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Southport school wins good
diabetes care award
A school in Southport has received a
special award that celebrates schools which provide great care and support to
children and young people with Type 1 diabetes.
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School has won Diabetes UK's Good Diabetes
Care in School Awards a new recognition scheme introduced by the charity in
September 2015 to raise the profile of schools across the UK that are providing
good care and support to children and young people with Type 1 diabetes.
The school was chosen by an assessment panel which included parents and
representatives from Diabetes UK. It has been recognised for the support it
provides to ensure children with Type 1 at their school are fully included in
all school activities and receive the care they deserve.
Our Lady of Lourdes
Primary School will be presented with the special award, which is valid for two
years at a special assembly on 21 July 2016.
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 shows that good
diabetes care in schools is achievable and presents an opportunity to share best
practice amongst schools, helping to ensure that all pupils with diabetes get
the support they need and can therefore achieve their full academic potential.
Recognising that some schools will have concerns about how to support pupils
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, Wales and Northern Ireland with information and support around the
care their child is entitled to receive at school.
Diabetes UK is appealing to school staff, parents and healthcare professionals
to nominate schools providing good care for the Good Diabetes Care in School
Award. Nominations received after July 2017 will go into the next year's award
cycle which will begin in September 2017.
Head Teacher Maureen Hillsdon said:- "We are delighted to win Diabetes
UK's Good Diabetes Care in School Award. We have a number of pupils in our
school who have Type 1 diabetes and we take our responsibility to provide them
with the support and care they need to manage their condition safely in school
very seriously. We have worked extremely closely with pupils, parents, and
school staff to ensure that the right care is in place, and that children and
young people with Type 1 diabetes have the same opportunities as their peers who
do not have the condition and are able to fully participate in their education
and so reach their full academic potential."
Stephen Ryan, Head of the North at Diabetes UK said:- "Our Lady of Lourdes
Primary School has demonstrated that they are meeting best practice in the
support they provide for children and young people with Type 1 diabetes, which
is why they have become a recipient of our Good Diabetes Care in School Award.
We urge all schools, both here in Southport and across the country, to follow
the school's example as good care in schools means that children and young
people with diabetes stay healthy and get the best from their education. The
fact that Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School is doing such a fantastic job of
supporting pupils with Type 1 diabetes shows that good care is achievable in all
schools."
For more information on the Good Diabetes Care in School Award visit:-Diabetes.Org.UK.
What are your views on this topic? Are you affected by
Diabetes? Are you involved with the awards or are you one of the once collecting
an award? Please do let us know by emailing our newsroom today via:-
News24@SouthportReporter.com or send us your thoughts via post, to
Southport Reporter, PBT Media Relations Ltd, 4a Post Office Ave, Southport,
Merseyside, PR9 0US, UK. |
