Allergies
demographics in their schools and adopt adequate ongoing continuing professional development to ensure that all teachers are taking an inclusive approach to education. For this, she recommends that communication is key: “Headteachers need to engage with parents regarding their child’s needs and work with teachers to make sure the child’s specific issues are addressed”, she explains. Both the DfE and the National Union of Teachers suggest that the
ultimate responsibility of ensuring that children are not marginalised at school lies with the headteacher, rather than individual teachers, and that it is down to each individual headteacher to decide if their staff need additional training. They point out that ultimately it is a localised
A lottery of support
Schools’ handling of allergies and support of children has been labelled a “lottery of support” by the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance, who say that some schools place more priority on supporting children with medical conditions than others, resulting in very different experiences for parents and pupils. For example, earlier this summer several newspapers carried the story of a 10-year-old girl who suffered sunburn at school after they banned sun cream in case any children came into contact with it and had an allergic reaction. In a contrasting incident earlier in the year, newspapers carried the story of a boy with a nut allergy who suffered an anaphylactic attack after a teacher gave him a sweet with nuts in it.
Reading several allergies, asthma and parenting forums reveals that there are very mixed attitudes to how schools manage allergies. Some parents complain of schools being too lax and dismissive of their child’s condition, while others say that their schools are too rigid and automatically exclude their child from all activities, even if they could have been considered suitable.
However, there are success stories of open and ongoing communication between parents, teachers and schools which allows an allergy sufferer to have a fulfilling and enjoyable experience at school. Jimmy is a seven-year-old boy with an allergy to egg, milk, fish, nuts, and oats. His mother, Susan, explains that his school consults with her every time there is a planned food activity or party in the classroom on what can be done to accommodate his allergies. As a result, Jimmy has never felt excluded and is thriving, and Susan is confident in how the school handle’s his condition.
problem and that schools need to work with local authorities to put systems in place. A DfE spokesperson said:“Schools should also work with parents to make sure that children are not missing out.” The DfE also encourages schools to produce individual healthcare
plans for pupils with medical needs to identify the level of support that is needed while the pupil is at school and to clarify for staff, parents and the pupil the help and support that will be provided. Guidance from the DfE does however make it quite clear that it is important that these plans are regularly reviewed to keep them up-to-date.
Inclusion in Ofsted inspections The DfE emphasises that schools have a legal obligation to promote the wellbeing of their pupils, and many experts point out that educating and training teachers in the effects of allergies is crucial to the success of a school’s policy on supporting children with medical needs. However, Ofsted inspections do not look at issues beyond the legal
inspection framework and therefore health support in schools is not included, something that the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance is keen to see being introduced, as well as obligatory support and training for school staff. Despite the recent survey by Asthma UK finding that 74 per cent of
teachers would not be completely confident of what to do if a child in their class had an asthma attack, a DfE spokesperson has made it very clear that there are no plans to introduce any changes beyond those outlined in this year’s SEN Green Paper. Campaigners point out the importance of children having support in
schools, and would welcome discussion on ways of ensuring teachers have the necessary skills and knowledge. Keeping an open and honest dialogue with parents, and including the child in any decisions being taken, seems to be at the heart of the issue for campaigners and policymakers.
Further information Headteachers wishing to learn more about how they can help support their teachers and pupils can make use of resources available from relevant organisations campaigning for a better understanding of childhood allergies: n Medical Conditions at School – http://medicalconditionsatschool.
org.uk
n National Eczema Society –
www.eczema.org/schools.html n Blossom –
www.blossomcampaign.org n Asthma UK –
www.asthma.org.uk/health_professionals/schools_ early_years/
index.html
n The Department for Education website has links to policy implementation and guidance documents –
www.education.gov.uk/ schools/pupilsupport/pastoralcare/health
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