Asthma Friendly Schools scheme

NHS Kent and Medway's Asthma Friendly Schools scheme, in partnership with Medway and Swale Health and Care Partnership, aims to improve asthma awareness and management in schools across the area.

Two asthma inhalers and a school building with the asthma friendly schools logo in the middle.

Benefits of becoming asthma friendly

Promoting an asthma friendly environment through training and adopting asthma policies and procedures will help keep children safe while they are in school.

Benefits of becoming an asthma friendly school:

  • improve asthma awareness and management in the school
  • encourage a supportive and inclusive school environment
  • support responsibilities for the health, safety and wellbeing of students and staff
  • enable the promotion of the school's self-evaluated status to the community.

Get involved

To join the Asthma Friendly Schools scheme, you will need to have the following in place:

  • an asthma register, of all children and young people with asthma in the school
  • an asthma policy
  • a named individual responsible for asthma in the school
  • a school salbutamol inhaler for use in emergencies when a child with asthma cannot access their own inhaler
  • staff training on asthma
  • a management plan for each child with asthma (or a school wide emergency asthma plan).

Practical support including templates and checklists to help your school become asthma friendly is available. Download the  guide for schools  to find out more.

To sign up or find more information about the programme, please contact kmicb.asthmafriendlyschools@nhs.net 

This is the same programme which has been launched in Medway and Swale. If you have already started the programme, please continue to follow the plan you have in place.  

Think anaphylaxis 

Asthma and anaphylaxis, a severe and often sudden allergic reaction, frequently occur together and poor asthma control is associated with more severe anaphylaxis reactions.

The NHS has advice on  food allergies. It contains information on symptoms and treatment. They also have more detailed advice on the  treatment of anaphylactic reactions.

The Anaphylaxis UK Campaign has advice to help schools  manage severe allergic conditions.

It's important that every child who has an adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) has an allergy action plan and always has two pens accessible to them. 

Consider purchasing an AAI for the school. Primary and secondary schools can buy AAIs from a pharmacy, without a prescription, for use in emergencies. Read guidance from the  Department of Health and Social Care. 

Asthma training

Access free training from  NHS England  to improve your knowledge and help care for children and young people with asthma.

NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed a framework for the care of children and young people with asthma. Read the  National Capability Framework  for guidance on which tier is most appropriate for an individual to safely carry out their role caring for a child or young person with asthma. The 'tier one' training takes about 45 minutes to complete and is suitable for anyone who supports children and young people, including teachers and school support staff.

Resources

Beat Asthma and Asthma and Lung UK have a variety of resources to support schools.

For children aged seven and over, access Moggy's New Medicine lesson plan and story, developed by the Dog, Duck and Cat Trust.

Asthmanauts is an interactive space themed booklet aimed at improving children's understanding of their asthma.