JJA Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Hi all! Does anyone have a specific temperature at which to send a child home? At present, we simply keep the child's temperature stable using Calpol and keep the parents informed, with them collecting if they feel they need to. Was wondering whether to have a 'cut off' temperature at which they HAVE to collect, but don't know what this would be? Any ideas?
Inge Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 As a pre-school, (9am-3pm) if we found a child with a temperature we would ask for them to be collected.... we felt this would be better to help prevent the spread of any infection as much as possible, and we felt an ill child really should be with parent, the setting not being the place to care for them. Inge
Upsy Daisy Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 If a child has a raised temperature which needs to be controlled with Calpol he or she is unwell and probably infectious so I would expect parents to pick up as soon as possible. I make it clear in my contract that I am not able to care for a child who is unwell. I don't feel qualified to judge how much above normal a temperature needs to be - even if the Calpol brings it down to normal the child is still ill and should be at home. I know it sounds hard but I don't think it would be fair on the other children in the setting or the child concerned to do anything else.
Beau Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Welcome to the forum FFL! I agree with what has been said too. A temperature is a sign that a child is not well and for this reason they shouldn't be kept at the setting. This is in the best interests of the other children, should the temperature be a result of an infection of some sort and the child themselves. I know when my own children are ill all they want is to be at home having a cuddle with me. I understand that this may not suit some working parents, but at the end of the day the child is their responsibility and juggling work with your child is par for the course.
Guest Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 If a child has a raised temp we call the parents and aks them to come and collect. We dont give calpol unless prescribed by the doctor, in fact we dont give any medication unless prescribed.
Guest Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Without wishing to alarmist it is vital that we don't take chances with children who are unwell. A few years ago we had a top infant child at after school club who was just generally 'unwell' , you know a bit hot, headachy etc. However, we felt that the best people to judge whether or not he was really OK were his parents so we phoned and asked them to collect him, which they did. Within a couple of hours he had deteriorated so much that an ambulance was called and devastatingly he died that night. I know that this is a most extreme case, but it makes the point that children can downhill so fast that it's not worth taking the risk. I know that everything was done for this particular child but I can't begin to imagine how we'd have felt had we not brought his parents in when we did. So my advice is always to say that if the child is not quite right then a call to the parents is always the best bet. RR
HappyMaz Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Welcome to the forum FFL! You asked about the specific temperature and I have to say I'm not sure about the answer - except to say that we have one of those forehead strip ones and they are usually colour banded so that you can see when a temperature is becoming too high. I would definitely not be prepared to administer calpol for a raised temperature because of the underlying risk of infection or illness that may be causing the high temperature. As others have said, the best place for a child who needs calpol is at home. Maz
Guest Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Wow, ReaderRabbit, that was really a shocking situation and really helped bring home to me that a child with a raised temperature really needs to be at home as soon as possible. Another thought occurred to me about administering calpol. Despite frequent reminders to poarents about letting us know if they've given their child calpol before bringing them to nursery they never say a word. I suspect nothing is said because we would probably make them take them home again! My point is what if we gave a child calpol when they'd had some not 2 hours earlier? The responsibility of administering calpol is too much for a sessional group like ours.
hali Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 we do the same as Inge and have in our policy unless parent has cleared with supervisor about why the child needs calpol they shouldnt be in nursery anyway!
Guest Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Hi we were informed by a local health visitor that anything above 38 fro a child is a temperature and we had a duty to our child to send them home. We brought an eletronic temp ( the one you put in an ear and it beeps) Now we go by our advice. Hope this helps. Kat
Guest Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 we do the same as above and the parents MUST collect, our policy also states that if a child is sent home with a temeperature they cannot come back for 24 hours.............just in case
sunnyday Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 I would also send a child who was unwell home - I do remember once ringing a parent who said to me "well I'm not really available" - can you imagine?!? When my oldest grandaughter was about 9 months she suffered a febrile convulsion due to high temperature - v. scary certainly wouldn't want to have to deal with that in pre-school/nursery situation. RR - that is a v.sad and v. scary story - can I ask - was it meningitis?
diesel10 Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Hi My EYFS folder is not close to hand. But i thought that we weren't allowed to give calpol unless prescibed by a doctor. An ill child should be at home resting, not spreading their germs around everyone else.
