We are delighted to announce that recently Danesgate Community has successfully become an Asthma Friendly School, Something that we are very proud to achieve, becoming the first state school to receive this accreditation in North Yorkshire. We have been working closely with Alex Oliver, the NHS Asthma specialist, to ensure we fulfilled the needs and requirements to safeguard students within the setting that are diagnosed with Asthma.
Becoming an Asthma Friendly School:
The Asthma Friendly Schools award was initiated to encourage schools to develop safe, healthy and inclusive environments for students with asthma. An Asthma Friendly School adopts the requirements to support the whole school community in understanding and managing asthma.
What we needed to do:
To be recognised as an Asthma Friendly School, we demonstrate meeting a set of criteria that establishes an Asthma Friendly environment and meets current legislation from the Department of Health guidelines.
To achieve Asthma Friendly School status we meet the following key objectives:
- All staff in school are trained in asthma awareness CYP Asthma Tier 1 Training
- We implemented an asthma policy
- We have put in place an asthma register
- Parents/carers have worked with ourselves to share their child’s management plan
- We have a consistent approach to where and how inhalers are stored in school
- A notification system of when inhalers are due to expire
- We have purchased and put in place a spare emergency inhaler and spacer
- We have a process in place when to escalate cases to a health professional
The Benefits of becoming and Asthma Friendly school include:
- Improving asthma awareness and management in the school
- Improving support to pupils with asthma encouraging an inclusive environment
- Supporting responsibilities for the health, safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff
- Ensures the school is implementing current and best practice asthma management strategies.
- Enables the school to promote the self-evaluated status to ensure that the community is aware of the school’s commitment to Asthma Friendly strategies.
