The new programme webpage for children and young people (CYP) with asthma, developed in partnership with NHS England and NHS Improvement, complements the training and capability outputs of the national CYP asthma bundle of care, and aims to help deliver on the aspiration that any professional, both health and non-healthcare, who may look after a child with asthma, is trained and skilled to do so.

It hosts the National CYP Asthma Capability Framework, which outlines nationally agreed standards in CYP asthma training for different professions, as well as nationally accredited courses to support learners in meeting these standards.

The framework divides the competencies into 5 ‘tiers’ based on professionals’ involvement in the child’s life from tier 1 which is aimed at non-healthcare professionals, through to tier 5 which is aimed at specialist healthcare professionals caring for complex asthmatics. There are accredited elearning courses for tiers 1 to 4, which have been aligned to the relevant competencies. Tiers 1,2 and 3 are available free of charge.

The programmes aim to improve the diagnosis and management of asthma as a long-term condition for children, young people and adults.

For more information and to access the new children and young people sessions, please visit the Children and Young People Asthma programme page.

The adult sessions’ content has undergone some minor updates to align with current British Thoracic Society (BTS), Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and now includes content about inhalers and the environment. It is aimed at all healthcare professionals who are in contact with children or adults with asthma. This includes GPs, practice nurses, pharmacists, community nurses, school nurses, ambulance staff and emergency department staff.

The updated adult sessions can be found on the Adult Asthma programme page.