JJA Posted March 12, 2009 Author Posted March 12, 2009 Thanks all - good discussion. FYI - OFSTED were perfectly happy with our current policy - parents have to give permission for medication, stating why etc (I may have given the impression that we take the decision ourselves! NOT the case!) So what I'm talking about is that if a child becomes unwell whilst at setting we administer to get the temp down (after calling) but then wait to see if that helps. Like I said, OFSTED were happy with that, however I was wondering if there was a specific temperature at which the child HAD to be sent home, regardless of wellness. Thanks all,
Lucy P Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 Our policy is to send a child home if their temp reaches 38. We have had 3 seperate chn suffer a febrile convulsion this year so far, all of which had a temp of just over 38, so we certainly don't hang around in calling! We have never administered any medication which hasn't been prescribed by a doctor, too much risk in my opinion. Parents are rarely honest that they have given their child calpol or nurofen before nursery, we only know as they generally start flagging by 11am! So what would happen if we then administered again within four hours?? As nursery director this responsibility falls completely on my shoulders and the risk is far to great, as much as parents get annoyed about it, we insist that if a child is unwell, they must stay at home! Im just off to check EYFS but was positive that this was in line with current requirements.
Inge Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 I am aware that it is legal to give calpol with parental permission etc.. but still feel that even with Ofsted saying they are happy with it we would still send a child with a temperature home regardless of how much it is. as others are also indicating. don't think there is a legal or recommended temperature to send a child home.. it would be up to the setting to set their own, which a lot have by saying a child with a temperature would be sent home. Inge
Guest Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 RR - that is a v.sad and v. scary story - can I ask - was it meningitis? It wasn't meningitis, it was a really rare problem that caused him to hemorrhage internally. Unfortunately there was nothing anyone could have done to anticipate it. RR
Cait Posted March 12, 2009 Posted March 12, 2009 I too have dealt with febrile convulsion in preschool - but to a sibling of a preschooler. Mum dashed in with the stiff child in her arms and handed him to me to deal with. We rang for the ambulance and whilst we waited we striped him off and put him on a towel on the cool lino floor in the kitchen. When he was older, he joined us, still with this risk, and it really makes you aware of children' temperature when you have a 'risk' child at Preschool. If a child has a temperature, there is no 'wellness', a temperature is the body's way of fighting some underlying cause which needs to be addressed. Ring home, keep the child cool and separate from others until someone comes. And as someone else has intimated, don't muck about, it might just be life theatening.
Guest Posted March 15, 2009 Posted March 15, 2009 we had 2 children 1 year apart who also suffered febrile convulsions whilst at pre-school, these children did not come in looking unwell infact the opposite it was towards the end of sessions when they both went down with convulsions I would always send an unwell child home, i feel that if calpol is needed then they are not well enough to be in school
Guest Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 parents sign consent for us to administer calpol if need be, however they are are always contacted if a temp. is raised anda asked to collect as stated earlier a child with a high temp is unwell and needs to be at home not linked but in resonse to caits comment about a child having a febrile convulsion , i once had a child have a fit- blue lips etc, after calling ambulance and the child having oxygen and tranfered to hospital mum said " oh i forgot to tel you hes had had fits before, nothing to worry about!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Guest Posted March 16, 2009 Posted March 16, 2009 dont it drive you nuts..............i had a child in today who told us that he had a stomach ache yesterday and today and when he gets tummy ache he needs to ruch to the toilet! o and mummy ha packed spare clothes in case of accident!! and she did not tell us and did not answer phone when we asked her to come and collect him so if we close due to a bug we know who to blame
hali Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 oww it does - Friday had a note in a home/com book that a child had an allergic reaction to a cahsew nut at CHRISTMAS - has now had blood tests!!!! not a word to us about it - well im afraid i had a few words with the mum about not mentioning it
sunnyday Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 On the 'flipside' ......... I had to send a little boy home yesterday and received text message from mummy later in the morning to thank me for calling her and to say that he was now safely tucked up in bed (mum - ex teacher!) Sunnyday
Guest Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 parents sign consent for us to administer calpol if need be, however they are are always contacted if a temp. is raised anda asked to collect as stated earlier a child with a high temp is unwell and needs to be at home not linked but in resonse to caits comment about a child having a febrile convulsion , i once had a child have a fit- blue lips etc, after calling ambulance and the child having oxygen and tranfered to hospital mum said " oh i forgot to tel you hes had had fits before, nothing to worry about!!!!!!!!!!!!" We had our Ofsted recently and she asked us 'do you administer calpol' I stated no, during feedback she said that some settings get parents to sign a calpol consent form when the child starts at the setting, which is ilegal, she stated and I quote 'you cannot get parents to sign a blanket consent for calpol' what you are allowed to do is telephone parents and ask for consent over the phone, but you will be liable if when the parent collects the child and you ask them to sign in the medicine book that they gave telephone consent, if they refuse or state they didnt give consent then you are liable for negligence.
