As you are aware, physical health in children change rapidly. You might have just completed the morning screening for the child, and in the next few hours, the child starts to develop symptoms of an infectious disease.
A systematic way of keeping a record of the symptoms developed in a child is useful for tracking and monitoring of infectious diseases. Documenting these symptoms for each sick child strongly show parents your school’s proactiveness and attentiveness when looking after their children. It also helps break the chain of infection at an early stage by separating the sick child from other children and implementing effective control methods.
After consulting health professionals and early childhood educators, and studying infectious disease guidelines, I have created a Symptoms Monitoring Form for your use. Hope you and your colleagues will find it useful! Feel free to adapt it for your own school by adding your school logo.
When should I use this form?
You can use this form whenever you detect a sick child in your class. You should prepare one form for each sick child. At the end of the school day (or when the parents come to fetch their sick child), you could make a photocopy of this form for the parents to bring back. It will also help medical practitioners understand how the symptoms develop and change before medical attention is rendered.
How do I use this form?
Fill in the particulars of the sick child. Next, the teacher-in-charge will note down the symptoms. If the child is having fever, you should take his/her temperature every 2 hourly or 4 hourly.
Who should fill in this form?
This form should be filled in by the teacher-in-charge of the sick child. He/she should be familiar with the symptoms and tick the boxes accordingly.
Simply download the form in word format and customise according to your school’s needs. Feel free to let me know whether you find this form useful.