Pain relief in school

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

AIBU to expect basic analgesia to be able to be given in school? My son has a buckle fracture of the wrist and is able to attend school. However he has been needing paracetamol around 6 hourly since he did it. He has a splint on, so it is not fully immobile meaning it is more uncomfortable.
I was at a homebirth today, and had a call from school telling me I needed to come and give him paracetamol as he was in a lot of pain. I am a single parent, and no family support, so just me to deal with this. You can imagine how this scenario made me feel today. My poor son was in pain for over an hour as I had to wait for a colleague to relieve me, putting huge pressure on the rest of our service.
School are stating they will not under any circumstances give paracetamol, prescribed or not. We have just 2 days left of term, both days I am in work and can fully see this happening again.
My son is a regular bone breaker (!). I can forsee this being an ongoing issue over the next couple of years. I am lucky (well, kinda) that this is at the end of term this time and I am off work for the next 2.5 weeks.
Would you challenge this school policy? I have had a search online and it appears that the school are basing their policy on absolutely nothing. All the guidance is that it is appropriate for school to administer analgesia with parental consent.
AIBU to question this?

If they can't look after your son properly when he is in distress or pain, keep him at home x

School are definitely in the wrong. We wouldn't hesitate to give medication when needed as long as we had signed paperwork with details etc. Random Calpol would require a phone call home but not given by the parent with instructions. I can't imagine what their reasoning is.

Please don't give him it in a bottle of drink or whatever, that's appalling advice.

Our school administer painkillers. We sign a form at the beginning of each year but they do phone and check before giving.

I am shocked that a school can't give paracetamol, I work in a school and it's part of my job to administer this sort of thing....but that's in a private school.
If I were you I would do as others have suggested and put a pre-loaded syringe of pain relief into a lunch box. I wouldn't let the school know though or else they may remove it and not allow him to take it.

Paracetamol shouldn't be the same issue, but schools in England are banned from administering products with aspirin in without a prescription. In any case, for all painkillers they are supposed to check the dosage and the time that the last dose was given, so I would ensure that information was in the Ziplock bag with the pre-filled syringes. Maybe cut the dosage info off the box and put in an initialed chit of paper with date, time and dosage last given and then maybe the next anticipated dosage with room for your son to sign it when he's taken it.

The government have a statutory guidance document on how schools need to support pupils with medical conditions. It includes the bit about no aspirin without a prescription and needing dosage info for painkillers. Also, under unacceptable practices the documents includes:
"require parents, or otherwise make them feel obliged, to attend school to administer medication or provide medical support to their child"

Your school is supposed to have a policy easily available to parents on how they support pupils with medical conditions. If they don't, or if it fails to conform to the Government's guidance you might approach your parent governors to ask them to raise these issues and advocate for parents.

Yanbu- our school phone and ask if ok to give in situations such at this - I think we prob sign something in the beginning of year bumph giving general permission too but they call and check if to give nurofen or calpol and if they'd had any in morning etc re spacing out...

If a child is still in that much pain they need pain relief so regularly personally I think school is the worst possible place for them!

Schools don’t have to give things like pain relief, many will but many don’t want to take the responsibility

And please don’t send medication in in secret. You don’t know if it will end up in the wrong hands and if it does if it will cause an allergic reaction for that child.

As someone who works in a school and happily volunteers to give paracetamol to pupils, i would be massively uncomfortable with a pre-loaded syringe of mystery.

We ask fo an unopened bottle in its original packaging with the dose on it (we do need written permission too and timings so we dont give it too close to previous dose)
My sons school had this no medicine policy and i resented leaving my workplace to give a dose of paracetamol when I knew it was possible.

@Sirzy

If a child is still in that much pain they need pain relief so regularly personally I think school is the worst possible place for them!

Schools don’t have to give things like pain relief, many will but many don’t want to take the responsibility

OP says this is an ongoing issue. You're effectively suggesting he's homeschooled.

No OP said he is a regular bone breaker. Generally it will only be a day or two before the pain settles and stops needing 6 hourly pain relief.

Our school will give it as long as its for a specific reason (ie the broken bone), not for an adhoc headache or unknown illness etc.

My daughter was on long term pain killers whilst waiting for surgery, she wouldnt have been in school without it.

Secondary i will be giving dd her own ibuprofen if she needs it. Why should they struggle to concentrate.
It would be in the packet.
It's similar to hospital- who lock your meds up and then you cant take the stuff.

Op ibuprofen as you probably knows lasts longer more like 6h so that might work better.

DDs school gave her calpol when she needed it. I just had to fill in a form giving permission so I think YANBU

My children's school would not even give antibiotics which needed to be given 4 times a day.
Why don't you dose him on both calpol and nurifen (its allowed - speak to your chemist) as this would help the pain be reduced further. I would give one at the school gate and the other an hour before.

@Sh05

Same at my dds highschool. Prescribed medication is allowed so long as it's labelled but only if it need to be taken more than three times a day so first dose before school then second dose supervised by staff at school. Paracetamol is not included in this so if a child needs painkillers, a parent/ guardian has to come in to administer it. The child cannot take or carry it themselves and the staff are not allowed to admister it.

Seems like a pointless rule at a high school. Surely any kid who felt like they might need to take a painkiller (period pains etc) would just have it in the bottom of their bag and take it quietly. Who can leave work to go and give a 16 year old a paracetamol!

Ask another parent. I've gone in and given it for people and they for me. Maybe at pick up before wrap around? I'd not have to be your friend to help out a child in pain

Off the topic, was he investigated for fragile bones disorder?

If the issue is specifically paracetamol, would they administer ibuprofen instead?

We did solve this in the end. I took the prefilled syringes and just said they were in his bag, he was going to administer himself and he knew when to give it - and where did they want them to go - stay in his bag or store them away. They stored them away.
Why they couldn't have said this in the first place, I don't know. Would have solved a lot of issues. So now I know what to do in future.
Whoever said about Ibuprofen, I did give him that plus calpol on Tuesday morning, so he was fine until 1pm when he asked the staff for his syringes.
Same on Wednesday. He is finished for summer now, so no longer an issue.

@Lagomtransplant no, but he hasn't broken bones frequently enough. He is hypermobile, that combined with the inattentiveness of adhd is the likely reason for his accidents/broken bones. But I will keep it in mind.