Safety and First Aid

Smoking and vaping: Advice for parents

Parents, carers, schools, and community all play an important role in protecting children and young people from, and educating them about, the harmful effects of smoking and vaping.

Research from the Royal Children’s Hospital shows many parents and carers are not aware of the harmful effects or how their views about smoking and vaping can impact the likelihood of a young person taking up smoking or vaping.

The Department of Education has developed resources to help you learn more about the health risks of smoking and vaping. The resources include advice about how to talk to children and young people about vaping, and where to get support. To access the resources, go to https://www.vic.gov.au/smoking-and-vaping-advice-parents

You can also view this videoon smoking and vaping from experts at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for health advice and tips for starting a conversation with young people.

IMPORTANT SICK BAY REMINDERS

VIEWING YOUR CHILDS SICK BAY CHRONICLE: 

All sick bay entries/attendances are visible to parents/carers as they occur on COMPASS. From your child’s Sick Bay Chronicle you will see details of why your child attended sick bay, what it was relating to and the outcome of their visit. 

No action is required from you when receiving a sick bay notification unless you are contacted directly by the office or if you choose to you can go into your child's chronicle to get more details. 

ADMINISTRATION OF MEDICATION: 

If a student requires medication, Kismet Park Primary School encourages parents to arrange for the medication to be taken outside of school hours. However, Kismet Park Primary School understands that students may need to take medication at school or during school activities. To support students to do so safely, Kismet Park Primary School will follow the procedures set out in this policy.

In most cases, parents/carers should arrange for written advice about required medications to be provided in a Medication Authority Form.

For most students, Kismet Park Primary School will store student medication at the sick bay (unless otherwise approved by Kismet Management). 

We do not permit students to carry medications on their person or within their school bags. Exceptions to this may be applied in certain circumstances. 

Medication Authority Form copies can be requested from the school office or sick bay or downloaded from our website or COMPASS portal in the “School Documentation” area. Follow the “Forms” link. 

ALLERGIES AND ANAPHYLAXIS:

At Kismet Park Primary school we have a number of students who suffer from allergic reactions; including some students who suffer from the severest form of allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis.

Our commitment to the inclusiveness of all children and their safety is of utmost importance. 

We would therefore like to take this opportunity to raise student and school community awareness about allergies in order to limit potential dangers of exposure to life threatening food allergies and to reduce cross contamination between different foods for students and staff.

Kismet Park Primary therefore has a “No Food Sharing” Practice during recess and lunch eating times. This practice will not infringe on the food that parents provide for their own child.

Furthermore, although allergies are on the rise, Kismet Park Primary School does not have a ‘No Nuts Total Ban but instead, we wish to focus on educating all children about allergies. Please support us by taking the time to read the attached food sharing notice and share this important information with your children. 

FIRST AID POLICIES: 

As part of Kismet Park’s commitment to meeting our legislative requirements (mandated by the Department of Education) copies of all our First Aid associated policies can be found on our website at: https://www.kismetparkps.vic.edu.au/page/60/Policies