Diabetes UK is urging parents and students to nominate their schools for a special award that celebrates schools that provide great care and support to children and young people with Type 1 diabetes. The charity’s Good Diabetes Care in School Award is open to all schools across the Midlands. Schools can nominate themselves, or be nominated by parents, students and healthcare professionals. Winners will be chosen by an assessment panel, which includes parents and representatives from Diabetes UK. The winners will be announced later this year, and next year, and will receive a trophy valid for two years.
It is extremely important that children and young people with diabetes receive good care in school to help them keep their blood glucose to target levels. In the short term, high or low blood glucose levels can make a child extremely unwell, and in the long-term, high blood glucose levels can increase risk of serious complications such as amputation, blindness and stroke later in life. Supporting children to manage their diabetes well is also key to enabling them to get the best from their education and school activities.
The charity says that the Good Diabetes Care in School Award will show that good diabetes care in schools is achievable and share best practice amongst schools, helping to ensure that all students with diabetes achieve their full academic potential.
Recognising that some schools will have some concerns about how to support students with diabetes, as part of its Type 1 diabetes: Make the Grade Campaign, Diabetes UK has created free resources to help parents and schools get the right care in place. Along with this the charity has launched a Care in Schools Helpline which provides parents of children and young people with Type 1 diabetes in England, Scotland and Wales with information and support around the care their child is entitled to receive at school.
Peter Shorrick, Diabetes UK Regional Manager for the Midlands said: “Many schools in the Midlands are working really hard to ensure their students with Type 1 diabetes are not held back by their condition and have exactly the same opportunities as their peers without diabetes. We want to celebrate the achievements of these schools so we are calling on parents and students, who are receiving good care, in the Midlands to nominate their schools.
“The Good Diabetes Care in School Award will also provide an opportunity for best practice to be shared across schools, helping to build strong relationships between schools. The fact that so many schools are doing a fantastic job of supporting students with Type 1 diabetes shows that good care is achievable in all schools.”
Nominations for this year’s Good Diabetes Care in School Award can be made anytime from Monday 14 September 2015 to Thursday 16 June 2016.
