Medical procedures survey

What's your school's policy on giving medicines to children, and undertaking medical procedures?
Trade union Unison is conducting a survey after receiving a growing number of enquiries from school staff with concerns about the administration of medicine and the undertaking of other medical procedures.
Schools should be making sure that children and young people with medical needs receive the best possible care and that staff are trained and able to deliver it, says Unison.
"UNISON would like to know if school policies are being deployed effectively or if support staff are being asked to administer medicines or perform medical procedures inappropriately, with risks to pupils and themselves."
The survey which can be completed anonymously will close on April 27.

School buildings "not good enough"

Inadequate buildings and facilities are causing problem in many schools, according to a survey.

Among the most common complaints were poor ventilation, not enough drinking water, cleanliness, inadequate disabled access, damp and noise.

Both pupil and staff toilets came in for criticism, with just less than one in three respondents rating their facilities as poor or abysmal.

Staffrooms were on the whole judged to be largely satisfactory or better, although about one in six said they were poor or abysmal.

The survey was carried out by the trade union Association of Teachers and Lecturers. Lack of rooms was a big problem in the majority of schools, with more than three out of four saying there were insufficient smaller rooms for mentoring or tutoring.

And more than four out of ten said classrooms were not a suitable size for the number of pupils taught.

Almost six out of ten said that there was no readily accessible sick room available at all times.

Eyesight link to reading difficulties

One child in every classroom may experience difficulty reading due to an undiagnosed eye condition, research has suggested.

The little-detected condition is known as ‘visual stress’.

Children with the condition are sensitive to light, and words on a page would appear to them as blurry.

Although conventional eye tests would not detect the condition, it can be easily corrected with tinted contact glasses, or by placing transparent coloured sheets of plastic over the text.

Around 800 children aged seven and eight were involved in the research project carried out by Professor Arnold Wilkins at the University of Essex.

Praise for Scottish meals progress

Primary schools in Scotland have made good progress in getting pupils to eat more healthily, but obesity is still rising according to school inspectors.

In most schools the presentation of meals has improved and healthy snacks such as fruit are more widely available, says the report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education.

Despite the success of the scheme for primary pupils, inspectors noted that childhood obesity rates in Scotland were still rising and urged the government to act with more urgency.

Between 2005 and 2007 165 primary schools were visited to evaluate the success of the Hungry for Success initiative. The scheme was launched by the Scottish Executive in 2003 to improve the health of children.

Hungry for Success – Further Food for Thought

Free meals for Scottish children

Free school meals are now on offer for more than 30,000 Scottish children.

Primary children in years one to three will receive a free meal each day until March as part of the £5 million trial project.

Five areas are covered by the pilot: Glasgow, Fife, East Ayrshire, the Borders and West Dunbartonshire.

It is hoped that the scheme will help get children eating more healthily, and the pilot will be closely monitored for signs of changing eating habits at school and at home.

"For too long, Scotland's health has been affected by a legacy of poor diet,” minister for Children and Early Years, Adam Ingram, said.

“This government is determined to change these habits, and we believe strongly that targeting our youngest pupils will bring health benefits for them now and in the future."

Free meals trial

School meals will be will be free in Scotland’s most deprived areas for a trial period, Scottish Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop has announced.

The £5million scheme will be piloted for six months from October.

Child poverty in Scotland is estimated to affect 23 per cent of children.

Ms Hyslop said: “The pilot itself will bring its own short-term benefits in terms of health and nutrition for some of our poorest children.

“The main aim is for our youngest children to develop a taste for healthy foods and the social skills that come from sitting down to eat with friends every day.”