West Midlands schools are top of the class for diabetes study

Two schools in the region are top of the class after signing up more than 200 pupils to an innovative diabetes research study, at just one clinic session each.

The ELSA study, which screens children to find out if they’re at risk of developing type 1 diabetes, aims to screen 20,000 children by February 2025 by working with schools and GP surgeries across the UK.

The team is well on the way to reaching this target, thanks in part to the contribution from St George’s Primary School in Telford and The Blue Coat School in Birmingham, two of the top recruiting schools in the country. 

A total of 238 children came forward at clinics held at the schools, as a result of briefing sessions set up by the study team at Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust (SCHT) and the Clinical Research Network West Midlands (CRN WM).

Dr Lauren Quinn, Clinical Research Fellow, ELSA Study said: “The team is delighted to be working with these local partners to deliver the  study to community sites and schools in the region.  It’s a fantastic achievement to be on track to reach  our recruitment target for such a large study and we can’t thank all the participants enough.”

The ELSA study - Early Surveillance for Auto-immune Diabetes - screens children between the ages of three and 13 to find those at risk of developing insulin-dependent type 1 diabetes and offers education and support to at-risk children and their families. It is being run in the region by the NIHR Clinical Research Network West Midlands and is the largest antibody screening programme for type 1 diabetes in the UK. 

Sally Sixsmith,  St George’s Headteacher said: “I am proud of the support shown by our pupils and their families for this research project. It has raised awareness of diabetes in our community, and demonstrated our school’s commitment to supporting the NHS. I hope that the school can be involved in future projects. I am so proud of the children who took part. They are a credit to our school.” 

Type 1 diabetes is a serious condition where the blood glucose level is too high because the body cannot make the hormone insulin. Identifying children at risk can stop them presenting as an emergency and they can start receiving treatment sooner.  Read about five year old Freddie, one of the participants in the study.

Dr David Shukla, the Network’s Lead for Primary Care said: “We are very grateful to the schools, parents and children for their support for ELSA. We couldn’t research this serious condition without their help.” 

Pictured (L-R) are: Tina Lewis, Clinical Research Assistant SCHT; Sian Roberts, Research Nurse CRN WM; Sally Sixsmith, Headteacher of St George’s Primary School; Staci Tranter, School Receptionist; Steph Smith, School Administrator; Johanne Tomlinson Research Team Lead; Sharen Painter Clinical Research Practitioner.

The test is a quick and simple finger stick blood test which takes seconds and is then sent off for analysis. Any child discovered to have markers in their blood will undergo further tests. It is estimated that three in every 1,000 children will test positive.  

Parents can sign-up online and complete a home-testing kit or get tested in one of the clinics offered by the Trust.

If you are interested in your school, signing up, please get in touch with Samantha Russell, Research Facilitator: samantha.kinsey@nihr.ac.uk.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The respective figures are:

St Georges: 114 participants

Blue Coat: 124 participants

ENDS 

For further information contact: Claire Hall, Communications Lead on 07775 800227.