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SecEd: On Your Side
Swine flu: what
should schools do?
THE CLOSURE of a Devon
school last week after a student
Pete
became infected with swine
Henshaw
flu sparked many schools
Editor,
into preparing “action plans”
SecEd
to deal with any potential
infections in their pupils or staff (see page 1).
The Department for Children, Schools and Families said
this week that it was “monitoring the situation closely” and
was pointing schools to the Human Flu Pandemic guidance
on the Teachernet website.
Would you know
This, coupled with the World Health Organisation
upscaling the threat of a swine flu pandemic from four to
five on its six-point scale, will have ensured the issue is a
hot topic at the school gate and in the playground.
While many heads may feel that any threat is way off,
children and parents can easily become prone to anxiety,
what to do?
especially given the media coverage at the moment, and the
most vital role that schools have to play right now is one
of reassurance – and a renewed focus on hygiene can be
Asthma is the most common long- informed about the needs of their
promoted too. term condition among children Would you know what to do if a students, those who have inhalers
This obviously can be done in class, and there is plenty
in the UK, yet research by the and so on. I think they can recognise
of data available to help with this from Teachernet and other
charity Asthma UK suggests that
child had a serious asthma attack
when an issue might arise.
three quarters of teachers would not “One potential problem is the
websites. Try www.teachernet.gov.uk/humanflupandemic
be confident about dealing with a
in your classroom? A new report
difference in provision between
and www.direct.gov.uk
student having a serious attack.
suggests that many teachers would
different schools. At Abingdon, we
Obvious comparisons are already being drawn with
According to Missing Out, a are fortunate enough to have our
the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, which have not helped
report published by the charity not. Chris Parr reports own health centre, but at some
anxieties. Swine flu is a new version of the H1N1 strain
on Tuesday (May 5), many of the other schools that I’ve worked
1,600 teachers canvassed did not in, it’s been a different story, and
that sparked the 1918 pandemic, and which is responsible
understand the condition properly. Another pupil complains about “When it comes to children who school nurses have been hugely
for seasonal flu outbreaks too. At school, asthma sufferers were aerosol deodorants being used in are prone to asthma attacks, it is overworked.”
However, it is important to note that those who have
often placed in a “protective bubble” the changing rooms, despite them also important that all staff know The report recommends that
been infected with swine flu thus far have reacted well to
and banned from doing certain being banned, while a third claims the medical history of the student, each school should have its own
treatment, and it has been argued that with humans often
activities, the report said, while at they were forced to do athletics in order to understand how serious school nurse by 2010 – something
the other end of the scale, some despite not having their inhaler with the condition is.” that Mr Cotton described as “very
being exposed to seasonal flu, our immune systems are well
teachers accused them of being them. The report interviewed 40 pupils unlikely” to happen.
placed to help battle this new strain of H1N1. “melodramatic” and “over-reacting”. Neil Churchill, chief executive with asthma, and found that half It also calls for the introduction
So there is plenty of interesting, reassuring and valuable
In one of the report’s examples, at Asthma UK, said: “There is felt their condition made it difficult of clear government guidelines for
information out there to use with students in lessons, and
a chemistry teacher instructed a no need to wrap children up in for them to join in with lessons and schools on their responsibilities,
student to stand outside the cotton wool, but it is every school’s school trips. Three quarters cited PE with compliance to be inspected
this can lead into important debates about good hygiene and
classroom while an experiment was responsibility to ensure that teachers as a particularly problematic area, by Ofsted.
the prevention of infection.
carried out, as his asthma made him have the knowledge and resources while 40 per cent said that their Jenny Parry, children and young
And while many schools will be writing to parents a “liability”. to protect and support the children asthma stopped them from having people’s development manager at
and liaising with local authorities over emergency action
in their care. This will ensure that fun at school. Asthma UK, said she also hoped
plans should the pandemic hit, bringing this issue into the
Asthma facts
more than a million children with In its analysis, the report the report would kick-start the
classroom in an educational and non-sensationalist way will
There are around 90 emergency
asthma in the UK do not miss out criticises the government for government into providing better
on their childhood.” failing to provide enough direction training for schools.
be the most effective method of reassuring both students
admissions a day for children
John Bangs, head of education for schools, and also calls for an She told us: “We are not blaming
and parents. A letter home to parents explaining all this will
with asthma in the UK. at the National Union of Teachers, audit system to be put in place teachers for their misunderstandings,
help too.
said it was absolutely crucial that, to monitor how effective school we want to help empower them. To
What are you doing at your school? I would be very
One in 11 children in the UK has
if a school had a chronic asthma asthma policies are. that end, we want all school staff
interested to hear from you.
asthma – an average of two per
sufferer among its cohort, a member It also claims that a “severe to receive training in dealing with
of staff must be thoroughly trained lack of school nurses” has impacted asthma.
class.
to deal with it. schools’ ability to train teaching “We have already put together
No more exams!
