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Invitation to achieve Asthma Friendly School Status

Last updated on 20 February 2024
Hertfordshire County Councilby Public Health team

The Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care System Asthma Team are inviting all schools within Hertfordshire to achieve ‘Asthma Friendly School’ status. This is part of a strategy to improve the management of all children with asthma in the locality. A new asthma pathway has been created, based on the NHS England Bundle of Care for children and young people with asthma, which set out best practice for asthma care.

What does this mean for schools in Hertfordshire?

Asthma Friendly School’ status will be awarded annually to schools achieving the following:

  • Named ‘Asthma Champion’ – individual responsible for asthma in school.
  • Register of all children and young people with asthma Management plan for each child
  • A policy for inhaler techniques and care of the children and young people with asthma
  • A policy regarding emergency treatment
  • A system for identifying children who are missing school because of their asthma or who are not partaking in sports or other activities due to poor control.

The benefits of becoming an ‘Asthma Friendly School’ include:

  • Improving asthma awareness and management in the school Improving support to students with asthma encouraging an inclusive environment
  • Supporting responsibilities for the health, safety and wellbeing of students and staff
  • Ensures the school is implementing current and best practice asthma management strategies.
  • Enables the school to promote its self-evaluated status to ensure that the community is aware of the school's commitment to ‘Asthma Friendly’ strategies.

Part of this project relates to identifying children whose asthma is not well controlled. We have created a form which we are asking the Asthma Champion in each school to complete to identify children that have missed school or activities because of their asthma, to reduce school absence, hospital attendances and admissions.

We will be running the next virtual Asthma training workshops on the 20th of March 2024 between 9:00am to 13:00, that we would like every school in Hertfordshire to attend if possible.

To express your interest in attending the upcoming asthma workshops, please email the ICB Asthma Team on: hweicbenh.cypteam@nhs.net