacted by the nursing staff to obtain consent.
January 2012
Review: June 2014
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