Hundreds of pupils are taking part in a major project to raise awareness of asthma by producing health information booklets for other schoolchildren.Nine and 10-year-olds from five Stoke-on-Trent primaries have been researching and designing the newspaper-style flyers so their schools can use them as teaching resources.
Health experts also hope it will drive home the message to young asthma sufferers that they need to keep taking their medication during the six-week school break.
Traditionally, hospital admissions for asthma attacks rise in the autumn as people have forgotten to use their inhalers while on holiday over the summer.
The project is being led by Stoke-on-Trent Clinical Commissioning Group, which has drafted in a company called The News Academy to work with each school. It has seen youngsters learn basic journalism techniques so they can investigate the topic, attend a mock press conference to quiz medical staff and then work in pairs to create the booklets.
The schools involved include Crescent Academy, in Meir, Sneyd Green Primary, Sandford Hill Primary, Ball Green Primary and St Maria Goretti Catholic Academy, in Bentilee. At Sandford Hill, 61 young reporters have been preparing the resources and recently interviewed a specialist nurse to find out more about asthma symptoms and how to manage the condition.
Ten-year-old pupil Maisie Colley, from Lightwood, said: "I just knew a little bit about asthma before this. "But now I've been finding out about different treatments and facts about asthma." Classmate Caitlin McDonagh has also been interested in researching the issue. The 10-year-old, from Sandford Hill, said: "I haven't got asthma myself, but I've got a friend who has it. It's very important that people know about it."
The project will also see asthmatic pupils encouraged to complete a diary, looking at how they monitor their medicine and watch for trigger points to avoid suffering asthma attacks. Joy Hall, a school asthma nurse specialist for Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, said: "One in 11 children has asthma in the UK. That's two or three in every classroom. "Through this project, we are passing on what could be lifesaving information." She helps train staff in schools and ensures they have plans in place for children suffering from asthma. In Stoke-on-Trent, schools also keep asthma boxes in each classroom, where pupils can store their inhalers safely and access them quickly if they get out of breath. But Joy added: "In the holidays, children do often forget to use their preventer inhalers or take their reliever inhalers with them when they go out. It's about making sure they remember them." Jack Snape, from The News Academy, said: "All the children we've worked with have said they know someone with asthma, whether it's a parent, sister or cousin. Through their research, they now know how to react if someone has an asthma attack."