Medication Policy

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All medication (including over-the-counter medication) can only be given at school by staff if it is medically authorized by a registered health practitioner. This must be accompanied by medical Action Plans and completed authority forms, which are available on the school Parent Portal or from the school office.​ The medication must be in its original packaging,​ labelled by a chemist including the child’s name, name of practitioner, dosage, use-by-date and frequency of administration. If your child takes a medicine that requires cutting of a tablet, the tablet must be pre-cut and packaged by a pharmacist (in a Webster-Pak or similar) prior to providing the medicine to the school.​

All medication must be signed in and out of the school office, not taken to the classroom.

Food Allergies and other Medical Conditions

St Catherine's is a caring community, and committed to promoting and protecting the rights of everyone in the school. As such, the school aims to do our best to ensure the safety of children who experience food allergies, taking special care in cases where the reaction is anaphylactic. There are currently children in the school with severe allergies to a range of foods including nuts, eggs, seeds, and shellfish.

Rather than an outright ban on these products, the school takes a risk minimisation approach in line with the recommendations of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy.​ The school will do this by adopting the following strategies:

  1. Parents of children with severe food allergies will need to provide a current Anaphylaxis Action Plan to the school each year, signed by a medical practitioner.
  2. Children with food allergies are encouraged to only consume food provided  by their parents/guardians.
  3. Drinks and lunch boxes provided by parents for their children with food allergies should be clearly labelled with the child's name.
  4. If food is to be purchased from the Tuckshop for children with a food allergy, parents will need to check the appropriateness of their choices with the Tuckshop Convenor.
  5. All children will be discouraged from trading or sharing food or food containers.
  6. Staff will consider the requirements of children with food allergies early in the planning of outside activities like excursions and camps, in particular relevant catering requirements and emergency plans.
  7. Sharing and giving food treats for special occasions is discouraged, including items such as Easter eggs and candy canes.
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 Nuts in Food

For the safety of children who have allergies to nuts, we ask that parents avoid sending food to school that contains nuts. We recognise the extent to which traces of nuts are contained in foods and as such, do not claim our school to be nut free.