Child & Youth Diabetes Strategy

Diabetes at School

Canadian Paediatric Foundation

Focus: Management of type 1 diabetes, children at school, training

Target Population: School administrators and staff, paediatric diabetes clinics, parents of school-aged children with type 1 diabetes

Reach: National

Grant:  $247,500

Project Goal

To ensure that children with diabetes can participate fully and safely in all aspects of school life by making credible, consistent and accessible training materials available to school staff and parents across Canada.

Project Overview

In 2014, the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group published a position statement with recommendations on managing type 1 diabetes at school. That same year, the Canadian Diabetes Association published similar guidelines. These organizations – representing clinicians and advocates at the heart of paediatric diabetes management – determined that there was a significant gap in resources available to implement those guidelines. They began to collaborate on Diabetes at School, a website launched in September 2016 as a resource for families, schools and caregivers to help support school-aged children with type 1 diabetes. This project extends the reach and impact of that work by transforming evidence-based print resources into online, multimedia training tools for use by school staff, parents and others. Led by experts from the three collaborating organizations, and involving both parents and educators, the project will ensure that everyone who supports students with type 1 diabetes has easy access to timely, evidence-based training materials.

The project will benefit the estimated 30,000 school-aged children with type 1 diabetes across Canada. Diabetes at School is the first national effort to develop education and training resources for school staff. This training is designed to ensure that designated school staff (or “care allies”) are confident and competent to provide daily support for students with diabetes. Materials in English and French will be available freely online, ensuring the reach is national and not restricted by geography. Dissemination and outreach will target a national audience of school administrators and staff, paediatric diabetes clinics, and parents of school-aged children with type 1 diabetes.