If your child requires medicine to be administered during the school day, please fill in the following form and take it to the school office. All medication prescription or those sold over the counter must be stored in the school office and a form filled in.

For further information, please note our policy Supporting Pupils with Medical Conditions

The health, safety, and wellbeing of our children are our top priorities. We are a fully inclusive school and warmly welcome children with a wide range of medical needs, including allergies. Allergies can be triggered by many different foods – most commonly milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, fish, and gluten – as well as non-food items like insect stings or latex.

Following guidance from the Department for Education, Allergy UK, and Anaphylaxis UK, we do not operate a blanket ban on any single ingredient. Experts advise that total bans are unenforceable, can overlook other critical allergens, and create a false sense of security.

Instead, we practice a rigorous whole-school allergy awareness approach to keep all children safe.

Our school safeguards

To protect children with severe allergies and minimise the risk of cross-contamination, we enforce the following measures:

• Strict no-food-sharing policy: Children are taught never to swap, share, or sample snacks, treats, or packed lunches.
• Supervised handwashing: All children must wash their hands before and after eating to remove trace allergens from hands, shared desks, and playground equipment.
• Mandatory staff training: All school staff receive regular, professional training to recognise the signs of a mild, moderate, or severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis) and act immediately.
• Emergency medication: The school safely stores prescribed adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs) and antihistamines for specific pupils, alongside a stock of back-up emergency AAIs.
• Allergy Management Plans: Every child with a diagnosed allergy has a personalised Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) shared confidentially with their teachers.
• Safe Catering: Our school kitchen works under strict allergen controls. Our catering team can provide tailored, allergen-safe menus for children with documented dietary needs.

How parents and carers can help

If your child brings a packed lunch, we ask for your vital support in keeping our school community safe. Please be mindful that a food item that is perfectly safe for your child could be life-threatening to a classmate.

Please do not send:

• Loose nuts, peanut butter, or nut-based chocolate spreads (e.g. Nutella).
• Foods containing other allergens that pupils in our school need to avoid. In these cases, we will provide specific guidance. 

Allergy Awareness and Benedict’s Law

Benedict’s Law was introduced following the tragic death of seven-year-old Benedict Blythe, who suffered a fatal allergic reaction while at school. The campaign seeks to improve allergy awareness, strengthen allergy management in educational settings and help ensure that children with allergies are kept safe throughout the school day.

The principles of Benedict’s Law promote a whole-school approach to allergy awareness, encouraging schools to have clear procedures, trained staff and effective communication with families. Its aim is to create safer learning environments where pupils with allergies are fully included and supported.

We recognise that allergies can have a significant impact on the health, wellbeing and confidence of children and their families. We are committed to raising awareness of allergies, reducing risks wherever possible and ensuring that appropriate measures are in place to support pupils with medical needs.

Key contacts

School Allergy Lead: Mrs Pauline Guy/ Mrs Sarah Simpson
School Allergy Governor: (to follow)

For further information about our allergy procedures and support arrangements, please contact our Allergy Lead or refer to the Allergy Policy on our policies page. 

Please have a look at some information about the sessions run in centres across our locality by clicking on the leaflet below.

Harborough What's On in our Hubs Leaflet

The school nurses are qualified nurses and have an office at Market Harborough District Hospital.

The nurses can :

• be the first point of contact for parents or carers needing health advice or information.
• support children and parents/carers with ongoing or specific health needs and promote self-care.
• referral to other specialist and co- ordinate of a range of services.

Click on the links to see how the nursing team can help and support your child- https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/463343675

Health for Kids and Chat Health Information

If you would like to contact the school nurse or have concerns about your child’s health, you can use our secure text messaging service, ChatHealth, to contact a public health nurse for advice.

You should text:

• In Leicester: 07520 615381
• In Leicestershire and Rutland: 07520 615382

ChatHealth operates Monday-Friday from 9am until 5pm, and during this period messages are responded to within 24 hours. Outside these times, users receive a ‘bounce back’ text message indicating that they will receive a response when the line re-opens.

Further sources of support are available from:

www.healthforkids.co.uk

www.healthforteens.co.uk

Parents and carers who are worried about the well-being of a child they know may find useful support and guidance as well as an advice line that they can call. Young Minds is the UK's leading charity committed to improving the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. 

Young Minds website: http://www.youngminds.org.uk/

A Mental Health resource has been created by a GP in Bristol. It’s an accessible, one-stop website with approved and recommended resources for mental and health and wellbeing for children across the ages. There are resources for young people, parents and professionals.

https://www.happymaps.co.uk/

There are subsections, including self-harm, anxiety etc, links to books, video clips and more.

CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE’S MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTORY

This directory is full of local support services that are designed to help you overcome life challenges and to support any mental health issues you may have. The directory can help you find the right support for you. Browse the directory pages or use the contents links to go to a particular service.

Link here- Mental Heath Services Directory

These resources are available to support parents and carers in keeping children safe online:

• support for parents and carers to keep children safe online, which outlines resources to help keep children safe from different risks online and where to go to find support and advice
• guidance on staying safe online which includes information on security and privacy settings
• Thinkuknow provides advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) on staying safe online
• Parent info is a collaboration between Parentzone and the NCA providing support and guidance for parents from leading experts and organisations
• Childnet offers a toolkit to support parents and carers of children of any age to start discussions about their online life, to set boundaries around online behaviour and technology use, and to find out where to get more help and support
• Internet matters provides age-specific online safety checklists, guides on how to set parental controls on a range of devices, and a host of practical tips to help children get the most out of their digital world
• London Grid for Learning has support for parents and carers to keep their children safe online, including tips to keep primary aged children safe online
• Net-aware has support for parents and carers from the NSPCC, including a guide to social networks, apps and games
• Let’s Talk About It has advice for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation
• UK Safer Internet Centre has tips, advice, guides and other resources to help keep children safe online, including parental controls offered by home internet providers and safety tools on social networks and other online services.
• Internet Safety

VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING SNOW

When snow is forecast we monitor the weather forecasts very closely. We will of course make every effort to keep school open, but the health and safety of the children, parents and staff is of paramount importance. Many staff live some distance from the school and you will know that routes in and out of Great Glen can present some difficulties.

IN THE EVENT OF SNOW CLOSING THE SCHOOL:

You will receive an email via Parentmail

Please look at our Twitter, Class Dojo and website –which will display up to date information.

Please pass information on to each other and check that other parents have received the message

IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE GREAT GLEN AND ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE ROADS, PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ANY RISKS

IF SCHOOL IS OPEN BUT HAS TO CLOSE DURING THE DAY:

We will send you a Parentmail – please communicate with other parents and safely make your way to collect your children as soon as you can. If you are likely to be delayed, please inform us –

0116 2592764 or email office@stcuthberts.leics.sch.uk