The NENC Asthma Leadership Group has been working on a number of initiatives to improve asthma outcomes for children and young people in the local area. We have worked closely with a number of school settings to develop an accreditation framework for education settings to support to improve confidence of settings to support children and young people with Asthma.
We recognise that as well as spending a large proportion of time in education settings, children and young people also spend a significant amount of time accessing extra curricular activities and sports clubs and various groups. In NENC we have further developed this community approach and have developed a similar accreditation framework for community and other organisations providing sports/activity clubs and groups
The Beat Asthma Friendly Clubs award has been initiated to encourage various groups to develop safe, healthy and inclusive environments for young people with asthma. The Beat Asthma Friendly Clubs (BAFC) aims to support the community in understanding and managing asthma and is specifically for sports clubs and groups in the North East and North Cumbria ICS footprint
The criteria for accreditation are:
Beat Asthma Friendly Group Inclusion Statement
Asthma Champion/lead
An Asthma register
Easy access to medication while attending the activity
Information about the management of the child/young person’s asthma
Encouraging parents/carers to be involved
Accredited training for 85% of staff/group leaders/responsible support team members
As part of the development work and from learning from the schools programme, the ALG with partners, have developed a set of resources to support community sports clubs and groups to become BAFC Accredited. These resources are adaptable for use across a range of community clubs/groups/sports teams and other extracurricular activities.
As part of the toolkit, there is a freely available downloadable implementation pack that contains a host of information and guidance as well as some template resources for adoption/adaptation to meet local requirements.
We are in a position to make these resources available to support wholescale roll out to a range of organisations. Resources are available to download and freely access to implement the guidance locally. Organisations will be required to self assess their compliance with the requirements and to consolidate a portfolio of evidence which may need to be made available at reasonable request as part of ad hoc sampling and moderation by members of the ALG.
We have developed a flow chart to explain the process.
The sports club/group or organisation will be responsible for their self assessed BASC status and the CHWN does not take responsibility for the accuracy of this assessment nor any liability in relation to the assessment of standards in place. It is understood that this is an accreditation obtained by self-assessment/validation without any professional validation or moderation
It is expected that the Asthma Champion/Lead for local implementation of the Beat Asthma Friendly Club Accreditation has undertaken due diligence in the assessment of evidence to determine performance and compliance with the identified standards as described in the 8 step checklist and the NENC CHWN Beat Asthma Friendly Clubs / Groups Accreditation Framework.
This is largely dependent on the size of the group and the systems that are already in place. This is difficult to determine as there are so many variable factors. To give an indication, within our schools pilot (where there were enhanced requirements) the timescales ranged between 2 and 25 hours.
The ALG, working with partners has developed a toolkit for implementation locally within sports clubs/teams and groups
Child Health and Wellbeing Network Asthma Awareness Webinar for Sports Clubs and Activities / Groups
Recorded guide for local implementation
Feedback from the school settings that took part in the asthma accreditation indicates that the resources available were straightforward to implement with minimal support. In some cases. Feedback was received to indicate that the resources and implementation pack simply provided a framework and structure to the processes already identified
If following review of the resources and implementation pack, sports clubs and groups need further advice and guidance they can request arms length support from the team of Community Asthma Advisors via email at stees.chwnbafs@nhs.net
Please note that support from Community Asthma Advisors will be available as capacity allows and for a time limited basis until more suitable longer-term arrangements are identified
The BAFC Accreditation Resources are hosted on NENC Healthier Together Website and are freely available to anyone from any area however we are unable to provide certificates for self assessed accreditation for clubs and groups that operate outside the North East and North Cumbria boundary area.
Other ICS areas are welcome to discuss with the Beat Asthma team regarding establishing Beat Asthma Accreditation locally within their ICS.
The BAFC Accreditation validation process has been set up specifically for extra curricular clubs/groups in the North East and North Cumbria and as such, settings outside of this boundary area are not eligible for BAFC Accreditation via this means.
We would ask that if these resources are utilised or locally adapted outside the NENC region that the work of the NENC Child Health and Wellbeing Asthma Leadership Group is acknowledged. We would also request that areas choosing to adopt or localise the documentation/resources advise the CHWN that this is being done so that we can be aware of the legacy that is being created. For further discussion or to advise that the resources are being used more widely, please contact us at stees.CHWNBAFS@nhs.net
We suggest that clubs/groups accreditation period would last for 3 years from the point they have assessed themselves as compliant against the 8 step checklist. The expectation is that the club/group would continue to implement and develop their processes throughout the three year period and ensure staff training is provided to any new or returning staff as well as the ongoing maintenance of the requirements of the accreditation for the duration.
If you would like to discuss this further please contact Louise Dauncey via the CHWN main inbox at england.northernchildnetwork@nhs.net