SCHOOLS can now give out plasters to children suffering from cuts and scrapes, North Somerset Council has decided. The new guidelines

SCHOOLS can now give out plasters to children suffering from cuts and scrapes, North Somerset Council has decided.The new guidelines have been issued to all schools in the area after a case highlighted in last week's Weston & Somerset Mercury when a mother was called into school to wrap a plaster around a tiny cut on her daughter's finger. Julie Scott rushed to Uphill Primary School to put a plaster on nine-year-old Emily's finger because school staff said they could not do it in case the child was allergic to latex.But a statement sent out by the council's health and safety department to all schools on Wednesday has given the go-ahead for schools to hand out special hypo-allergenic plasters.The guideline says this message had already been passed to schools by the council's first aid training suppliers.The council's health and safety officer, Jo Crickson, said: "There is a very, very slight risk that a child could have an adverse reaction."However, this has to be balanced against the risk of a child with an open wound that is bleeding and the risk of that wound becoming infected."Plasters have moved on in leaps and bounds over the last couple of years and there are hypo-allergenic types readily available. "Along with this, schools have rigorous procedures in place in terms of medical declarations where parents inform the school of any medical needs and allergies.