Guest Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 We had our Ofsted recently and she asked us 'do you administer calpol' I stated no, during feedback she said that some settings get parents to sign a calpol consent form when the child starts at the setting, which is ilegal, she stated and I quote 'you cannot get parents to sign a blanket consent for calpol' what you are allowed to do is telephone parents and ask for consent over the phone, but you will be liable if when the parent collects the child and you ask them to sign in the medicine book that they gave telephone consent, if they refuse or statethey didnt give consent then you are liable for negligence. our inspectors told us it was good practice to gain consent on entry for administering calpol!!!! think they all need to get together and work to the same guidelines!!!!
Guest Posted March 17, 2009 Posted March 17, 2009 our inspectors told us it was good practice to gain consent on entry for administering calpol!!!! think they all need to get together and work to the same guidelines!!!! OMG I cant believe that, If I were you I would ring them just to double check, just to add aswell, my last setting got inadequate for having blanket consent in place for calpol, because the child may have been given it before arriving at the setting, which could then lead to an overdose. Ofsted really need to sort this out. I think I am going to phone them tomorrow just to double check what they told me, even though we dont have blanket consent or give calpol if requested to by parents, just want to make sure that the next time a parent turns up with a bottle of calpol and a request to give a dose that I am fully informed about the procedure. Will let you know what they say.
lynned55 Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 I dont have them t hand so can't check properly but I'm sure the EYFS states that Non prescription drugs such as Calpol can be given but a written permission needs to be obtained for each medicine given not a blanket dose. Surely it's not up t us to decie when and if a child needs calpol. If a parent tunrs up to our setting with calpol for hteir child then I'm afraid the child goes straight home. As so many others have siad, if the child requires calpol then they need to be at home.
HappyMaz Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 I dont have them t hand so can't check properly but I'm sure the EYFS states that Non prescription drugs such as Calpol can be given but a written permission needs to be obtained for each medicine given not a blanket dose. Page 26 of the EYFS Statutory Framework states:- Medicines should not usually be administered unless they have been prescribed for that child by a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist. Non-prescription medication e.g. pain and fever relief or teething gel may be administered, but only with the prior written consent of the parent and only when there is a health reason to do so. A child under 16 should never be given medicines containing aspirin unless it has been prescribed for that child by a doctor. It is for the provider to arrange who should administer medicines, either on a voluntary basis or as part of a contract of employment. I take this to read that calpol should only be administered when a parent gives specific consent for each incident, and gives a valid reason for the need for calpol. So a blanket agreement wouldn't meet this criteria. Maz
Cait Posted March 18, 2009 Posted March 18, 2009 That's how I read it too. Luckily I've only been asked to do it once, and didn't need to do it anyway. It was more of a "she had some at 8, she can have some more at lunchtime if you think she needs it" and she was fine. We've done good old banana flavoured amoxycillin a few times of course on the last day of the course, when the child is bouncing about well. Always get parents to fill in the book first and at the end of the day too, and copy the page of the book for them too
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