school and asthma

how does ur child school cope with there asthma? my ds school r pretty clueless, we filled out a medical form telling them what he needs and when.

1 occasion they didnt give it, then there was confusion over what colour he had, school only have blue one but they thought he needed the brown one.

ive looked on here and i see there are packs the school can order and there is a form in there which they get us and doc to sign and review it every few months, the school knew nothing about it at all but said they would look into it

my ds needs his inhaler b4 excercise, so we told them but they thought we was wrong and said its going against what they have been told, and they should only give it when a child is having an attack. anyhow i stated to question myself and what hes resp con has said but in the lealflet for salbutamol it does state if u suffer from excercise induced asthma give 10-15 mins b4 doing any excercise so they where like oh maybe we have been giving it wrong to alot of kids

doesnt give u much faith does it.

how well does ur child school cope, he only started last week in reception

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It very much depends on the teacher and the school, how many asthmatic children they have and if they are all mild or if they have had a fright with a child more severe asthma attack. The general attitide is very much asthma is just an inconvenience that you carry a blue puffer for not if untreated a potentially life threatening disease.

If you are not convinced they know what they are doing first thing to do is get a written copy of management plan from GP/asthma nurse/consultant.

Then make an appointment to see class teacher and SENCO or inclusion manager whatever title they use at the school!

Ask to see a copy of the schools managing medicine policy. If they can't produce one hand over the details of the asthma pack from AUK.

Find out who is responsible for his inhaler where it is kept and if he has to give it himself or can they help. Will they prompt him to have it or are they going to rely on him asking. A big thing for a little one in reception to do.

Ask them to record when they give his inhaler with a date time and signature either on their record sheet that comes home everyday in his book bag or ask for a home contact book to be set up so you can let them know if he's wheezy and info if he may require his inhaler at lunchtime etc in the the morning. They like this as it saves time chatting to parent!

Point out you need to know when the inhaler is given at school so you don't overdose him when he gets home. Not strictly true but better than saying i need to know cos i don't think you are giving it!

Ask them what happens at break times and lunchtimes who is responsible for giving the inhaler and who does your child have to go to to get it.

Ask who is responsible you or them for making sure inhaler is within expiry date!

Think about getting in contact with the schools nurse service who will come in and do some up to date asthma training with the staff.

Once you've done all that things will be better and if not write to the head explaining your concerns and asking for a meeting, problem is most parents assume its all in place and teachers know exactly what to do as asthma is common but a lot of kids don't even have inhalers at school. Chats after school with teachers in playground are fine but booked appointments actually get some action!

I've been through this with 3 different heads now and each time has worked.