Health & Wellbeing

Health Centre

The school Health Centre is a fully furnished, standalone facility with seven beds. During term time, a team of skilled and experienced nurses work seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. The Health Centre is an onsite service that is accessible to all our students.

Medical Questionnaires

Before a child is enrolled at our school, parents and guardians are required to complete a medical questionnaire for their child. Knowing a child’s medical history – past and present – including allergies, hospital referrals, admissions, treatments, behavioural issues, child guidance referrals, and bet-wetting is crucial for the child’s health and welfare. It also ensures that the Health Centre team is able to make informed care decisions. To safeguard our students, no child is admitted to the school without a medical questionnaire being fully completed.

Medical Appointments

Full Boarders are registered with the School Medical Officer of Holmhurst Medical Center. The School Medical Officer has a record of every boarder. Every week, the school doctor schedules appointments at Holmhurst Medical Centre, where boarders can choose between male and female general practitioners. Routine dental and orthodontic checks and treatments should be scheduled by parents during school holidays.

Flexi Boarding students and Sixth Form Non-Boarders are not registered with the School Medical Officer. Parents are required to make their own arrangements for their child’s medical appointments with their registered GP.

Prescription Medication

Should a child feel unwell or is required to take prescription medication during the school day, they are able to visit the Health Centre (in the first instance, they must speak with a member of the Student Services team).

All prescription medication brought from home should be taken to the Health Centre – it must be in the child’s name, in original containers/packaging, and clearly showing the medication name and expiry date. Medication should be accompanied by a copy of the prescription or doctor’s letter (if this is not in English, a translation must be provided).

Privacy

All student medical information, regardless of age, will be kept private in compliance with the professional responsibilities of the school doctor and nurses. It is acknowledged that when providing medical or nursing treatment, the physician or nurse may communicate with guardians, parents, the headteacher, or other academic staff. Information is ideally shared with a child’s consent.

In all situations, the doctor or nurse will respect a student’s privacy, with the exception of those in which they believe disclosing information to a pertinent party or person is necessary to protect the wider school community or is in the student’s best interests. The 1998 edition of “Medical Officers for Schools Association.”