20 Teacher Tips For A Safe Classroom
This list will constantly grow, but here are some suggestions to make your classroom safer. Please check the download page for pre-made materials.
- Hang signs around the room and on entrances that say "Peanut Free Classroom."
- Send notes home to all the families the first day of school explaining how no peanut products will be allowed in the room.
- Send home a suggestion list of 'safe' snacks for the children to bring in.
- Wipe down all tables after snacks in the room.
- Ask all the other children to always wash their hands before and after snack.
- Talk with school nurse about emergency procedures that may be necessary.
- Find out who is CPR trained in your school
- Learn how to use the epipen.
- Arrange a meeting over the summer with the family of the peanut allergic child.
- Read books to the class the first week of school on peanut allergies (Most families with the allergy could probably supply you with the books).
- Show movies to the class early in the year about peanut allergies (Most families with the allergy could probably supply you with the videos).
- Try to go to workshops dealing with the allergy.
- Have an action plan in place with a substitute teacher in case you are absent.
- Make safe arrangements during class parties, birthdays, and class trips for the peanut allergic child.
- If the peanut allergic child rides a bus to and from school, consider having them sit towards the front of the bus.
- Always have the parents emergency phone numbers close by in a safe place.
- Keep an open line of communication with the parents. Call periodically to let them know what precautions are being made.
- Talk to the school staff at a faculty meeting about the severity of the child's peanut allergy.
- Discuss with the principal and parents a safe lunch room policy for the child.
- "When in Doubt, Give a Shout!" If a peanut allergic child diagnosed with anaphylaxis, prescribed epinephrine, and/or with a history of anaphylaxis complains of, or is observed with ANY allergic symptoms such as itchy mouth, lump in throat, difficulty swallowing, hives, redness in the face, nose suddenly running clear "instant cold" with or without sneezing, breathing distress, vomiting, falling to the floor from blood pressure drop, lethargic, swelling.....call for help from the classroom rather than sending the anaphylactic child away from the classroom to find a nurse. The reacting anaphylactic child may look fairly normal at first, but this child needs nothing short of constant adult supervision and prompt medical attention with those first symptoms. Anaphylaxis can present without breathing distress, but untreated anaphylaxis will lead to shock and death. There is also a given point of no return with the condition when nothing can save the child. Moreover, initial symptoms can be different from the child's previous reactions, or vague, or mistaken for a treatable asthma attack before overtaking the child leading to shock and death. Some children have no memory of the first anaphylactic attack, and they may not understand what is happening when their second reaction occurs in grade school or even as late as high school. It is important, therefore, to have a prepared and practiced response that fits this life threatening condition for any child diagnosed as anaphylactic. Ideally, given the deadly nature of anaphylaxis and the fact a reacting child should be kept still and calm with no delay in treatment, the school's response should incorporate giving treatment in place rather than sending the child away to seek a nurse.