Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November to Question 110875, how her Department (a) monitors that governing boards are ensuring that the school’s policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff and (b) responds to governing boards and schools when there is evidence of non-compliance to their statutory obligations.

The department worked with a range of stakeholders including the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance, unions, members of the school workforce and parents and their children on developing the statutory guidance, a draft of which was subject to public consultation in early 2014. Updates to the guidance were made in December 2015, which included clarifying the distinction between statutory and non-statutory guidance and adding references to the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice.

Governing boards should ensure that all schools develop a policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions, which is reviewed regularly and is readily accessible to parents and school staff. We keep the guidance under review, including in the context of school awareness, and the role it plays in securing accessibility of school policies.

Ofsted’s Common Inspection Framework requires inspectors, in making judgements upon schools, to pay particular attention to the outcomes of a range of groups of pupils, including those with medical needs. Ofsted included guidance to inspectors on this matter in their March 2017 school inspection update, reminding inspectors that they should consider how schools are meeting the needs of pupils with medical conditions.