Individual Care Plan

An individual care plan (ICP) is the foundation of a student’s diabetes care at school.

It includes information about:

• When and how often to check blood sugar
• Treating low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
• Treating high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) 
• Administering insulin (if needed at school)
• What to do at meal and snack times
• What to do before, during or after physical activity
• Other aspects of a student’s diabetes care at school

Each student with diabetes must have a completed care plan at school. Typically, parents complete the plan, with help from a member of their child’s diabetes care team if needed.

The Canadian Paediatric Society, Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group, and Diabetes Canada all recommend that each student with diabetes have a completed care plan at school. The ICP should clearly outline roles and responsibilities of school personnel, parents and the child with diabetes. 

Before the start of each school year (or right after a student is diagnosed), parents should review the plan with the principal (or designate), the child’s teachers, and the school staff who have been designated to provide care or support throughout the school year.

Your province may already have an approved care plan in place. If not, a template individual care plan is provided here in 3 formats:

• A regular PDF file, which can be printed and completed by hand.
• A Microsoft Word file, which can be filled in electronically or printed.
• A fillable PDF, if you prefer to complete the form electronically. You will need to print the final version and add signatures. Note: This form works best using Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available at no cost.

Once the care plan is complete, parents should fill in the quick-reference sheet (provided here as a pdf file), which outlines the major routine tasks to be done each day. Indicate which, if any, tasks the student needs help with. 

Keep a copy of the quick reference sheet in each classroom and all locations (eg., gym, library) where the student spends part of the school day. 

Be sure to check whether your province has any specific requirements for documentation.

If a student needs insulin at lunch, the B.C. Children's Hospital has developed tools to easily calculate the dose. Visit this page to choose from among a number of “insulin calculators” that will automatically calculate the insulin dose for specific situations.