Every child starting school is a big, life-changing event. There is so much to think about and consider and so many emotions involved. When you add allergies into the mix, it can seem even more over whelming and for me, Teddy starting school induced a great deal of anxiety.
The thought of releasing some of that control that I had over food, what we exposed Teddy to, the hand washing, giving medication and application of creams and everything else that runs through your mind as an allergy parent, was enough to keep me awake at night and more often than not, did.
For me, the only way that I could mentally prepare for the transition to school, was to try and have as much control over the situation as I possibly could.
I will share below how we managed it and after Teddy completing his very first year at school, what worked well for us and some things that we have learnt along the way.
First of all, picking the right school. I am fortunate that my mum works part time at one of the schools within our catchment area. As a parent of a child with additional health needs, that could have been a school for child clowns and I would have still chosen it! The added security blanket of knowing that Teddy’s grandma was there was worth its weight in gold and that came as the utmost importance for us. Fortunately for us, it is not a school for clowns, in fact I couldn’t ask for anything more for my children. The ethos of the school is in line with everything Loz and I wanted for our children.
Once we had applied and been given a place at our chosen school for Teddy, we started to get to work on planning what needed to be communicated and the additional things that would be needed in order to keep Teddy safe at school.
My first job was to make an appointment with the school to get the ball rolling. I was very fortunate that the meeting was organised with not only his class teacher and other classroom staff but the first aider, the school secretary, my mum and pretty much every other member of staff who may come into contact with him during his time in Reception.
It was during this meeting that we gave a brief history and talked about Teddy’s additional needs. I typed out all of the relevant information and handed it to each member of staff so we all had something to refer to. We also worked through and explained his action plans (I have added a photograph of these below), talked about his medication and explained other symptoms specific to Teddy that he might display whilst at school. We talked about what hospital they would go to in an emergency, there are two close by, who would go with him in an ambulance and other key information that may needed to be handed over in an emergency. The staff also all reassured me that every member of staff was trained in administering AAI’s and other basic first aid training including anaphylaxis and asthma.
I also took my own list of notes of things for me to mention during this meeting to ensure nothing was forgotten and my trainer Jext Pen so that I could give a quick demonstration whilst there.
I donated a copy of 'You, Me and Food Allergies' by Emma Amoscato to the school too, so that his class can share and gain an understanding and insight into life with allergies.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I left the meeting, feeling like all of my concerns had be listened to and with the promises that they were going to take extra special care of my little boy. Also following this meeting, a home – school book was created. This is something that both Teddy’s teacher and Loz and I write in every day that he is at school.
Communication between teacher and parent before school can be a little tricky as there is always lots going on. As we knew that we needed clear communication daily, we decided that the home – school book would be a sensible approach. After a year of using it, I can say that it has been a great success and he will be taking it up him to year 1.
I write in the book each morning before school to let staff know what medication Teddy has already had that day, any symptoms in particular that they might need to look out for, if extra applications of creams are required and any upcoming appointments that he has. At school, staff will also write in the book daily, basically telling me things on their end and so we can ensure that no medication is missed or given twice!
In the front of the book, I also have a copy of Teddy’s Action Plans for eczema, asthma and allergy as well as the BSACI action plan for anaphylaxis. Having these in the front of the book that is accessed daily, ensures that everyone knows where they are at all times and they are always within arm’s reach and able to be accessed when needed.
*When Teddy started school, I decided to update all of the action plans that we had been given from the hospital from consultants, allergy clinic, his asthma nurse, dermatologist and other research that I had completed to create plans specific to Teddy’s own personal needs. These will be updated every school year to ensure that they have all the relevant and most up to date guidance.
The Itchy Toolkit and Managing Eczema
One of the resources that I provided Teddy with when he started school was an Itchy Toolkit. Another brain fart that came to me in the middle of the night one night as he was due to start school. Teddy suffers with his eczema caused by contact reactions as well as triggers from heat, pollen, materials and other things beyond anyone’s control. Because of this, Teddy can spend lots of time feeling very itchy. To keep Teddy’s hands busy during speaking and listening lessons and to prevent him from damaging his skin through mindless scratching, I provided him with a bag of fidget toys to keep his hands busy and hopefully distract him from itching. The toolkit was a success and used throughout the first half term. As time has gone on, and from what I have been told by Teddy, he is using them less and less. His skin is managed at school by not sitting on the floor or near the radiators, applications of his eczema creams and antihistamine.
We discussed with Teddy’s school that he may sometimes need to wear his Skinnies to school or other bandages to help to protect wet or infected eczema. Although Teddy’s eczema is very much present and controlled by daily steroids, his skin is in such better condition to that which it was in school nursery before these things were put into place.
The creams that Teddy uses in school are Emollin, a spray emollient which Teddy can apply himself, Hydromol Intensive, a silky but gritty and dry cream which sinks in very quickly and doesn’t leave his hands slippy, great for learning how to use a pencil, Diprobase ointment and Dermol 500 as a soap substitute. Teddy does not like a fuss to be made of him and application of eczema creams. We have always agreed that we would prefer Teddy to miss an application if it made him feel sad or self conscious rather than have him forced to have it on and feed upset for the rest of the day.
Lunchboxes
Would you believe, it wasn’t until I took Teddy to the supermarket to buy his new school lunchbox, that a penny dropped for me and the realization of the extreme importance that nobody else in the class had the same lunchbox as Teddy?!
This was where the idea for The Allergy Toolkit was born and I bought myself a machine to ensure that I could personalize anything and everything that Teddy would take with him to school. I knew that between three children with allergies and a whole lifetime of schooling ahead of them that it would soon pay for itself.
