Routine medication

Most routine anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) can be taken outside school time. The government recommends that doctors should consider this when prescribing AEDs. If possible, they should prescribe doses that can be taken outside school time. If a child with epilepsy needs to take routine AEDs during school hours, the school should follow these guidelines:

• Your child can take his or her own medicine at school, with supervision from an adult.
• If your child cannot take his or her own medicine, the medicine can be given by an adult at school.
• Any member of staff may give prescribed medicines, but must have parental consent if the pupil is under 16.
• There is no legal duty on school staff to volunteer to administer medicines, but schools can employ members of staff with this responsibility in their contract.
• The school should organise initial and refresher training for members of staff with responsibility for medicines.
• The same member of staff should normally give the medicine, or supervise your child taking their medicine. A second member of staff who knows your child should be nominated as a reserve, in case the first member of staff is not available.
• It is good practice for schools to keep written records of the storage, administration and disposal of medicines.
• Parents should hand medicines over to the school in the original prescribed container. The government recommends that doctors make dual prescriptions for medicines that need to be given during school hours. This way, the child has separate containers of medicine for home and school.
• Medicines should be stored and administered according to the instructions on the container.
• Your child should know where his or her medicines are stored. If the medicines are kept locked up, your child should know who holds the key.
• Parents are responsible for informing the school if there are any changes to the medicine, dose, or method of administration.
• Schools should have systems for storing, checking, and disposing of medicines.
• Medicines which are no longer needed should be returned to the parents for disposal. If this is not possible, the medicines should be returned to the dispensing pharmacy.
  
  
  
• Epilepsy awareness project for primary schools