World Asthma Day News Release: In response to call from Asthma UK for mandatory asthma training for schools, Education for Health offers bursary for school nurses

4 May 2010

“This tragic event reinforces the urgent need for mandatory asthma training in schools. Asthma exacerbations are largely preventable and had school staff been more aware of this common disease, this unnecessary loss of life could well have been prevented” said Monica Fletcher, Chief Executive at Education for Health.

Education has a real role in improving the lives of patients with asthma. Children with a good asthma management plan can often lead a normal and active life. “Our Paediatric Asthma Workshop is ideal for school nurses, health visitors and practice nurses. It highlights the importance of having management plans in place for children and will reflect new guidelines from the Department of Health for managing medicines in schools and the new European consensus on managing allergy and asthma in schools” said Sue Clarke, Clinical Lead for Allergy and Paediatric Respiratory at Education for Health.

We fully support our colleagues at Asthma UK, who recently launched their ‘Alert to Asthma’ campaign and wrote to every school and local education authority in the UK urging them to organise regular asthma training for all staff and ensure they have a policy to support children with asthma. In order to help schools and education authorities to achieve this aim we are delighted to announce on World Asthma Day that we have four educational bursaries for school nurses or health professionals working within the NHS, to attend one of our Paediatric Asthma Workshops.

Find out how to apply for the new Education for Health Bursary here

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