Policy Development

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Creating supportive asthma policies/protocols/procedures at a school board level supports the implementation of the 7 goals of the CAFS Resource Kit. Refer to the School Board checklists found in the CAFS Resource Kit for further information.

The steps involved in creating supportive asthma school policy/protocols/procedures are outlined below. Please note these are suggested steps only and have only been piloted in 3 school boards. Every community and School Board will be structured differently, and the steps may occur in a different order.

Step 1:
Conduct Review of Existing School-based policies/procedures/protocols

Know current practices and standards in your province for school boards.

Review existing school-based policies/procedures/protocols relating to asthma and any other similar health condition, including medication management.

To view an example of a school protocol click here

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Step 2:
Find out WHO is responsible for the development and/or revision of school policies, protocols or procedures in your community (Identify groups and individuals within these groups).
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Step 3:
Find out WHAT policies/procedures and protocols in the school/school board you are working with related to asthma or other health conditions? (e.g., medication management, anaphylaxis, diabetes).
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Step 4:
Contact stakeholders within the school board to determine interest in developing and/or revising existing policies regarding asthma and asthma medications.

Is there interest in developing and/or revising policies, protocols or procedures related to asthma? How would this occur?
(e.g., informal conversation, meeting with senior management).

Yes there is support
No support at present

 

Support

No Support

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Follow direction from School Board as to how policies/protocols/procedures are developed.

 

Advocate for policy development at a later date.

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  1. Provide a template of school board asthma policy(hyperlink to the policy)
  2. Provide School Board with a CAFS Resource Kit and related asthma resources.
  3. Provide input as requested via participation on a committee, individual consultation etc.
  4. Provide as much support as possible to the process

 

It is important to note that even if school boards have an asthma policy/protocol in place it may not translate to implementation at the school level. Possible reasons for this are listed below:

  • Poor communication: The asthma policy/protocol is not communicated to the school administrators in such a way that they clearly understand why the policy is necessary, how they are to implement it and what resources are available to assist them in implementing it.
  • Unclear wording in policy/protocol: If the wording is not clear regarding certain issues (e.g. access to medication) it is often left up to each school administrator to interpret how it is to be implemented. Some may in effect go against what the policy/protocol was intended to do simply because the wording was unclear.
  • Lack of enforcement: Many school boards are not able to monitor implementation of policies/protocols at the school level, making it very difficult to know how many schools are actually implementing it and to what degree.

To view an example of a school protocol click here