Asthma Policy

AFS Award - North Ealing Primary 24-25-page-001

Rationale

At North Ealing Primary School we take our responsibilities to pupils with asthma very seriously. With advice from the national NHS North West London and the School Nurse we have established this Asthma Policy for use by all staff.

We recognise that asthma is a condition affecting many school children. We recognise that immediate access to inhalers is vital.

Aims

• to encourage and help children with asthma to participate fully in all aspects of school life
• to ensure that the school environment is favourable to children with asthma
• to help other children understand asthma so they can support their friends; and so that children with asthma can avoid the stigma sometimes attached to this chronic condition
• to ensure all staff have a clear understanding of what to do in the event of a child having an asthma attack
• to work in partnership with parents, governors, health professionals and children to ensure the successful implementation of this school asthma policy

Staff Awareness

The welfare assistant and other staff will attend courses when required. All staff have asthma training from the school nurse annually. The asthma register is kept in the medical room. Spare inhalers and spacer devices are stored in the medical room. There are two Emergency Salbutamol Inhalers and spacers.

Record Keeping

At the beginning of each school year, or when a child joins the school, parents are asked if their child has asthma and if required to complete the school asthma action plan and asthma card( which includes permission for use of an emergency inhaler). From this information the school keeps its asthma register which is available for all school staff. If medication changes in between times, parents are asked to inform the school. The school holds inhalers for each child and they are regularly checked for expiry dates by a member of staff. All inhalers must be labelled with the child’s name by the parent.

The emergency salbutamol inhaler should only be used by children, for whom parental consent for use of the emergency inhaler has been given, who have either been diagnosed with asthma and prescribed an inhaler, or who have been prescribed an inhaler as reliever medication.

The inhaler can be used if the pupil’s prescribed inhaler is not available (for example, because it is broken, or empty).

The Use of Asthma Medication

• Asthma preventers are taken daily to make the airways less sensitive to triggers. These are generally used morning and night and are not kept at school. They are generally brown.

• Blue salbutamol reliever inhalers must be available for immediate use. The class teachers hold these inhalers in the classroom, in the Red class bag. Reliever inhalers are crucial for the successful management of asthma. Delay in taking reliever treatment, even for a few minutes, can lead to a severe attack, and in rare cases can prove fatal.

All children using an aerosol inhaler should use a plastic spacer to help them take their inhaler more effectively. Some children may have a breath actuated inhaler; they do not require a spacer

Asthma Attacks

All staff who come into contact with children with asthma know what to do in the event of an asthma attack. The school follows the following procedure, which is taken from the Department of Health’s Guidance on the Use of Emergency Salbutamol Inhalers in Schools: March 2015

What to do in the event of an Asthma Attack

• Keep calm and reassure the child

• Encourage the child to sit up and slightly forward

• Use the child’s own inhaler – if not available, use the emergency inhaler

• Remain with the child while the inhaler and spacer are brought to them

• Immediately help the child to take one puff of salbutamol and five slow breaths via the spacer. This is then repeated

• If there is no immediate improvement, continue to give the reliever medication, up to a maximum of 10 puffs and call an ambulance.

• Stay calm and reassure the child. Stay with the child until they feel better. The child can return to school activities when they feel better

• If the child does not feel better or you are worried at ANYTIME before you have reached 10 puffs, CALL 999 FOR AN AMBULANCE

• If an ambulance does not arrive in 10 minutes give another 10 puffs in the same way

The child’s parents must be told about the attack.

PE

Taking part in sports is an essential part of school life. Teachers are aware of which children have asthma from the asthma register. Children with asthma are encouraged to participate fully in PE. Each child’s inhalers will be labelled and kept in the red class bag at the site of the lesson. If a child needs to use their inhaler during the lesson, they will be encouraged to do so.

Playtimes and Lunchtimes

Inhalers are left in the classroom at breaks. Should a child have an attack at playtime, one member of staff should stay with the child and another member of staff should go and fetch the inhaler.

Nursery

There is are qualified paediatric first aiders in the nursery who are responsible for the administration of prescribed drugs in the nursery. As in school, the inhalers are kept in an accessible place and taken wherever the class go.