Health Support

The board of St Joseph's School is responsible for providing a physically and emotionally safe place where risks to health and safety are eliminated or minimised (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, Education and Training Act 2020). We have robust policies in place to support the health and wellbeing of our staff, students, and others at school, and manage day-to-day and emergency health needs.

We take into consideration a range of factors when managing health needs at school and school-related activities (e.g. school-wide approach to wellbeing, cultural considerations, school values). The way we manage and support health needs also aligns with our inclusive school culture. To successfully meet health needs, we work in partnership with staff, students, parents/caregivers, whānau, and other external parties (e.g. healthcare providers) as needed.

The principal ensures that everyone involved in our school community is informed about health and safety matters, including their health and safety responsibilities, relevant health and safety policies and procedures, and updates or changes to health and safety practices.

School responsibilities

We inform our school community about how we manage health needs and we encourage everyone to seek help and support if needed. We also take measures to uphold the general wellbeing and safety of students and staff (e.g. responding to wellbeing concerns). See Student Wellbeing and Safety and Staff Wellbeing and Safety.

We have a number of supporting policies to help implement health support at school and school-related activities.

We have a duty to provide first aid, which includes having adequate access to first aid supplies and first aiders – see First Aid Training and Supplies.
We manage injuries and illness appropriately, including contacting emergency services if required and communicating with relevant people – see Managing Injuries and Illness.
We keep records of injuries and illness (including accidents, near misses, and notifiable events) and investigate and report on these as needed – see Recording and Reporting Injuries and Illness.
We manage the storage, administering, and recording of medication use effectively – see Medicines.
We have processes to manage specific health needs – see Allergies, Asthma, Diabetes, and Head Lice.
We aim to prevent the spread of infectious diseases – see Infectious Diseases.

We take additional actions to support student health.

We communicate with parents/caregivers about the health and wellbeing of the student (e.g. developing and maintaining an individual plan, seeking consent for health support). Students with less complex conditions who do not require an individual plan may be supported through other health or wellbeing strategies.
An individual plan outlines any health conditions a student has and the support they need to manage it. These plans are usually referred to as health, management, or action plans. Students may need a plan if their condition requires regular medication, monitoring, management, adaptation of the learning environment, and/or hospitalisation.

Plans are developed collaboratively, and generally involve the student, parents/caregivers (whānau), and a health professional. The principal and other staff members may also provide input during this process. The plan should be reviewed regularly to ensure it is kept up to date.

An individual plan considers the needs and situation of an individual student and their whānau. This may include assessing expectations around care, supervision, and treatment (e.g. medication), potential barriers to learning, procedures to follow in an emergency, and communication methods. The plan includes student details, information used to develop the plan, agreed processes to support the student, and written agreement from parents.

Action Plans (Allergy New Zealand)

Asthma Action Plans (Asthma Respiratory Foundation NZ)

Diabetes in schools (The Paediatric Society of New Zealand)
We keep a record of student health information in our student management system. We inform relevant staff about specific student needs. Staff have access to specific student health information as appropriate and are familiar with the medical needs of students they have regular contact with.
We manage arrangements for any students who receive high health needs funding
The School High Health Needs Fund may be available for students you have high health needs requiring care and support. This funding provides a contribution to employ a support person or teacher aide to help the student manage their own health needs. See Apply for the School High Health Needs Fund (Ministry of Education).

Also see Learning Support.

The school asks parents/caregivers to keep their contact and emergency contact details up to date. The office administrator is responsible for maintaining up-to-date contact lists, and parents/caregivers are reminded twice a year to update their contact information. Contact lists are kept in printed form in the office and are available on the student management system.

We keep personal information private and confidential (i.e. limited to those who need to know). We follow relevant school policies when collecting, sharing, and managing information we collect. See Privacy Policy and School Records Retention and Disposal.

Responsibilities of others

We expect everyone at school or school-related activities to take care of their health and notify school staff if they need support.

In order to ensure the safe management of health needs, we expect parents/caregivers, students, and staff to take the actions below.

Parents/Caregivers are expected to:

communicate with the school about the health and wellbeing of the student
advise the school, at enrolment or any time after, if the student has any health needs
work with the school to create an individual plan (if needed) and keep this up to date
provide written consent for the school to store and/or administer any medication, including emergency treatment
follow school processes for managing health needs including supplying and replacing any necessary medication
help the student to understand and manage their health needs as appropriate
notify the school if the student is unable to attend for health reasons.

We expect students to tell a staff member if they are feeling unwell or need support.

Staff should discuss any health needs they have with school management team if they need support or may be unable to perform their duties. Staff should also ask for help if they need additional support to manage student health needs.

Anyone with any concerns can raise these with the school. See Raising Concerns and Complaints.

The principal assures the board that policies and procedures relating to health support are up to date and implemented correctly. This includes policies and procedures for first aid, medicines, and the management, recording, and reporting of injuries and illness (including accidents, near misses, and notifiable events). See Review Schedule and Board Assurances.

Topic Number: 18232	Last Modified Date: 19/01/2026 10:14:29
Topic Version: 3	Published Date: 30/01/2026

Last review	Term 1 2025
Topic type	Core