Recognizing the signs of undiagnosed diabetes at school: Guidance for school staff

Increased frequency of bathroom trips (peeing) and/or drinking

(excessive thirst) in a child could be signs of diabetes.

If you notice these signs in a child, talk to your principal immediately! You can jointly decide how to communicate to their parents/caregivers the need to seek immediate medical attention for their child.

This can help keep children safe by preventing them from getting seriously ill.

• Resources for Recognizing the Signs of Diabetes
  • Video for school staff
  • Poster for school staff Information sheet for school staff
  • Information sheet for parents/caregivers.

If you recognize signs of diabetes in a student: Guidance for school staff

If you notice signs of diabetes in a student, talk to your principal immediately! You can jointly decide how to communicate your observations to the parents/caregivers. Principals should have the following information sheets and poster available to guide communication with the parents/caregivers.

Guidance for principals

How to use these materials in your school:

1. Show this 90-second video to staff at the start of the school year.
2. Display or share the poster with staff in your school.
3. If a staff member recognizes signs of diabetes in a student, they are instructed to talk to their principal immediately to jointly decide how to communicate their observations to the parents/caregivers. Principals should have the following information sheets available to guide communication with parents/caregivers:
   • Poster for school staff information
   • Information sheet for school staff
   • Information sheet for parents/caregivers

Resource Development

The development of these materials was led by Dr. Rayzel Shulman, MD, PhD, FRCPC, Division of Endocrinology, The Hospital for Sick Children and Dr. Celia Laur, PHD, MSc, FHEA, Women’s College Hospital, Institute for Health Systems Solutions and Virtual Care – Office of Spread and Scale and in collaboration with the Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group (CPEG) Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) prevention working group.

The material implementation was led by Mikayla Sonnenberg, CRPC, Division of Endocrinology, The Hospital for Sick Children.

These materials were created with by knowledge users, educators, caregivers of children living with diabetes, people with lived experience, diabetes healthcare providers, researchers, and organizations.

Funding

The development of these resources was supported by:

• Dec 2023-2026: Diabetes Canada End Diabetes Award