Support for childen with allergies in school

New guidance for schools Following a campaign by the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance in Schools in which the Anaphylaxis Campaign plays a key role, from September this year, every school in England will be required by law to make sure children with long-term health conditions get the care they need at school. The statutory guidance sets out how young people with medical conditions such as allergy must be properly supported in schools so that they avoid being excluded from any area of school life. As we know, many children with allergic disease find they are unable to participate fully in school life and are often unable to do things such as attending school trips or eating with the rest of the class but now the Government has announced that schools will be legally required to support children with medical conditions properly. The rules that schools will have to follow are explained in this guidance. The guidance is for schools’ governing bodies who must ensure arrangements are in place to provide the support children with health conditions need and will be in place from September 2014. In order to ensure schools are ready for this change they will need to have policies in place before the start of the 2014 academic year. What does the guidance say? Governing bodies must make sure that their schools have a policy for supporting children with medical needs in school and those children with a medical condition have an Individual Healthcare Plan (IHP). The policy has to meet their statutory responsibilities and what is in the policy has to be properly carried out. Support for the child includes: An IHP which is agreed by the child, parents, healthcare professionals and the school. This will set out the child’s individual needs including medication, signs and symptoms and the named person who will provide necessary support. Management of medications and who is responsible for this. This would include, for example, whether the child would carry their own adrenalin injector. Agreed arrangements for dealing with emergencies, and what defines an emergency Enabling the child to take part fully in school, including day trips, residential visits and sporting activities. What support do the governing body have to provide for school staff? Appropriate training for staff caring for children with medical needs. Ensuring that all staff are aware of the school’s medical conditions policy and that they have an understanding of each medical condition affecting children in the school Ensuring trained and competent staff are protected legally should an allegation of negligence be made. Policies should also set out details of the school’s insurance arrangements. What do we think? The Anaphylaxis Campaign along with other charities represented by the Health in Schools Alliance has worked very closely with the Government on the draft for this guidance. We are pleased that this will place a statutory duty on school to support children with medical needs and are particularly positive about the following points: The role of the head teacher is crucial and we believe this is made clear in the guidance. It is very likely the head teacher who will guide the support for allergic children so we are encouraged to see this being noted. The child’s voice is essential. The guidance makes it clear children should be listened to and involved in deciding what support they need and what should be in their IHP. The Government have included a list of practises they have stated are unacceptable. These include excluding children from any part of school life. Any changes? We feel this guidance is extremely positive and are delighted the Government have made such a bold step forward for children with allergic disease. We do however think that there are three things that must be changed within the document to ensure we make the most effective guidance we can: Every child with a medical condition MUST have an Individual Care Plan. Currently the guidance states that not every child will need a plan. The role of specialist allergy nurses must be explained to schools as we recognise that school nurses may not always have the expertise or time to consult on the individual needs of the child. It is also important for the guidance to outline what parents and schools should do if specialist nurses or schools nurses are not available. There is a need to audit the school’s policies on a regular basis and it would make sense for the school governors to be responsible for this. This needs to be stated in the document. Not all children will be responsible enough to carry their own adrenalin injector but we welcome the inclusion of the section that allows this if appropriate . It is important to note that if a child is not able to carry their own injectors an alternative will be provided.