Castleisland Community College became a sun safety leader in 2024 and is now asking other schools to join them as a SunSmart School in 2025.
The Transition Year students at Castleisland Community College were crowned winners of the Young Social Innovators 2024 for their skin cancer awareness project called Sun Smarties.
The college became the first school to pilot being a SunSmart School. The school designed a four-step process that would enable them to become a SunSmart School, with an opportunity for other schools to implement this model in their own school and become accredited as a SunSmart School.
An Innovative Project
Shirley O’Shea, Senior Health Promotion and Improvement Officer – Cancer Prevention for HSE South West said that her organisation was delighted to work with the school on this campaign. “Castleisland Community College’s project was innovative and has helped to provide other schools with a model to educate students about being ‘SunSmart’, which can help reduce their risk of developing skin cancer later in life.
“Children and adolescents spend half of their childhood at school and about eight hours per week travelling to and from school, on lunch breaks, and participating in outdoor school-based activities. Much of this time falls between the hours of 11am and 3pm when the sun’s UV rays are at their strongest,” said Ms. O’Shea.
SunSmart School Accreditation
Now, to promote the importance of sun protection in schools, the HSE’s National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) and Healthy Ireland has launched the new SunSmart School Accreditation resources for primary and post-primary schools.
The toolkit has been developed to provide information and tools for students, teachers, parents and guardians on how to become a SunSmart accredited school, as well as providing learning opportunities on sun protection.
UV radiation is a part of sunlight and it can damage skin and increase the risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is Ireland’s most common cancer with over 11,000 new cases diagnosed annually. The majority of skin cancers can be prevented by protecting ourselves from the sun’s UV rays and from artificial sources of UV e.g. sunbeds.
Making SunSmart a Routine
Playing and spending time outdoors is such an important part of childhood, but it is important that children and adolescents are protected and safe in the sun. Teachers, parents and guardians are important role models. If they adopt sun protection behaviours, children will be more likely to do the same. Make SunSmart part of your daily routine especially from April-September when the intensity of UV radiation from the sun is greatest, even when it is cloudy.
The SunSmart 5 S’s emphasises simple yet effective measures to protect children’s skin: Slip on clothing to cover exposed skin.
Slop, Slap, Seek and Slide
Slop on broad-spectrum sunscreen on exposed skin with SPF 30+ for adults and 50+ for children which is water resistant. Reapply regularly.
Slap on a wide-brimmed hat to protect the face, ears, and neck. Seek shade when UV rays are at their strongest, especially between 11am and 3pm. Slide on UV-protective sunglasses to guard eyes.
Remember, do not deliberately try to get a suntan. Avoid getting a sunburn. Never use a sunbed.
To order SunSmart School Toolkit resource for your school, visit: www.healthpromotion.ie/products and choose ‘cancer’ on the drop-down menu. For more information email: prevention@cancercontrol.ie or visit: www.hse.ie/skincancerprevention
You can contact The Maine Valley Post on… Anyone in The Maine Valley Post catchment area who would like to send us news and captioned photographs for inclusion can send them to: jreidy@mainevalleypost.com Queries about advertising and any other matters regarding The Maine Valley Post can also be sent to that address or just ring: 087 23 59 467.
