Catch22 reserves the right to amend this policy, following consultation, where appropriate.
Date of last review: November 2025
Date of next review: August 2026
What is the policy about?
This policy outlines how Catch22 Colleges supports learners with medical conditions to ensure they can access the full educational experience, including lessons, trips, and activities, safely and without discrimination. It sets out the responsibilities of staff, parents/guardians, and learners in managing medical needs, including the development and implementation of Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs), administration of medicines, emergency procedures, and staff training. The policy emphasizes inclusion, equal opportunities, and clear communication, while ensuring compliance with legal requirements and safeguarding learners’ health and well-being.
Who does this policy apply to?
All Catch22 College staff, learners, parents/guardians, governing bodies, volunteers and contractors.
Policy requirements
Purpose
This policy aims to ensure that:
- Learners, staff and parents/guardians understand how Catch22 Colleges will support learners with medical conditions.
- Learners with medical conditions are supported to enable them to access the full education provision we offer, including college trips and sporting activities.
This policy will be implemented by:
- Making sure sufficient staff are suitably trained.
- This is of paramount importance and mangers should seek internal and/or external guidance if unsure.
- Making staff (including supply & agency) aware of learners’ conditions, where relevant to the fulfilment of this duty.
- Establishing cover arrangements to ensure a trained member of staff is always available to support learners with medical conditions.
- Developing and monitoring individual healthcare plans (IHPs).
Scope
Learners who have medical need, staff, volunteers, parents/carers and governing bodies.
This policy meets the requirements under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014, which places a duty on governing boards to make arrangements for supporting learners at our college with medical conditions. It is also based on the Department for Education’s statutory guidance: Supporting learners at school with medical conditions.
Director of Learning and Skills
The Director of Learning and Skills has ultimate responsibility to make arrangements to support learners with medical conditions. The Director of Learning and Skills will ensure that sufficient staff have received suitable training and are competent before they are responsible for supporting children with medical conditions.
Lead Teacher
The Lead Teacher will:
- make sure all staff are aware of this policy and understand their role in its implementation,
- ensure that there is a sufficient number of trained staff available to implement this policy and deliver against all individual healthcare plans (IHPs), including in contingency and emergency situations,
- take overall responsibility for the development of IHPs,
- make sure that staff are insured (and aware that they are) to support learners with their medical needs,
- ensure each college holds records of all learners who have a medical condition,
- ensure that systems are in place for obtaining information about a learners medical needs and that this information is kept up to date and secure – this should be included in learners’ induction process.
Staff
Supporting learners with medical conditions during college hours is not the sole responsibility of one person. Any member of staff may be asked to provide support to learners with medical conditions, although they will not be required to do so.
- This includes the administration of medicines.
- Those staff who take on the responsibility to support learners with medical conditions will receive sufficient and suitable training and will achieve the necessary level of competency before doing so.
- Staff will take into account the needs of learners with medical conditions, and the impact of those on their ability to participate, in the planning and facilitation of all lessons and college activities.
- All staff working with a learner with a medical condition will know how to respond to their medical need.
- Staff will raise any concerns to their line manager in a timely manner.
Parents/Guardians
Parents/guardians will:
- provide the college with sufficient and up-to-date information about their child’s medical needs,
- update the college if information changes,
- be involved in the development and review of their child’s IHP and may be involved in its draftingb and
- carry out any action they have agreed to as part of the implementation of the IHP e.g. provide medicines and equipment.
Learners
Learners with medical conditions will often be best placed to provide information about how their condition affects them.
- Learners will contribute as much as possible to the development of their IHPs.
- Learners are expected to comply with their IHPs.
Equal opportunities
Catch22 Colleges actively supports learners with medical conditions to participate in college trips, visits and/or in sporting activities.
The college group will consider what reasonable adjustments need to be made to enable these learners to participate fully and safely in all college activities.
Risk assessments will be carried out so that planning arrangements take account of any steps needed to ensure that learners with medical conditions are included. In doing so, learners, their parents and any relevant healthcare professionals will be consulted.
