SEREN – the all-Wales structured education programme now in use
Originally published Monday 20th June 2016
In February and March, staff from every paediatric diabetes unit in Wales received training to use the new structured education programme and resources produced by the Children and Young People’s Wales Diabetes Network.
The new programme is called ‘SEREN’ which is the Welsh word for star. The first module is designed for children aged 11 and over who have been newly diagnosed, but teams have also been using it as a reminder course for children who have been diagnosed a while.
SEREN includes a full curriculum with lesson plans for staff, a workbook for the young person, teaching resources, and an in-built evaluation process. The workbook has been written with input from parents and education experts alongside members of diabetes teams. It covers the following important topics:
- What is diabetes
- Blood glucose monitoring
- Hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia
- Food, carbohydrate counting and insulin dose adjusting
- School and activities
- What to do if you are ill
- Positive coping mechanisms
A video, filmed at one of the training days in Cardiff, has been published on YouTube.
The SEREN team are now developing versions of the existing module for younger children. They are also developing a comprehensive framework of additional modules, both stand-alone and as part of an annual ongoing education programme.