5967 Virtual type 1 diabetes training for primary school staff- a parent satisfaction survey

Objectives Statutory guidance sets out clearly that pupils with medical conditions should be properly supported in school so that they have full access to education.¹ The increased demand on specialist diabetes teams from increasing patient numbers, and adaptations made at the onset of Covid 19 pandemic, led to a change in the way training is delivered to school staff. Face to face training sessions were replaced with e-learning packages, virtual meetings and telephone calls. We carried out a survey of all parents of primary school aged children attending our children's diabetes service to evaluate their satisfaction with the revised training and service delivery model. Methods The children and young people's diabetes service at our NHS Trust supports 102 primary school age children with type 1 diabetes. A questionnaire survey was sent out by electronic mail to parents or carers of these children. The length of the questionnaire was limited to only four questions to encourage participation by limiting time taken to compete the survey. Telephone calls and text messages were used to encourage non-responders to respond to the survey. Results A total of 51 responses were received, which is 50% of the eligible case load. The method of survey i.e. by use of email, may have led to inadvertent exclusion of families that do not use this form of correspondence. 82% of respondents (42/51) agreed that school staff had been appropriately trained to support their child with type 1 diabetes (figure 1). 43/51 positive responses were received to the question on whether appropriate action was being taken by school staff when required, such as with managing low glucose events (figure 2). Most respondents (44/51) felt there was adequate communication between school and themselves. In the free text comments on what further training the diabetes team should offer to schools to help them support children with type 1 diabetes, the most frequent comment (8/51) was that there should be more face to face training. The next most frequent request was training for school staff on impact of diabetes on behaviour, concentration, emotions and mental health. There were also comments on training more members of school staff to avoid over reliance on one staff member and raising awareness of type 1 diabetes within the wider school community, including among other children. There is recognition among parents of pressures on the school system as evidenced by comments on difficulty getting training time with school staff. Conclusion Our survey demonstrates that parents have adapted to and are satisfied with the changes to delivery of school staff training. Majority of parents and carers are satisfied with the level of support their children are receiving with managing their medical condition in school and feel confident in the school's ability to respond to their child's physical health needs. However, diabetes services and e-learning packages for schools need to focus more on highlighting the emotional and behavioural impact of diabetes if we are to support holistic care for these children within educational settings. Reference https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3