School refusing to give antibiotics

[Slayerofmyth]

My daughter has warts on her arm that have become infected. She has been prescribed antibiotics four times a day in liquid form that have to be kept in fridge. She has one dose upon wakening but needs 2 more doses throughout school day. I work so can't get to school to give it, theres no one else. School are refusing to give it, I've said I'll keep her off then so I can administer ( taking time off work,), they say I'll get a fine for absence. What the heck am I supposed to do? Please advise.

This is mad. We have a form to sign, and we administer all sorts of medication. Or some of the students would literally die.

I’m not sure why your school is being difficult. My schools (and I thought it was government wide policy tbh) will administer antibiotics if they are prescribed by a doctor and for 4 doses per day. If it’s only 3 they won’t as you can give 1 at breakfast, 1 after school then 1 at bedtime - whereas 4 doses means there’s not enough hours in the waking day.

@Slayerofmyth

It's insane that so many of you do this as part of your school policy, and yet my school can't? By the way there's NO way I'm waking up my DD twice in the night...😂😂 I hardly sleep as it is and am permanently knackered. I think it's pretty rank of the school to threaten me with a fine without even trying to offer a solution, that's just bloody cheeky. There's been other issues too, my DD who is 10 and has breasts and body hair, is expected to get changed in a classroom with the boys. Honestly if she wasn't nearly I'm her last year of primary I'd be moving her.

Children from KS2 upwards are supposed to be segregated by sex for changing. If it upsets her (and that wouldn’t be surprising), ask if she can change in the staff room or somewhere away from the boys.

@NeverDropYourMoonCup

Sadly that’s the reality for most schools , but parents just don’t get it.

Keep her off. You won't be fined, you have a good reason.

The only other thing you could do is double dose her in the morning and give her the other two doses in the evening.

Just collect at lunchtime, give medicine, return to school. Easily sorted.

I don’t know what job you do, but not many would allow you to do this

OP - contact welfare officer at the LA tomorrow and ask for advice.

@Slayerofmyth

Officially medications in tablet form have to be declared but we didn't. Dd had a variety of medical conditions one results in utis a lot hence lots of antibiotics, she just took the tablets for that day in her bag

That’s a crazy policy, I work in a primary and we administer with permission or supervise older children self-administering.

My DDs school can be like this, my DD had to have two weeks off last academic year as she needed eye drops at specific times to stop her eye drying (she'd had an operation on it and needed the drops for 8 weeks but slowly reducing the amount) and they refused, despite me getting a letter from her consultant stating dosage and timings.

OP consider yourself a social justice warrior. You are going to change the system not just for your child but all the children coming up in the system after her. Good on you!

@ColinSupporter

Do they have to be exactly evenly spaced? So could you do morning, pickup time, just after dinner and before you go to bed?

Or, if you can take the time off to keep her home, take the time off but send her in to school then go in to administer yourself. Presumably it’s only for a couple of days anyway?

I was going to say this. Also, it’s possible for the dr to recommend some flexibility about timing of the doses.

You're being difficult tbh. Switch to tablets or wake her in the night. Missing 10days of school is pretty extreme and at the age of 10 she'll be missing out on loads.

This is state education we all pay for through our taxes, unfortunately. Schools can be so "understanding" with working parents.

OP, as you are stuck I would suggest giving her doses in the night. It sounds nuts, but I don't see a way round it in the short term. You will have to wake her and follow up with a bananas or something easy to much on half-asleep. So you can do something like 8:30 am, 6:30 pm, 11:00 pm and 4:00 am. It will be massively disruptive to everyone, but what else can you do?

@Tinyspiky

I would contact the doctor and explain the problem, ask for twice daily antibiotics instead, there's plenty different preparations available so it really shouldn't be a problem.

This

This is crazy, the school are refusing to give a medication which has been prescribed by a doctor and also saying you'll get fined if you keep her off to give that medication and people are defending that? Even suggesting waking a child at 2am to facilitate that? It's a bit ridiculous to refuse tbh, but I suppose it's understandable, but to refuse and then threaten a fine for taking the only available option left is pathetic.
Bloody hell, it's ridiculous.

If it were me I'd be asking them to put it all in writing about not administering meds as per policy, but also the threat about unauthorised absence and fines too, then keep her off to administer, then complain to your MP and Ofsted if and when you actually receive a fine.

In today's litigious society sadly I can see why many members of staff would not be comfortable administering medication.

could child self administer if adult was present?

Get the syringes from a pharmacy and put the exact dose in them...put them in a cool box and let her self administer! I presume she can tell the time or give her a timer that will go off at the right time

My school is the same, I give the doses 6 hours apart so 4 doses over 24 hours which is the way antibiotics should be given really. It means an alarm in the early hours but is only for a bit.

No, don't send medication in for a 10 year old to keep in their bag.

@Warmduscher I've worked in plenty of schools thank you. And now I support many of my families I work with to be the extra parent they need whilst trying to work. Schools have their own reasons for making up these rules but honestly effort seems to be the biggest issue.

The school staff listing out how hard it is to give the medications with each individual step are not making themselves look more reasonable. I’m sure it’s a faff, but it’s life, and the right thing to do.

People saying that the child should self-administer need to understand that schools don’t allow children to have medication on their person. It could end up in the wrong hands and kill another child. Op would get in a lot of trouble for sending in medication when she has been told the school won’t deal with it. It is a rotten situation, but I think if you speak to pharmacist or GP you’ll find a way around it.

Also, if you did have to take time off work, you don’t have to keep her off... just send her to school and you go in to give the medication.

@ThePawtriarchy

The school staff listing out how hard it is to give the medications with each individual step are not making themselves look more reasonable. I’m sure it’s a faff, but it’s life, and the right thing to do.

Unfortunately it does sound like that but some people are is saying it only takes a minute, so school staff, as usual, are trying to defend their position. School staff are not sitting around at 11.30 waiting to medicate a child! Support staff pared to the bone, office staff (1) part-time etc. It's the usual I'm-a-busy-person-but-school-staff-are-slackers thread. In this situation why don't we blame it on GPs for making work? Three times over the 12 hours the child is awake will work just the same as four.