Reported school experiences of young people living with sickle cell disorder in England.

Date
2010-02
Authors
Dyson, Simon
Abuateya, Hala
Atkin, Karl
Culley, Lorraine
Dyson, Sue, 1960-
Rowley, David T.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
ISSN
0141-1926
Volume Title
Publisher
Routledge
Peer reviewed
Yes
Abstract
A survey of 569 young people with sickle cell disorder (SCD) in England has found such pupils miss considerable periods of time from school, typically in short periods of two or three days. One-in-eight have school absences equating to government defined “persistent absence”. Students with SCD report that they are not helped to catch up these school absences. Half the children reported not being allowed to use the toilet when needed and not being allowed water in class; a third reported being made to take unsuitable exercise and being called lazy when tired. Children perceived both physical environment (temperature, school furniture) and social environment (being upset by teachers or other pupils) as triggers to episodes of their illness. Policy initiatives on school absences; preventive measures to ensure maintenance of good health; and measures to prevent perceived social attitudes precipitating ill-health would also support children with other chronic illnesses at school.
Description
We are grateful to all the young people and their families for their time in replying to the survey. We would like to acknowledge the work of the Sickle Cell and Education group (SCED) in helping with the survey, including David Rees, Moira Dick, Susan Height, Sandra O’Driscoll, Shirley Samuel, Baba Inusa, Jo Howard, Helen Appleby, Neil Westerdale, Lola Oni, Elizabeth Okuyiga, Vesna Graham, Beatrice Barbola, Gavin Cho, Michele Afif, Lurieteen Miller, Susan Crawford, Maureen Williams, Janet Lawrence, Paulette Gaskin, Wendy Mills, Sekai Tangay, Bernice Burton, Comfort Okolo, Evelyn Chibambo, Beverley Smalling, Anthony Akhidenor, Mary Opare-Ababio, Joanne McLoughlin, Iyamide Thomas, Comfort Ndive, Blanche McCalla, Anthony Mason, Carol Nwosu, Cecilia Shoetan, Tito Idowu, Eileen Bowen, Susan Mew, Beverley Bell-Jessop, Maureen Scarlet, Monica Noel, Carol King, Winston Nurse, Melita Dixon, Angela Dias, Sonia Lindsay, Sharon Wilson, Anndeloris Chacon, and Marjorie Ritchie.
Keywords
sickle cell, education, school, chronic illness, Black pupils, England, school health, Department of Children, Schools and Families
Citation
Dyson, S.M., Abuateya, H., Atkin, K., Culley, L.A., Dyson, S.E. and Rowley, D.T. (2010) Reported school experiences of young people living with sickle cell disorder in England. British Educational Research Journal, 36 (1) pp.125-142
Research Institute
Institute for Allied Health Sciences Research
Centre for Reproduction Research (CRR)