Medical Needs and Allergies

Emmanuel Junior Academy is an inclusive school and we class ourself as being allergy aware.

ALL PARENTS/CARERS ARE ASKED TO LET SCHOOL KNOW OF ANY MEDICAL NEEDS AND ALLERGIES THEIR CHILD HAS AND TO UPDATE US ABOUT ANY CHANGES.

Supporting Medical Needs 

The aims of our policy and our work in this area are to ensure that:

 

  • Pupils, staff and parents understand how our school will support pupils with medical conditions, including children with allergies
  • Pupils with medical conditions, including children with allergies, are properly supported to allow them to access the same education as other pupils, including school trips and sporting activities, in a safe way
  • All efforts are made to ensure that a child with an allergy has the opportunity to participate in all school activities and are not made to feel self-conscious or excluded. 
Supporting children with allergies

 

At Emmanuel we recognise the importance of taking a whole school approach to allergy management and we equip all staff with the skills they need to not only be able to manage an emergency situation but also to ensure that they have knowledge and understanding to create a safe and inclusive learning environment for all children.

We are an allergy aware school. This is in line with Allergy UK advice and guidance:

 

'Many parents and schools try to implement a ‘ban’ certain foods (such as nuts) from school premises. However,  we do not recommend a ‘no nut policy’ in schools, as it is not possible to guarantee and enforce a nut free zone, as staff cannot monitor all lunches and snacks brought in from home. A free from environment creates a false sense of security and does not safely prepare children for environments where nuts may be present. The school would need to consider other children with different food allergies and it is not practical to restrict them all. Therefore, the school should have procedures in place to minimise risk of reaction via cross contamination'. 

 

WE ADVISE ALL PARENTS TO AVOID SENDING CHILDREN WITH ANY NUT PRODUCTS INTO SCHOOL WITHIN PACKED LUNCHES.  THIS IS DONE WITHIN PARENT NEWSLETTERS.

WE WORK WITH CHILDREN 

 

All policies linked to this element of our work have been reviewed and training is provided annually for staff. This is revisited regularly for all staff who are working with children with allergies in their own classes and when working with children at lunch time.

Key information:

 

  • Any allergic reaction, including the most extreme form, anaphylactic shock, occurs because the body’s immune system reacts inappropriately in response to the presence of a substance that it wrongly perceives as a threat.
  • The anaphylactic reaction is caused by the sudden release of chemical substances, including histamine, from cells in the blood and tissues where they are stored. The release is triggered by the reaction between the allergic antibody (IgE – which stands for ImmunoglobulinE) and the substance (or allergen) that it has been exposed to.
  • The body will have been exposed to the allergen on a previous occasion, although the student may not have been aware of this at the time. On that earlier occasion, the allergen was wrongly perceived as a threat and antibodies were made against it, which means that on the next exposure, a severe reaction may occur.
  • The mechanism is so sensitive that minute quantities of the allergen can cause a reaction.
  • The released chemicals act on the blood vessels to cause swelling in the mouth and anywhere on the skin. There is a fall in blood pressure, and for people who also have asthma, the effect is mainly on the lungs.