Asthma is the most common long-term medical condition in children in the UK, with around 1 in 11 children and young people living with asthma. Outcomes are worse for children and young people living in the most deprived areas.

Improving care and support for children and young people living with asthma is a key priority for the Greater Manchester and Eastern Cheshire Children and Young People Strategic Clinical Network.

Current pilot

Click here to watch our Asthma friendly schools video.

The Asthma Friendly Schools programme is currently being piloted in seven schools in Manchester. Developed originally by Islington CCG and Healthy London Partnership, the aim is to improve outcomes for children living with chronic asthma and to enable schools to achieve recognition and meet agreed standards of care.

The schools involved in the pilot are being provided support to:

• Register all children and young people with asthma in the school.
• Develop a management plan for each child.
• Identify a named individual responsible for asthma in each school.
• Develop a policy for inhaler techniques and care of children with asthma.
• Develop a policy for emergency treatment.
• Provide asthma training and education for staff.
• Develop a system for identifying children who are missing school because of their asthma or who are not taking part in sports or other activities due to poor control.

Get in touch

The current pilot with the seven schools in Manchester will run until April 2024. If successful, we will create a plan for how we can roll this out to schools across the region. To register your interest in being involved please contact Afia Ali, Project Manager on afia.ali@nhs.net.