Student Health & Wellbeing

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School has legal, moral and social obligations to care for the safety and well being of your child while he/she is in our care. Legally, all staff members are required to act with common sense and a responsible approach which endeavours to protect your child’s safety. Our staff members take this very seriously and we ask that parents and visitors to the school follow procedures to help staff ensure the safety of the children.

HEALTH & SAFETY OBLIGATIONS

Each staff member and others at the school are responsible for ensuring his/her health and safety by:

complying with health and safety instructions,
taking action to avoid, eliminate or minimise hazards,
making proper use of personal protective equipment,
not wilfully placing at risk the health and safety of own self and others,
seeking information and advice when necessary,
being familiar with hazard/accident/ reporting and emergency evacuation procedures.

EVACUATION POLICY

The continuous ringing of the school bell indicates the need to evacuate.
An Evacuation Drill takes place at least once per term. The evacuation plan is located in all rooms. Please familiarise yourself with its location and the path to be followed.
All classes will assemble on the oval.
Each teacher is responsible for making certain all students are located in the designated areas by -
1. Walking the students in an orderly manner to the designated area.
2. Taking the class roll to the designated area and having a roll call.
3. Informing Principal/APRE/APC/Secretary of any students not present.
4. Keep students assembled until further notice from the Principal, APRE/APC or Secretary.
Class teachers will take a copy of class rolls and the school secretary a copy of the Visitor Register to the Assembly area. The Principal/APRE/APC/Secretary will be responsible for checking the assembled classes to ensure all students are located.
The Principal/APRE/APC/Secretary records the evacuation details in the EVACUATION REGISTER.

Parents need to be aware of this process if they are helping in the classrooms.

SUN SAFETY

Students are to wear their school hats at all times when outside the classroom. Students without hats must remain in the multi-purposed area. We have a firm policy of 'NO HAT, NO PLAY'.

Sunscreen is available in bulk for each class. It is the teacher's responsibility to promote the wearing of this with outside activities. This does not mean physically applying it to each child, but rather making it available and emphasising that it should be applied.

SMOKING

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School is a smoke-free environment and as such, smoking is not permitted on any part of the School grounds at any time.

STUDENT PROTECTION

STUDENT HEALTH

MEDICATION

Prescribed Medication will be administered as directed by the child's doctor or as set out on the original bottle label by the pharmacist. Where children are required to take medication a 'Letter of Authorisation' must be completed. Panadol or other non-prescription medicine cannot be administered under any circumstance.

*Please Note: We cannot administer the 1st dose of any medication.

Any medication to be administered must taken to the office to be kept in a secure area. Only office staff or leadership team members can administer medication.

ATHSMA REGISTER

An Asthmatic Register is maintained in the office. Teachers should familiarise themselves with any children in their class who may be Asthmatics. Parents are required to provide the school with an action plan for their child if they suffer from Asthma.

ACCIDENTS / INJURIES

Parents will be contacted as soon as possible when their child has been involved in an accident during the day. There are first aid officers within the school that will assist the student til their parents arrive.

Minor Injuries – first aid officers assist the child.
Serious Injuries – the ambulance is called first, parents straight after the ambulance and the child is assisted by the first aid officer while waiting for the ambulance and their parents.

FIRST AID

The First Aid Kit is located in the Sick Room. A portable First Aid Kit used for excursions and times when students leave the school grounds is kept under the bed in the Sick Room. The Prep room maintains a minor First Aid Kit of bandaids etc for minor incidents.

There are multiple staff members that are the first aid officers. However, parents are always phoned to notify you of the incident.

All treatment of individuals is recorded in the School First Aid Record Book by the person who treating the individual. In the case of serious incidents the teacher who the accident is reported to needs to ensure that the Riskman Report is completed. It is then passed to the Principal, who determines if further reports to the DCEO Workplace Health and Safety supervisor.

All staff members are encouraged to gain their First Aid qualifications.

SICK CHILDREN

Children complaining of ill health are sent to the Office at the class teacher's discretion and parents will be contacted and asked to collect their child. The admin staff are first aid officers and most other staff members have their first aid certificate.

EXCLUSION PERIODS

Students who are unwell should not attend school. Children with infectious diseases must be excluded for specified times and parents are asked to inform the school immediately. Click here to view the Recommended Exclusion Periods, produced by the Queensland Department of Health.

ABSENTEEISM

Parents are asked to notify the school by Parent Lounge, email or a phone call to the school office if their child is sick. Parents will be notified by the school if students are absent without notice.

HEALTH RECORDS

At the beginning of each school year, it is important that parents inform us of any changes to children's health records, emergency contacts etc. Please keep us informed of changes as they occur. In the event of an emergency or accident the decision we make will depend upon the information which you have provided.