Goals for School Boards

Goal 1: Establish a process to identify students with asthma

• Ensure all schools implement an annual process to identify students with asthma at the beginning of the school year.
  • Consider adding the question "Does your child have asthma and/or use an asthma medication?" to the school registration form.
  • Consider providing a letter to schools for parental distribution explaining the school's program for creating a supportive environment and asking parents to inform the school of their child's asthma.
• Provide a school registration form to schools for distribution to parents for completion that asks about asthma and asthma medications.
• Promote use of the Student Asthma Management Plan for use in all schools.

Goal 2: Allow students with asthma easy access to their inhalers.

• Review and revise, if necessary, the current medication policy to ensure that it specifically identifies asthma "inhalers" as medications in this policy 
• Review and revise, if necessary, the current medication policy to ensure that students with asthma are allowed to carry their asthma (reliever) inhaler with them.
• Ensure all schools implement an annual process to identify students with asthma at the beginning of the school year.
• Consider the following:
  • Students whose parents/guardians and health care providers judge that they have sufficient maturity and knowledge should be allowed to carry their own inhalers.
  • Most students age seven years or older are capable of deciding when medication is required and have the skills to administer the medication properly.
  • For children who are unable to carry their own inhaler, it is best to have the medication available in the classroom and within easy reach.  Medication stored in the main office or a centrally locked storage unit may not be easily accessible for the student.
• Disseminate and promote the Board’s medication policy to schools, highlighting that students may carry inhalers with them given the completion of appropriate documentation, if required.
  • Parents/guardians need to know the Board’s process for enabling children to carry inhalers at school.

Goal 3: Establish a school wide process for handling worsening asthma.

• Advocate and provide support for all schools to have a school wide process for handling worsening asthma.

Goal 4: Identify and reduce common asthma triggers within the school environment.

• Advocate and provide support for all schools to identify and reduce exposure to potential asthma triggers.
  
• Support the use of Health Canada's Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Tools for Schools Action Kit

Goal 5: Students with asthma should participate in activities to the best of their ability.

• Advocate and provide support for the value and expectation that children with asthma need to be participating in all school related activities, including physical activities.

Goal 6: Provide school personnel, parents and student body opportunities to gain a general understanding of asthma.

• Advocate and provide support for all schools to receive asthma-related information to assist with creating asthma friendly schools.
• Advocate and provide support for all schools to offer the school-based asthma education program RAP – Roaring Adventures of Puff to students with asthma

Goal 7: Collaborate with families, health care professionals, and school personnel to create asthma friendly schools.

• Meet with school administrators and health care professionals to discuss policy changes, current practices and updates on asthma annually.
• Enroll in the MedicAlert program No Child Without which provides free MedicAlert bracelets to children with serious health conditions, including asthma.