He told us: “According to our staff effectively. an asthma policy for schools, we
Every year, the equivalent of a
research, teachers have in the past However, Richard Cotton, just want to make sure that it is
classroom of children dies from
been asked to help out with an school nurse at the independent being used. If it is implemented, it
SECED ONLINE reported last week on the proposals to
asthma.
array of medical conditions among Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, can hopefully help to improve the
pupils, which goes beyond their disagreed with some of the report’s level of inclusion for children with
make PSHE education compulsory in both primary and official duties. It is vital that every allegations, saying that he found asthma, while reducing the number
secondary schools.
Nearly a quarter of children with school has access to a trained teachers were, in the main, well of hospital admissions.”
It comes after the report of Sir Alasdair Macdonald,
asthma miss six or more school
member of staff, be that a school clued up on dealing with asthma. For advice on dealing with
which education chief Ed Balls has accepted with a view to
days a year.
nurse or a well-trained teaching He told SecEd: “I think sports asthma, and for more on the report,
assistant. teachers in particular are very well visit www.asthma.org.uk SecEd
making the subject compulsory from September 2011.
The danger of making subjects compulsory, however
well intentioned the ideas behind such proposals, is that
IN RESPONSE…
with compulsion often comes measurement and assessment.
SecEd last week reported schools. Schools do not solve all boundaries set by schools or indeed the forefront of technology for our
Sir Alasdair has heralded the current programmes
claims by Professor Alma the problems, but they do contain social responsibilities. On the most young learners with the very best
of study for PSHE and has recommended no new
Harris, director at London and manage them, often with basic level we are talking about facilities for them to achieve their
accountability measures – hopefully this will be taken on
University’s Institute of remarkable success. common courtesy and politeness. potential.
board. However, the report does push for a focus on new
Education, that hundreds of If there are problems in Schools cope admirably with The local community and
ways of assessing PSHE, which is cause for concern. If
millions of pounds of public disadvantaged communities, most of these children but need the schools must be incorporated
money had been wasted on of course funding should be funds to be able to do it. into working together to create
traditional assessment techniques are adopted in PSHE then
government education schemes, made available to tackle them, an ethos of self-belief and to
we are in very grave danger of it becoming a subject where such as the National Challenge. but schools would appreciate, Catherine Britton achieve their personal best. The
students are drilled on a finite number of issues in order to
These initiatives, she more than anything, compulsory Headteacher community must be involved
pass examinations.
claimed, had made no parenting classes for identified Blessed Edward Jones Catholic in their local schools, creating
PSHE is about so much more than this and every student
difference to attainment in parents. High School, Rhyl community centres so local
disadvantaged areas. Prof There are lots of really good people can benefit from the
should be free from the burden of examinations to discuss
Harris said she wanted to see parents in disadvantaged areas, but facilities and technology a school
the issues that affect them and to learn in an understanding, more of the money invested plenty of poor ones too – the kind has.
flexible and relaxed environment.
in local communities, not just who try to curry favour with their Dear Sir, A community that sees the
The one thing that cannot happen is for the subject to
schools (‘Misguided’ education offspring by being unsupportive benefit of an education can help
schemes waste millions, SecEd, in school, haranguing teachers, Schools’ and communities must generate our leaders of tomorrow,
become another victim of the government’s obsession with
211, Thursday, April 30). refusing to comply with school work collaboratively together for but they must work in partnership
tick box targets and statistics. SecEd
policies, and so on. an area to benefit. with the local schools.
Dear sir, These parents do not set Economic investment is a
• Pete Henshaw is the editor of SecEd. Have your say by adequate boundaries for their necessity with schools. Schools are Mike Tidd
emailing editor@sec-ed.co.uk or see www.sec-ed.co.uk
If there is money available it children, and as such produce the training ground for our future Curriculum leader for geography
should most certainly go to children unable to cope with the generations and they need to be at Cove School, Hampshire
6 SecEd • May 7 2009
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