Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of school nurses have received specialist training in (a) allergy and (b) anaphylaxis management.

Data is not held centrally on the number of school nurses who have received specialist training in allergy and anaphylaxis management. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) sets the standards for education preparation for school nurses, who are registered nurses that undertake a post-graduate Specialist Public Health Nurse qualification with an NMC-approved university. School nurses will then also undertake any mandatory training required by their employer, as appropriate to their role.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions, and should have policies and processes in place to ensure that these can be well managed, including for allergies. The policy should also set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training. NHS England has also produced the Health School Child e-learning programme, which is available at the following link:

https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/healthy-school-child/

This is designed for healthcare professionals, including school nurses, working with children aged five to 12 years old. Module 5 of the e-learning programme includes sessions on asthma, eczema, and other allergies.