Last updated: April 2026
Review date: April 2027
The utmost vigilance is needed in the administration of any medication. Accuracy is paramount. Mistakes could potentially be very dangerous and so a measure of protection is needed for both the children and staff. There is a mandatory requirement for a witness to be present at the administration of all medicine. When administering medication to children the following must be considered:
Medicines must not usually be administered unless they have been prescribed for a child by a doctor, dentist, nurse or pharmacist (medicines containing aspirin should only be given if prescribed by a doctor). Children under 16 should never be given medicines containing aspirin unless a doctor has prescribed that medicine for that particular child.
Prescribed medication must be in the original packaging and have details of the child’s name and required dosage clearly visible. Medicine (both prescription and non-prescription) must only be administered to a child where written permission for that particular medicine has been obtained from the child’s parent and/or carer.
Prescribed medication must only be accepted in the original container as dispensed by a pharmacist in accordance with the prescriber’s instructions. The supplied container must be clearly labelled with the name of the child, name of medication, dose and frequency of administration. If this is not the case the medication will not be administered by the setting.
Emergency medications such as asthma inhalers and adrenaline pens must be stored so that they are easily accessible for staff to access if required. These emergency medications should be stored in the room that the child is usually based in a clearly labelled storage container that is out of the reach of any children. All staff working within the nursery must be aware of where emergency medication is kept and who may require them. Care plans must be completed and reviewed regularly for all children or staff needing care in an emergency.
Any medication prescribed outside of the UK and not easily identifiable cannot be administered in the nursery.
All other non-emergency medication must be stored in their original containers in a secure place that is not accessible to children. Medications that need to be refrigerated can be kept in a refrigerator containing food but must be kept in an airtight container and clearly labelled.
There should be restricted access to the refrigerator containing medication.
Staff must only give prescribed medication when requested to do so by a parent and where there is an accepted health risk to the child that requires medication. The nursery is only able to administer non- prescription medication that has been recommended by a doctor or pharmacist, e.g. Calpol. Non-subscribed medication should not be given routinely, and blanket consent should not be given by a parent to cover all non-prescription medication. If a child appears well e.g. normal temperature, and the member of staff does not see that they require non-prescribed medication the member of staff will try to contact the parent and the non-subscribed medication will not be administered unless the child appears unwell.
The utmost vigilance must be taken to see that medicines are administered according to the instructions and a signed record of all medication administered must be made on the medication forms. Medication must only be administered by a member of staff who is level 3 qualified and first aid trained, where possible this is to be the room leader. All details on the medication form must be checked prior to administration and must be checked independently and confirmed by the cosignatory before any medication is given.