Notification of a medical condition
When the College is notified that a learner has a medical condition, or there is an update to a learners medical need, the process outlined in Appendix 1 will be followed to decide whether the learner requires an IHP.
The college will make every effort to ensure that arrangements are put into place within 2 weeks, or by the beginning of the relevant term for learners who are new to our college.
Individual Healthcare Plans (IHPs)
The Lead Teacher has overall responsibility for the development of IHPs for learners with medical conditions. The member of staff coordinating their writing and implementation is the college Administrator.
Using the Catch22 ‘Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP) Form’ plans will be developed with the learner’s best interests in mind and will set out:
- What needs to be done
- When
- By whom
- Any anticipated emergency response
Not all learners with a medical condition will require an IHP. The necessity of an IHP will be agreed, based on evidence, in consultation between, the college staff, learner and their parents/carer. In cases where consensus isn’t reached, the Lead Teacher will make the final decision.
Where needed, plans will be drawn up in partnership with a relevant healthcare professional, such as a specialist or paediatrician, who can best advise on the learner’s specific needs. The learner will be involved wherever possible.
IHPs will be linked to, or become part of, any statement of special educational needs (SEN) or education, health and care plan (EHCP). If a learner has SEN but does not have a statement or EHCP, their SEN will be mentioned in the IHP.
The level of detail in the plan will depend on the complexity of the child’s condition and how much support is needed.
The following information will be considered when deciding what to record on IHPs:
- The medical condition, its triggers, signs, symptoms and treatments and resulting needs, including medication (dose, side effects and storage) and other treatments, time, facilities, equipment, testing, access to food and drink where this is used to manage their condition, dietary requirements and environmental issues, e.g. classroom setting, crowded corridors, travel time between lessons
- Specific support for the learner’s educational, social and emotional needs. For example, how absences will be managed, requirements for extra time to complete exams, use of rest periods, support in catching up with lessons and counselling sessions
- Clear monitoring arrangements when a learner is self-managing their medication
- The staff member designated to support the child, their training needs, expectations of their role and confirmation of proficiency as well as cover arrangements for when they are unavailable
- The people in the college who need to be aware of the learner’s condition and any data protection implications
- Arrangement for supply and written permission from parents and the Lead Teacher for medication to be administered by a member of staff, or self-administered by the learner during college hours
- Separate arrangements or procedures required for college trips or other college activities outside of the normal college timetable that will ensure the learner can participate, e.g. risk assessments
- What to do in an emergency, including who to contact, and contingency arrangements
- The IHP will be reviewed annually or earlier if there is evidence that the learner’s needs have changed.
Once the IHP has been completed by all parties and signed by the Lead Teacher a Risk Assessment should also be created to reflect the IHP and should be shared with relevant staff.
Managing medicines
Prescription and non-prescription medicines will only be administered at Catch22 Colleges where parents’ have given written consent or when it would be detrimental to the learner’s health not to do so.
The only exception to this is where the medicine has been prescribed to the learner without the knowledge of the parents, in which case a written confirmation from the doctor will be sought.
Learners under 16 will not be given medicine containing aspirin unless prescribed by a doctor.
Anyone giving a learner any medication (for example, for pain relief) will first check maximum dosages and when a previous dosage might have been taken. Parents will always be informed.
The college will only accept prescribed medicines that are:
- In-date
- Labelled
- Provided in the original container, as dispensed by the pharmacist, and include instructions for administration, dosage and storage
- The college will accept insulin that is inside an insulin pen or pump rather than its original container, but it must be in date.
- When receiving prescribed medication, the ‘Receiving & Dispensing Medication Form’ should be completed; Including how much of the medication has been received.
- Each time that medication is provided to a learner, the ‘Receiving & Dispensing Medication Form’ should be updated
All medicines will be stored safely, as per specific guidance. Learners will be informed about where their medicines are at all times and be able to access them immediately. Medicines and devices such as asthma inhalers, blood glucose testing meters and adrenaline pens will always be readily available to learners and not locked away.
Medicines will be returned to parents to arrange for safe disposal when no longer required.
Controlled drugs
Controlled drugs are prescription medicines that are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 and subsequent amendments, such as morphine or methadone.
