Medication Policy
Your child may be ill from time to time with a very slight cold or sore teeth, but well enough to attend Little Acorn’s.
We are happy to give your child over the counter medication / pain relief, such as Calpol and teething gel but you must sign a parental permission form for us to do this. The permission to administer short course medication or a daily treatment is included in your initial permissions pack. You will provide the medication yourself, and this must be clearly labelled with the child’s name and in its original bottle or packaging. All medicine that is given to us to administer must have the manufacturer’s guidelines with it.
If your child has been prescribed some medication, we can administer it, particularly if it means that they can finish a course of antibiotics, but they are feeling well enough to be here. All prescription medication must be in its original bottle or packaging with the instructions and date on it.
However, if your child requires a selection of over-the-counter medication and has multiple symptoms, (See our All About Bugs Policy, Illness Policy and NHS Advice page) then they belong at home as they are obviously unwell. These medicines include Calpol, Ibuprofen, Nurofen, infant cough syrup, blocked nose spray etc. If your child has been given Calpol to ease symptoms over the last 8 hours then please talk to us as they may need to be at home, as they are unwell.
In light of the COVID pandemic, COVID is still with us in its many forms, if you or your child are displaying any of the COVID symptoms as per NHS, you have been directed to self-isolate by your doctor, or your child develops symptoms whilst at the setting, our COVID guidelines will be followed. At the setting your child will be isolated safely, you will be contacted to collect your child. You will follow the Little Acorns COVID protocol. This can be found on our website, and paper copy stuck in your daily book.
Our permission form will be reviewed annually/or more frequently if needed, to ensure that there are no changes, for example a child may no longer be able to take some medication. A dialogue is very important to us.
Even though you may have signed a form, we will still contact you by telephone/text/WhatsApp to check that we can administer this medication should the need arise suddenly. This will protect your child, you, and us. Please let us know about any medication you may have given your child before they arrive at Little Acorns, for example the medication, the dose, and the time. If we consider that the medication is to ease ongoing symptoms, then your child will be better off at home and we will ask you to come to pick them up.
Even though you may have signed a form, we will still contact you by telephone/text/WhatsApp to check that we can administer this medication should the need arise suddenly. This will protect your child, you, and us. Please let us know about any medication you may have given your child before they arrive at Little Acorns, for example the medication, the dose, and the time. If we consider that the medication is to ease ongoing symptoms, then your child will be better off at home and we will ask you to come to pick them up.
We will ensure that all medication given to us will be stored correctly, according to the instructions on the packaging, and we will check that it is in its original packaging and still within its expiry date. We will ensure that it is labelled with the child’s name, and each child will have their own bottle of pain relief (Calpol). If your child’s bottle is becoming low, we will contact you via daily book/WhatsApp family group for a new one.
If your child has an inhaler, please obtain an additional one for us to be kept here to make it easier to manage. An inhaler needs to be administered responsibly and we will need a plan, frequency and size of dose, and a plan for weaning off. The traffic light plan leaflet outlines the symptoms to look for should the illness worsen, and to indicate that the illness is not being managed by the inhaler. You can ask for a Traffic Light Plan from your GP or the hospital.
If your child has an inhaler, please obtain an additional one for us to be kept here to make it easier to manage. An inhaler needs to be administered responsibly and we will need a plan, frequency and size of dose, and a plan for weaning off. The traffic light plan leaflet outlines the symptoms to look for should the illness worsen, and to indicate that the illness is not being managed by the inhaler. You can ask for a Traffic Light Plan from your GP or the hospital.
If your child has acute allergies, for example ‘nut’, and stings or other foods that appear on our allergy list and carries/needs an epi-pen, please discuss this with us. We have had epi-pen training and have paperwork to complete re your child’s condition and needs.
If your child needs to take medication prescribed by a doctor, please discuss this with us. We will need you to sign an additional permission form. A child on antibiotics will be asked not to attend for 2-3 days in case they react to the medication and to prevent the spread of an infection to others. We are happy to administer at the end or a course, not at the start, to complete a course. Often, a child feels better but still has a couple of days of the course to complete.
If your child needs to take medication prescribed by a doctor, please discuss this with us. We will need you to sign an additional permission form. A child on antibiotics will be asked not to attend for 2-3 days in case they react to the medication and to prevent the spread of an infection to others. We are happy to administer at the end or a course, not at the start, to complete a course. Often, a child feels better but still has a couple of days of the course to complete.
We will record all medication administered including inhalers in our medication folder, which will be signed by us and by you. For self-administering you will fill in a permission form and will supervise, record and sign this in our medical folder.
Forms include: Parent’s permission slip to administer short course of meds; Emergency medication administration record; Childminders administration of short course medication with times/doses.
Medication needs to be seen in conjunction with our illness policy, and it is clearly a sign that your child is unwell. Children need time to get their illness under control, time to feel better and time to convalesce and recover fully. This is best done at home. If they are at Little Acorns the assumption is that they are well enough to join in safely and completely with the fullest range of activities on offer. If a child is unable to take part in the activities at Little Acorns because they feel particularly unwell, needs to sleep more than usual, convalesce and rest, then they need to be at home. We will contact you to come and collect them.
Forms include: Parent’s permission slip to administer short course of meds; Emergency medication administration record; Childminders administration of short course medication with times/doses.
Medication needs to be seen in conjunction with our illness policy, and it is clearly a sign that your child is unwell. Children need time to get their illness under control, time to feel better and time to convalesce and recover fully. This is best done at home. If they are at Little Acorns the assumption is that they are well enough to join in safely and completely with the fullest range of activities on offer. If a child is unable to take part in the activities at Little Acorns because they feel particularly unwell, needs to sleep more than usual, convalesce and rest, then they need to be at home. We will contact you to come and collect them.
Please see our All About Bugs Policy, COVID guidelines and COVID newsletters, Illness Policy, and NHS Advice Page on our website pages:
Little Acorns Godstone – home.
Little Acorns Godstone – home.
Date: December 2023
Signed: AOkane Date: 2.12.23
Signed: MOkane Date: 2.12.23
Signed: AOkane Date: 2.12.23
Signed: MOkane Date: 2.12.23