A new standard for allergy care in education: Clifton College - Case Study
Clifton College is a leading co-educational public boarding school in the city of Bristol in South West England, founded in 1862.
They now have seven Anaphylaxis Kitt installed across the 20-acre school site, which is home to 1,300 students aged 3-18 and more than 600 members of staff.
How it came to be:
Stacey Wallace, the head nurse at Clifton, initially reached out to us as she saw another school post about their Anaphylaxis Kitts on a school nursing forum on Facebook.
On our initial consulting call, Stacey told us that although they check students’ pens regularly, they had no generic pens available and knew that it was an issue. They liked the idea of the Kitts being ‘eye-catching and accessible’, and originally opted for four to be installed across key areas in the school, including the main office, cafeteria, and sports pavilion.
This gave the school access to our subscription supply of adrenaline pens, which are automatically replaced each year before expiry, or if used and reported to us. They also get unlimited staff access to our CPD-accredited training course.
Visiting the school:
On the day of the installation, I visited the school to present our talk on Understanding Allergy & Anaphylaxis at School to many of the school’s staff cohort.
It’s not everyday you get to tour one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the UK, giving a talk to their staff and presenting them with a new standard for allergy care!
The trust, respect and appreciation that we are being shown by schools and academies far and wide is truly something else.
It’s amazing to see leaders in the education sector taking such amazing steps to ensure the highest standards of care for their staff and students.
A huge thanks to Stacey, Esther, and the rest of the Clifton team for hosting us for the day (and for so wonderfully demonstrating their Kitt!).
Increasing the number of Kitts across the site:
A few months after the initial installation, medical lead Esther Lawton got back in touch with us to purchase two more Anaphylaxis Kitts for the school. As Clifton is such a multi-purpose site, hosting everything from local rugby matches to weddings, they wanted to be able to properly advertise a ‘full coverage’ across the site.
They were happy with the service provided and noticed that there were some areas including the headteacher’s office and secondary cafe that could do with coverage in the case of a severe allergic reaction.
Then - only last month, Esther from Clifton once again got back in touch with our team for a final additional Kitt, stating that they had aligned and reviewed all allergy and anaphylaxis policies in line with The Schools Allergy Register, and after a session with all staff regarding anaphylaxis, had identified the pre-prep site on campus as an area that would benefit from having their own Kitt.
This brings the school to having a total of seven Anaphylaxis Kitts across the grounds - world-class coverage.
On her thoughts on our Anaphylaxis Kitt service, Esther said:
“We have created a new standard for allergy care, together with Kitt Medical, thus securing full coverage around the school as a proactive measure in the event of allergic reactions which might lead to anaphylaxis.
It is staggering that 20% of serious anaphylaxis incidents that occur in schools across the UK happen to children who do not know that they have allergies. There is an estimated one to two children with allergies in every school classroom across the UK.
We have a total of seven Kitts in different locations across the campus. Each is designed to be seen as well as being easily accessible. We have chosen suitable wall-mounted locations. There is a clear, easy-access key to unlock the box and each box contains four adrenaline auto-injector pens. Two of the pens contain 300mcg and two contain 150mcg. There are also clear usage instructions for use in an emergency situation.
We have just completed our half-term health checks for our Kitts to ensure that there is no complacency and due diligence checks are carried out.”
- Esther Lawton, Health Centre Nurse Manager
To find out more about our Anaphylaxis Kitt service and enquire on behalf of your school, please click the button below. You’re also able to book a call with a member of our team for a free demo of our Kitt and an online consultation on your school’s current allergy policy.
