Schools | Children with Diabetes, for families living in the UK

Picture of whole squad with Union Flag Three teams of young footballers with type 1 diabetes had the opportunity of a lifetime recently – to represent Great Britain in the fourth annual Diabetes Junior Cup Football Championship in Geneva, Switzerland.

The 24-strong squad – 22 boys and two girls, aged from six to 17 – applied to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) to be selected for the event, which is organised by diabetes management specialist Medtronic. The group travelled to Geneva with a team of supporters including parents, diabetes specialist nurse Claire Pesterfield, and representatives from Medtronic UK and JDRF UK.

‘It’s amazing how everyone gelled together straightaway, from the teams on the pitch to the families,’ said Karen Hagreen, whose son Paul, 16, played for the Senior team, which was coached by Paul’s father Darrell. For many players and parents, it was the first time they had seen other children with type 1 playing football, and there was plenty of time to swap notes and experiences, especially about insulin pumps and how they compare with injections in sporting situations.

The GB teams competed against 14 other European countries and the United States in the championship and coped brilliantly with blazing hot weather, the complete change in routine and the excitement of the weekend. The Junior team, aged 11-14, emerged as champions in their division, beating teams from Switzerland, the USA, Italy and France along the way. They were coached by Graham Sweetland, whose son Alex, 14, was one of the top goalscorers. ‘It was an easy job to manage such a talented team of players,’ he said.

The Senior team, aged 15-17, were unlucky to be beaten in the final of their division by a strong team from Slovakia, having enjoyed easy wins against Switzerland and Italy. The Kids team, aged six to nine, played well against Switzerland and eventually came fourth in their group, which was won by Spain. Kids' team players with Sir Steve Redgrave

Highlights of the weekend included a splendid opening ceremony with music, dancers, football skills demonstrations and fireworks, and a twilight cruise across Lake Geneva, followed by a barbecue. Medtronic’s friendly lion mascot, Lenny, was on hand to oversee festivities, but the biggest surprise was a visit from Olympic hero Sir Steve Redgrave, who spent a day watching the teams compete and gave an inspirational talk. The five-times gold medallist spoke about how he continued his rowing career after being diagnosed with diabetes, and congratulated the GB teams on their achievements.

‘When I was first diagnosed with diabetes I thought my rowing career was over, but then I learned that there was no reason I couldn’t continue to follow my dream of another gold medal,’ he said. ‘I am hugely impressed by your football skills and ability – no one would know you had a medical condition, and that is how it should be.’

Tired but exhilarated after the weekend, the teams and families flew back to the UK promising to keep in touch. ‘It’s something the children will remember for the rest of their lives,’ said Lesley Marr, mum to Cameron, nine, who captained the Kids’ team.

For lots more pictures from the Diabetes Junior Cup, visit the website: http://www.juniorcup-diabetes.eu

There are 20,000 children under the age of 15 with Type 1 diabetes in the UK.

Sadly, too many of them get a raw deal at school – some of them are excluded from school trips or other curricular activities, others have been prevented from having snacks when they need to in order to maintain their blood glucose levels, and some parents have been forced to give up work in order to go into school to monitor blood glucose levels and administer insulin as there’s no one available who can do this for young children.

Moreover, Diabetes UK has found that schools could be putting the health of up to 84% (an estimated 6,500 children) of 5 – 11 year olds with diabetes at risk. Schools have a vital part to play in supporting the daily management of diabetes in children. It is a life long condition which if poorly managed can lead to the development of complications such as blindness, heart and kidney disease and amputations, later on in life.

Diabetes UK believes that all children with diabetes should receive the support they need to effectively manage their condition at school. We are calling for the Government to be proactive and strengthen existing legislation so that children with diabetes and or any health condition are recognised as a vulnerable group and their well-being is properly supported. We urge the Government to take action on the following recommendations:

The general duty on school governing bodies to promote pupil well-being under the Education and Inspections Act 2006, should explicitly include the well-being of children with long-term conditions. This means the Department for Children, Schools and Families should issue a regulation using a Statutory Instrument, to require schools (governors and local authorities as employers) to have medicines policies and to provide trained support for children with long term conditions. The

Government needs to be pro-active and place specific duties on schools/employers and local authorities to ensure schools fulfil their duty to promote pupil well-being, as well as their common law duty of care, and their equalities and anti-discrimination duties under the Disability Discrimination Act.

Ofsted should routinely inspect whether schools have clear medicines policies and procedures to support children with diabetes and other long-term conditions. This requirement should be reflected in the new school indicators for Ofsted due to take effect in 2009. Current inspection of schools does not give clear attention to the needs of children with long-term conditions. Inspection is key to ensuring that schools have proper policies for supporting this vulnerable group, and whether they are implemented, regularly reviewed and updated.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) should take urgent action to gather and publish information on the actual numbers of children in primary and secondary schools that have a long-term condition. The Government and local services should know the number of children at school with long-term conditions, and the number of children with a disability, the fact that education, health and social care services do not have a common definition of disability must also be addressed.

In November 2008, more than 220 children with diabetes joined a Diabetes UK lobby of Parliament to ask MPs to improve support in schools in England. As a result of meeting his constituent, Jim Cunningham MP has introduced a Private Members’ Bill to address this issue. The Bill proposes to amend existing legislation to establish standards in schools for the support of children with specified health conditions, and place a duty on Ofsted to monitor whether this is provided.

If you would like to support our campaign, please ask your MP to back the Schools (Health Support) Bill at its second reading on 8 May 2009, by taking part in our e-campaign here: http://www.diabetes.org.uk/E-campaigning

Original post: http://www.politics.co.uk/opinion-formers/diabetes-uk/school-campaigns-$1232916$5.htm

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