Slideshow image
Overview Anaphylaxis Policy Anti-Bullying and Harassment Prevention Policy Arrival Check Policy Code of Conduct Communicable Disease Plan Community Standards Policy Drinking Water Testing Policy Guideline for Safe Handling of Needles & Syringes Rainy Day Supervision Policy Refined Sugar Guidelines K-7 Responding to Child Abuse Protocol Role of Safe School Coordinator Safe and Caring School Policy Safe School - Drug, Alcohal, Tobacco and Vaping Policy Student Driver and Passenger Policy Student Supervision Policy Volunteer Playground Supervision

HEALTH AND SAFETY POLICY
Phil & Jennie Gaglardi Academy

Gaglardi Academy's health and safety policy covers the following areas:

  • Accidents and Injuries
  • Children who become sick while at school.
  • Medical Alerts including asthma, anaphylaxis, and Type 1 Diabetes
  • School-wide epidemics – flu, lice etc.
  • Tobacco, Alcohol, Vapour products
  • Emergency Response
    • Fire
    • Earthquake/Tsunami
    • Lock-down
    • Violent threats
    • School bus accident
    • Severe weather/power outages
    • Explosions

Rationale

  1. The health, safety and well-being of children is the primary responsibility of parents and is a shared responsibility among Gaglardi Academy faculty and other students.
  2. The Director/principal has the overall responsibility for student health and safety while at Gaglardi Academy. Gaglardi Academy is committed to the health and safety of children in its care, setting clear expectations for faculty, having appropriate tools and equipment, and implementing effective response plans to keep children safe.

Accidents and Injuries

  • Gaglardi Academy uses the following processes to categorize and triage injuries:

  • All Accident Reports are kept on file.
  • Gaglardi Academy has a separate log-book for dispensing minor medications (ie Tylenol, sore-throat lozenges etc.). A phone call home to parents is required for all children under the age of 12 before medication is given.

Children who become sick at school

  • A classroom teacher will send the child to the office
  • A phone call home with a parent to assess and determine a course of action.
  • If the condition is minor, the child will rest in the sick room, then return to class.
  • If the condition is infectious or there are symptoms of vomiting, diarrhea or fever, a parent will be asked to pick the child up as soon as possible. The child will rest in the sick room until a parent arrives.

Medical/Safety Alerts

  • Parents are responsible for informing Gaglardi Academy at the beginning of each and every school year regarding any health( ie allergies, asthma, diabetes, and anaphylaxis) and safety concerns of their child, especially those alerts that are life-threatening.
  • From the medical information received at time of admission, the school secretary will identify children at risk and place medical alerts in MyEdBC of all children, AND fill-out an emergency response plan for each child registered at Gaglardi Academy with severe asthma or anaphylaxis.
  • School secretary will notify and provide an updated list of all children with medical or safety alerts to the Director/principal and the first-aid attendant.
  • School secretary will provide a list to each classroom teacher of children at risk.
  • Any child with anaphylaxis and severe asthma must have the proper medication at school AND that medication must be stored in an appropriate, safe and unlocked location, AND a known emergency response plan per child. At a minimum, the Director/principal, first-aid attendant, school secretary and classroom teacher must know and have access to the plan and medications.

Immunizations

School-age children are expected to be immunized before attending school. Parents should refer to Health Link BC for the immunization schedule for BC infants and children (http://www.healthlinkbc.ca) to ensure that their child has the necessary immunizations in place before attending school. As part of the health and safety of all children, Gaglardi Academy will keep a confidential record of children who attend school that have not been immunized.

School-wide epidemics

  • Since Gaglardi Academy is a close-knit community, flu bugs, head lice and other communicable diseases are a normal part of school life. The following processes will apply in order to minimize the impact of sickness among our children and faculty, and to minimize lost school days.
    • Parents should keep children home from school if they have a fever or severe cold or have any flu likely to be contagious.
    • Parents should check regularly for head lice on their child's head.
    • Janitors will daily disinfect doorknobs, desktops, computer keyboards, and all washroom handles.
    • Children will be taught in the primary and elementary grades the safe processes of hand-washing, sneezing and personal grooming.
  • Should an “epidemic” break-out, Gaglardi Academy will implement the following processes:
    • A notification will be sent by email to the entire school community with appropriate action steps.
    • Notify communicable disease hub in Courtenay (See Emergency Reference Guide for current phone number and contact emails.
    • Parents to take responsibility for the action steps necessary with their own children. If for any reason, a parent is unable to fulfill their mandate, Gaglardi Academy may take steps to ensure proper treatment is given.
    • If more than 50% of the normal enrollment is absent from school, Gaglardi Academy will determine whether to close the school until the epidemic is passed and children are safe to return.

Tobacco, Alcohol, Vapour products

  • See separate policy: Safe School – Drug, Alcohol & Tobacco & Vaping Policy

Emergency Response

An emergency is a sudden and unexpected occurrence requiring immediate action to stabilize a situation. For Gaglardi Academy, any emergency impacting the normal operation of the facility, school bus transporting children or impacting the safety and security of faculty and children is to be reported immediately to the Director/principal indicating the nature, location, people involved and the severity of any possible injuries.

The Gaglardi Academy “Emergency Response Guide” outlines the processes, procedures and action steps for each possible threat.

  • Every faculty member must be familiar with procedures in the Gaglardi “Emergency Response Guide”.
  • Classroom teachers must have on display in their classroom the appropriate emergency response plan AND provide in-class time for education and training in the Primary and Elementary grades. For children in the Senior School, HCE teachers will ensure that students are familiar and trained in procedures.
  • The classroom emergency response plan package includes:
    • Fire Plan.
    • Fire Extinguisher.
    • First Aid Kit, whistle, class list and identification cards.
    • Map of facility, location of classroom and escape route to be followed.
    • Emergency Response Plan for classroom.
  • Gaglardi Academy will implement school-wide practice drills each year using the following guidelines:
    • Fire Drills: 6 drills – (September – 1 x classroom, 1x school-wide), November, January, April, June)
    • Earthquake 3 drills – (October, February, May)
    • Lock-down/Threat – 2 drills ( October)
    • Bus Accident – 1 drill (September 2nd or 3rd week)
  • Classroom safety – there are classroom incidents that can arise when conditions in the classroom are unsafe for all students. Should there be an incident with a child who, because of violent behaviour, creates an unsafe situation in a classroom, the following protocol will apply:
    • Teacher to immediately send a runner to the office to inform the principal.
    • The classroom teacher will summon the children to exit the classroom in an orderly manner.
    • The principal will attend the classroom and, with assistance from an EA, deal with the child exhibiting unsafe behaviour.
    • The principal will record the incident for the child's LA file.
    • Classroom children will return to class when safe to do so.
    • If a child or teacher is harmed in the process, an incident report is required.

Gaglardi Academy Health and Safety Policy/ updated MARCH 31st, 2014