Our services and team
Useful support and resources
If you are teaching or supporting a young person with diabetes, there are a host of resources to help you to get a better understanding of what it all means for the young person and how you can best support them to reach their full potential.
Digibete: Digibete provide really useful video resources to support schools, including:
Diabetes UK: For more information about schools and diabetes including ordering free printed schools packs visit Diabetes UK.
If you have not been able to access the information you need via the resources above please contact the paediatric diabetes specialist nurses to provide support and training.
School and community training
You can access the Digibete school and community training platform for staff here.
School meals
Advice for school staff
Digibete: For carbohydrate counting support please click here to watch a virtual presentation, provided by Digibete which is aimed for kitchen and lunchtime support staff.
Advice for parents
Primary schools: In County Durham, most of the primary schools have menus created by the catering company Chartwells. Chartwells' Registered Nutritionists calculate the nutrition information for their menus - including carbohydrate (carb) counts. If your child attends a primary school in County Durham ask your school to provide you with the form to get these menus. You need proof of diagnosis, such as the school care plan or a hospital letter.
If your child attends a private school, goes to school in Darlington or outside of the County Durham area, then it is best to contact your school directly to find out if their catering company has calculated the nutrition information. If no information is available you may need to use a book/website/app to estimate the carbs of your child's favourite meals. If you need help with this please ask your Dietitian.
Secondary schools: At secondary there will be a much greater selection of food, including more choices available at break-times too.
Top tips
- Look on the school website at the menu to see what they offer and for contact details of the catering team and/or catering company.
- Speak to the catering team and ask if they have nutrition information on carbohydrates or average weights of food portions?
- Can you pre-order your meals so they can put them aside for you?
- Can you get an early lunch pass or a pass to jump the queue?
- Can the dinner service staff weigh your portion as they dish up?
- If the school does not have any nutrition information, look at the menu the day before and estimate the carbs using an app/book* or see if our leaflet on school food has an example of carbs per portion for you.
- Make a list of the foods you usually eat at school with their carbs either on your phone or keep with your diabetes kit.
- If you know other children with Type 1 diabetes at the school ask if they have worked out the carbs in the food.
- If you need help with carb counting please ask your dietitian for extra support.
*Useful apps for carb counting include Nutracheck and Carbs and Cals.