I also bought Teddy a Yumbox. This is a lunchbox with lots of small compartments. I try to make Teddy a yummy and delicious lunchbox each day so that Teddy never feels like he is missing out. On my Instagram I am often asked lots of questions about his Yumbox and where it is from. As they are quite pricey, I usually just do a quick search on Google and look to see if they are on offer anywhere. I am currently looking to buy another one as my Brodie starts nursery school in September!
All personalized everything!!
From lunchboxes to medication to water bottles, it is so important that everything is clearly labelled. For us, if a child had eaten something that Teddy is allergic to and then drank from his water bottle, it is enough to cause a reaction. Likewise, if he wore another child’s top that potentially has cow’s milk spilt on it from their breakfast cereal, Teddy would react to this too.
Knowing that everything was clearly labelled and that Teddy know exactly what belonged to him, gave me the confidence to know that those types of accidental reactions would be avoided.
Some further points of discussion that you may wish to bring up when meeting with you school could include;
What they could do to help to prevent a reaction whilst in school?
Who will administer medication, where will it be kept and how will you determine when to give?
Birthdays – will treats be given for celebrations within school? If so, what can I do to ensure my child is included? I wanted to make sure that Teddy never went without for birthday celebrations so when he was in nursery, I sent in a class size bag of Haribo so I knew that he would always have a safe treat each time a birthday treat was handed out, should it not be suitable. Teddy’s school is a Healthy School. This means that sweets and other edible treats are not allowed to be given out on birthdays. This gives me one less thing to think about!
Food in the Curriculum – What does this look like? Will you be growing food and how is this managed? Do you require notice for being made aware of food in the classroom? Will you be providing your child with an alternative and how will this be managed?
School Lunches – I suppose the initial decision is packed lunch or school dinner! We made the choice to put Teddy on packed lunches. This was what made us all feel most comfortable and works best for our family. Teddy was all part and parcel of this discussion and decision making and wanted to have a packed lunch from home. Had he decided that he would prefer a school dinner, I would have made an appointment to come into school and speak to the chef and other catering staff. During the appointment I would discuss what meals they could safely make for Teddy. How they could limit cross contamination, how they would identify Teddy and his meal, where he would sit in the canteen in relation to other children eating foods that he is allergic to, who would deal with a reaction at lunchtime, where will his medication be?
On packed lunches, Teddy sits on a table with other children who bring in a lunchbox from home. School have asked parents to refrain from putting certain food items in lunchboxes to ensure the safety of Teddy and other children with food allergies. This was not a decision made by me or another parent, but a way the school decided to manage allergies. The foods that they asked parents to limit are those allergens that can be easily spilt, such as yoghurts.
Children in infant school have the option to have a drink of cow’s milk or water during the school day. Teddy’s school also made the decision to send home the milk rather than have children drinking it in the classroom during the day. Teddy’s cow’s milk allergy is so severe that he would react even if milk was to touch his skin. If milk had been spilt on resources or if children had proteins on their hands and then touched Teddy it could cause a contact reaction. If Teddy was to then itch his eyes or put him fingers in his mouth with the proteins on his hands it could then cause a bigger reaction. We are extremely and forever grateful for Teddy’s school in making this decision as we truly believe that this alone has impacted Teddy’s wellbeing at school immensely.
Overall, Teddy has had a fantastic first year at school, despite being classed as CEV, shielding, three lockdowns, class closure and everything else that the last wonderful year has brought to us all, he has settled into school well, he has made some wonderful friendships and has built trusting relationships with the staff at school.
Although Teddy has had multiple admissions this year for his asthma and allergy induced croup, the allergy side of things has been well managed and I have no doubt that the way that the school has approached and tackled the complexity of Teddy’s allergies has played a major role in that.
When I mentioned on Instagram that I was writing this blog post, I received messages asking how I manage my anxiety and that this was the biggest concern for September. I must be honest, some days are better than others, the worry is always there but all of the little things that I have mentioned above contribute to how I manage it. All the little things that may seem meaningless to many, give me the confidence each day.
Some things that I do to help this include ringing school to check in; I mostly did this in the early days or on day when he had needed his inhalers or eczema was flaring. My Apple Watch has also helped me. I know that I will never miss a phone call or message knowing that I will be notified on my wrist. In all honesty, I don’t go very far during the school day and wherever I do go out, I always have a plan in place for how quickly I would be able to leave a situation and get to school if needed. This is obviously something that I do to manage my own anxiety and I am not entirely sure that this is the best way to live, though it has helped me during the past year to manage my worries. Perhaps as my children grow and move up through the school, this will change and I will be able to do more whilst they are at school.
As Teddy, Brodie and Aurora progress through school, I have no doubt that new challenges will come our way and it may not always be easy. The way that school has catered to Teddy, listened to out worries and cared for our family has given us the confidence to face whatever comes our way. School trips, after school clubs and school discos are all things that we have been sheltered from this past year, thanks Covid, but I know are on the horizon for us to deal with very soon. When these things happen, I will fill you in with what we have done to manage it!
I hope that this blog post has been of some use for those with little ones starting school and nursery and I wish them and you, all the very best for your new adventure.
The personalised lunchboxes, backpacks, medicine bags and Itchy Toolkit are all available on @theallergytoolkit on Instagram and Etsy.
If you would like any more information on this post, please feel free to leave a comment below or drop me a message on Instagram.
Lots of love,
Katie xx
*After this blog post was written, it was advised that Teddy's asthma action plan was edited to contain emergency information only. Teddy is severely asthmatic and so if he is needing inhalers in school, it must be assessed each time.
The action plans I have shared are made by me and suit the needs of our family.
It is always best to follow the guidance of your own health care professionals.