All controlled drugs are kept in a secure cupboard in the college office and only named staff have access.
Controlled drugs will be easily accessible in an emergency and a record of any doses used and the amount held will be kept.
Learners managing their own needs
Learners who are competent will be encouraged to take responsibility for managing their own medicines and procedures. This will be discussed with parents, and it will be reflected in their IHPs.
Learners will be allowed to carry their own medicines and relevant devices wherever possible. Staff will not force a learner to take a medicine or carry out a necessary procedure if they refuse but will follow the procedure agreed in the IHP and inform parents so that an alternative option can be considered if necessary.
Unacceptable practice
College staff should use their discretion and judge each case individually with reference to the learner’s IHP, but it is generally not acceptable to:
- prevent learners from easily accessing their inhalers and medication for self-administering where this is agreed in their IHP,
- assume that every learner with the same condition requires the same treatment,
- ignore the views of the learner or their parents (although this may be challenged),
- ignore medical evidence or opinion (although this may be challenged),
- send children with medical conditions home frequently for reasons associated with their medical condition or prevent them from staying for normal college activities, including lunch, unless this is specified in their IHPs,
- if the learner becomes ill, send them to the college office or medical room unaccompanied or with someone unsuitable,
- penalise learners for their attendance record if their absences are related to their medical condition, e.g. hospital appointments,
- prevent learners from drinking, eating or taking toilet or other breaks whenever they need to in order to manage their medical condition effectively,
- require parents, or otherwise make them feel obliged, to attend college to administer medication or provide medical support to their child, including with toileting issues; no parent should have to give up working because the college is failing to support their child’s medical needs,
- prevent learners from participating, or create unnecessary barriers to learners participating in any aspect of college life, including college trips, e.g. by requiring parents to accompany their child,
- administer, or ask learners to administer, medicine in college toilets.
Emergency procedures
Staff will follow the college’s normal emergency procedures (for example, calling 999). All learners’ IHPs will clearly set out what constitutes an emergency and what to do in such instances.
If a learner needs to be taken to hospital, staff will stay with the learner until the parent arrives or accompany the learner to hospital by ambulance.
Training
Staff who are responsible for supporting learners with medical needs will receive suitable and sufficient training to do so. The training will be identified during the development and/or review of IHPs.
Staff who provide support to learners with medical conditions will be included in meetings where this is discussed.
Lead Teacher should seek relevant healthcare professionals assistance when identifying the type and level of training required and will agree this with the staff member.
Training will:
- be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support the learner,
- fulfil the requirements in the IHPs, and
- ensure staff have an understanding of the specific medical conditions they are being asked to deal with, their implications and preventative measures.
Where suitable, healthcare professionals will provide confirmation of the proficiency of staff in a medical procedure, and/or in providing medication.
All staff will receive training so that they are aware of this policy and understand their role in implementing it, for example, with preventative and emergency measures so they can recognise and act quickly when a problem occurs. This will be provided for new staff during their induction.
Record keeping
The Lead Teachers will ensure that written records are kept of all medicine administered to learners.
Parents will be informed if their learner has been unwell at college, this will be recorded on learners contact logs.
IHPs are kept in a readily accessible place which all staff are aware of.
All records should be kept safe and secure in line with Catch22 Data and Record Management Policy.
Catch22 privacy notice is available upon request for all relevant parties.
Liability and indemnity
The Director of Learning and Skills will ensure that the appropriate level of insurance is in place and appropriately reflects the Colleges’ level of risk.
Insurance policies should provide liability cover relating to the administration of medication, but individual cover may need to be arranged for any healthcare procedures.
Complaints
Parents with a complaint about the support their child receives for their medical condition should discuss these directly with the Lead Teacher in the first instance.
If the Lead Teacher cannot resolve the matter, they will direct parents to the Catch22 complaints procedure.
Policy review
This policy will be reviewed annually by the Senior Leadership Team to ensure it remains effective, relevant, and aligned with organisational needs. Updates will be communicated to all staff, and feedback from team members may be considered as part of the review process.
Related policies
- Catch22 Colleges H&S Policy
- Catch22 H&S Policy