6339 Piloting a Beat Asthma Friendly Schools Accreditation (BAFS) Scheme in the North East and North Cumbria (NENC)

Objectives Asthma is the most common long-term childhood condition in UK1 with UK having one of the highest prevalence of emergency admissions and death rates in Europe.2 The NENC region has a higher proportion of deprivation (29.4%) than the national average (20.2%).3 Outcomes are worse for those living in most deprived areas.4 Data suggests asthma is responsible for up to 18% of school absences,5 with improved control improving attendance and performance. NENC Child Health and Wellbeing Asthma Leadership Group worked alongside selected primary education settings to develop, and pilot BAFS Accreditation. We aimed to enable schools in NENC to improve experiences and outcomes for CYP with asthma. Methods An electronic questionnaire was circulated to education settings in early 2022. We received 198 responses from c1400 settings. 2/3 of respondents were interested in accreditation. An Expression of Interest (EOI) identified 15 primary settings, at least one in each LEA in NENC. More deprived communities were targeted via EOI. Resources developed between multi-agency partners (public health, ICB commissioners, specialist and school nursing) were provided at the outset and further refined throughout the pilot. Settings received four workshops to share good practice and challenges, in addition to ongoing support from Community Asthma Advisors (CAAs) including face-to-face and remote advice. At conclusion CAAs visited schools to review and validate evidence against predetermined checklists and provide CYP/family educational opportunities by means of school assemblies and drop-ins. Results 9 schools completed accreditation. Finalised resources and a process for validation are published on Healthier Together.6 Since publication (April 23) the policy has been downloaded 590 times. Settings were asked to rate confidence levels to effectively support CYP with asthma at start and end of the process. Mean scores improved from 6/10 to 9/10. Challenges have been local capacity and changes of school staff. Accredited settings have offered to provide arms-length support to other NENC schools. Conclusion We demonstrated that implementation of BAFS improved confidence in dealing with CYP with asthma and the whole system approach to asthma management in the community. We recommend ongoing promotion and local support for BAFS, to make the opportunity widely available and encourage uptake across NENC throughout the education pathway. There is ongoing work with Schools North East to encourage take up. References Ferrante G, La Grutta S.Frontiers in pediatrics, 2018;6:186. doi.org/10.3389/fped.2018.00186 Shah R, Hagell A, Cheung R. Nuffield trust https://northeastnorthcumbria.nhs.uk/media/fwmhvlxa/facts-of-life-report-final.pdf Johnson S, et al. Asthma and attendance in urban schools. 2019; DOI: 10.5888/pcd16.190074. Johnson S, et al. Asthma and attendance in urban schools. DOI: 10.5888/pcd16.190074, (2019). https://www.nenc-healthiertogether.nhs.uk/professionals/asthma/beat-asthma-friendly-schools-chwn 2023