Health Care Plans

A medical need can be short or long term and may not affect the learner’s access to attend a setting. There will be occasions where practitioners may be asked to facilitate the administration of a learner’s prescribed regular medication, or as an emergency as part of a long-term, complex medical condition.

Some learners have an identified healthcare need that requires a specific plan and training, for example: children with diabetes, severe allergies, epilepsy or require enteral feeding. Plans and appropriate training should be in place prior to the learner starting at a setting. If this is the case, a meeting will be held with the parents/carers and all relevant specialists including the learner if appropriate.

For learners with more complex needs, the specialist health team involved with your child will contact the school and deliver training for such procedures as the administration of emergency epilepsy medication, enteral feeding, catheterisation, and the management of diabetes. They will also develop a Healthcare Plan alongside parents/carers and the setting to be reviewed regularly.

Schools, parents, and other professionals can seek advice from medical services and specialty teams if they feel that a child’s needs will need more careful planning and staff training. 

A Healthcare Plan is a document that contains information from health professionals, school nurses, parents, the learner, and other relevant professionals. It should have key information and actions that are required to support the child in setting. The healthcare plan should say what the setting will do to help the learner manage their condition and overcome any barriers to get the most from their education as well as what to do in an emergency. The plan will be reviewed at least once a year or earlier if the learner’s needs have changed. 

Risk Assessments/Manual Handling Plan

A learner with physical needs may have difficulty with movement or mobility, which affects their access to the learning environment. They may require support to access areas of setting or may require specialist equipment to promote independence.

There are many learners in schools in Torfaen with a range of physical needs; some of which may require manual handling to allow them to access the floor and/or different pieces of equipment for example, standing frames, alternative seating.  If this is the case an individual Manual Handling Plan* will be written. A Manual Handling Plan gives detailed information on the steps staff will need to carry out to safely move and handle the learner in the school environment. The plan gives information about the learner’s needs and situations where it may be necessary to physically move the learner into different positions and the equipment needed to do so. A Manual Handling specialist writes the Manual Handling Plan and in conjunction with the delivery of appropriate training for staff. The plan will be reviewed at least once a year or earlier if the learner’s needs have changed. These plans will be completed by the school in conjunction with advice from health and other professionals.