The Challenge
Type 1 Diabetes is a manageable condition — but kindergartens and schools are rarely set up to manage it safely.
What is Type 1 Diabetes in children
Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic autoimmune condition in which the body no longer produces insulin. Children living with it need regular blood glucose monitoring, timed insulin doses and quick, correct responses to low or high blood sugar — every school day, not only at home.
Why school and kindergarten are a risk zone
A child spends most of their waking day at school or kindergarten, not at home. If staff cannot recognize or respond to a hypoglycemic episode, or if there is no agreed procedure for insulin and monitoring, ordinary school hours become the least safe part of a child's day.
Why parents should not have to replace the system
In the absence of trained staff, many parents feel forced to stay near the school or kindergarten throughout the day. This is not a sustainable solution — it removes the parent's own life and work, and it does not build any lasting capacity inside the institution itself.
The barriers
Staff fear
Teachers and kindergarten staff are afraid of the responsibility of an incorrect response.
Lack of knowledge
Most staff have never received practical training on Type 1 Diabetes.
No procedures
Schools often have no agreed, step-by-step algorithm to follow.
Hypoglycemia risk
Untrained response to low blood sugar is a genuine medical risk.
Risk of discrimination
Some children are quietly discouraged from enrolling at all.
Limited socialization
Children can be excluded from trips, sports and ordinary class life.
A right to education, not only a medical question
This is not only a medical issue. When a school cannot safely include a child with Type 1 Diabetes, that child's right to ordinary education is at stake. The response has to combine health safety with inclusive education — not one or the other.