Teacher-reported prevalence and management of child health problems at primary school

Abstract

We explored primary school teacher-reported experiences, prevalence and management of child health and developmental problems and medication administration from one multi-ethnic urban community in England. A survey was delivered to 90 reception class teachers in 45 primary schools, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of eight respondents. Fifty-six percent of teachers completed the questionnaire. Findings suggest that teachers and school staff may represent an underused resource for identifying children with developmental and health conditions and that the connections formed between schools and families could be utilized by other services by delivering interventions in schools where possible. Whilst most schools use a policy to inform the management of child health in school, some key areas such as training and documentation of medication administration may not be followed in practice. Interview findings supported and expanded on survey data by identifying barriers to collaboration between services and families.