PARENTS whose children are starting kindergarten will be arriving in schools across the North and North-West tomorrow, but for some the medical safety of their child while at school is a cause for concern.
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Ella Swan, 4, of Riverside, was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes 10 months ago and needs insulin injections four times a day.
Her mother, Toni Grace, said she would need to go to Riverside Primary School four times a day to supervise her daughter when administering the medicine.
Ms Grace said she was concerned that schools and their staff were not trained to recognise and deal with hypoglycaemia episodes.
"I think schools need to take on some responsibility and be educated about it," she said.
"Things can change quite quickly for Ella - her levels can drop, which is an emergency situation."
Diabetes Tasmania said it hoped to secure funding to start training courses for schools and staff across Tasmania.
Schools and staff may be trained by a diabetes educator at the instigation of a parent.
Asthma Tasmania community educator Linda Samms said her group already offered a free asthma and allergy training program to schools.
She said training in schools and among staff was crucial.
"As far as a duty of care is concerned, it is a good thing for schools to be aware, especially with anaphylaxis, as sufferers really need to be delivered an EpiPen within a couple of minutes," Mrs Simms said.
"The training covers awareness of what is likely to trigger different children ... If you have more than one student with anaphylaxis, we recommend that schools have 15 members of staff trained."
