Student health and safety

The parent/carer of each student diagnosed with anaphylaxis should provide the school with a coloured copy of the ASCIA Action Plan for anaphylaxis signed by the doctor for that student, and two adrenaline auto-injectors.

The student should always carry one EpiPen with them together with a copy of the ASCIA Action Plan. The extra adrenaline auto-injector will be held securely at the school as a backup in the event it is required.

Students who require asthma puffers may carry their puffers for self-administration. Parents/carers are required to inform the school of their young person's condition and provide a completed Asthma Action Plan signed by a doctor. The completed documentation will be lodged in the medication register. Students must not share puffers.

Process for arranging health care support

• Parent/carer advises school that their young person has a medical condition by completing the  Student health condition: request for support form based on information provided by the young person's medical practitioner.
• Where medication at school forms part of the request, the parent provides a completed Consent to dispense medication form.
• Principal considers any request from the parents that their young person be allowed to self-administer medication and determines whether they support this request. The principal will provide a letter - Confirmation of medical administration details for a young person to self-medicate. The principal is responsible for making a judgement about whether a particular student can self-administer safely. The principal may wish to seek medical advice on this issue.
• An Emergency Care/Response Plan is developed and signed by the parents/carers. If there are any high-level concerns or risks, an enhanced health care plan (eHCP) may be requested or developed in collaboration with parents/carers and/or the medical practitioner.
• Parents/carers provide prescribed medication or other consumables in a labelled container or blister pack/Webster-pak with the young person’s name/dosage to the front office, as agreed before the health care plan commences. When medication supply is low (around one week of dosages remaining) the parent will be notified as a courtesy to provide additional medication.
• Any changes to the young person’s health condition and/or changes required relating to support at school/administration of medication must be made in writing by the parents/carers.

It is a Department of Education policy that no painkillers are to be issued by the school for student use. However, from time to time, students may require medication.

Parents/carers are encouraged to schedule antibiotic and short-term medication so that medications are given to students before school and on arrival home from school.

If students require regular and/or intermittent medication, a parent/carer is required to contact the school and negotiate appropriate arrangements with the Head Teacher Wellbeing or the Deputy Principal.

Relevant paperwork must be signed by a parent/carer and will be lodged in the student’s personal file in the front office.

Where long-term medical or allergic conditions requiring medication exist, the family doctor should provide directions in writing, through a parent/carer as to the nature of the medication and its prescribed use. If such medications are to be stored at school for use during the day, they will be kept in an appropriate and safe place.

The school has designated personnel, nominated by the Principal, to administer medication or to supervise students who administer their own medication. Alternative arrangements are in place if the designated personnel are absent or unavailable.

The designated personnel are present during medication administration and full details of medications administered are recorded in a medication register. Identification safeguards are also kept with this register. Parents/carers are responsible for notifying the school of any possible side effects or allergies to medication.

See Health care support for process to request support.

NSW Health advises that ‘over-the-counter’ medication such as Panadol and Nurofen may still be harmful and that schools should follow the same procedures for non-prescribed medications as for prescribed medications. 

Please do not allow your young person to bring pain relief or other ‘over-the-counter’ medications to school in their bag to self-administer.

See Health care support for process to request support.

Each year, NSW Health works in partnership with schools to offer the vaccines recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) for adolescents as part of the School Vaccination Program. These vaccinations are offered to students in Years 7 & 10.

To access the School Vaccination Program, parents/guardians must provide consent.

Please find further information below about the School Vaccination Program, including guides on providing and withdrawing consent.

Resources

Procedure to withdraw vaccination consent

School Vaccination Program video

It is our policy at West Wallsend High School to provide responsible care and attention to students at all times. To be able to achieve this, it is necessary to have a set of procedures and policies in place.

Our school is a member of the ambulance fund. If the school deems it necessary to call an ambulance for a student, parents/carers will not be responsible for any cost.

If a student needs to go home due to feeling unwell, they must speak to their classroom teacher or the teacher on playground duty to gain permission to move to the student window. The school will contact parents/carers to collect students when they are experiencing discomfort or are unwell. 

We ask that all students follow the cleanliness procedures outlined in the sick bay.

The school community, including families, need to work together to protect students from damaging UV rays with appropriate sun protection measures. We aim to make a significant contribution to reduce the incidence of skin cancer and related skin damage later in life.

Students are encouraged to use a combination of sun protection measures whenever UV levels reach 3 or higher.

• Wear sun safe hats and use shaded areas when outside.
• Use SPF 50+ broad-spectrum sunscreen for outdoor and sporting activities, including breaks. Sunscreen is provided at sport and sporting carnivals and is available in the library.
• Wear sunglasses to protect the eyes.
• Wear sun safe clothing styles (shirts with collars, elbow length sleeves, longer style shorts, skirts and pants).

• The school cannot take responsibility for any damage.
• Students must not ride on school grounds. 
• Bikes and scooters must be walked to the storage area and secured with a personal lock supplied by the student. 
• All students must wear a helmet when riding a bike or scooter to and from school.
• Electric scooters (e-scooters) are banned from school as personal e-scooters remain illegal on NSW roads and road-related areas, including footpaths, shared paths and bicycle lanes. 

Any items which are illegal are not to be brought to school (this includes cigarettes, vapes, drugs, firecrackers, explosive items and weapons). Possession, handling, or sale of such items at school can result in suspension from school. 

Students are required to mark all their personal possessions clearly with their name. They are asked not to bring valuable items including jewellery or large amounts of money to school. If for some reason students are required to do this, then the money or items should be deposited in the school office for safekeeping.

West Wallsend High School prohibits students from bringing energy drinks, aerosol cans e.g. deodorants/body sprays, chewing gum, liquid paper and felt pens to school.