Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure provision for pupils with cerebral palsy in schools.

It is important that children with medical conditions, such as cerebral palsy, are supported to receive a full education. Under Section 100 of the Children and Families Act (2014), governing boards are required to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance.

The guidance is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3, and covers a range of areas including the preparation and implementation of school policies for supporting pupils with medical conditions, the use of individual healthcare plans, staff training, medicines administration, roles and responsibilities, consulting with parents and collaborative working with healthcare professionals. It was developed with a range of stakeholders including the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance (HCSA), school leaders, academy organisations, unions, young people and their parents, and Department of Health and Social Care officials and is based on good practice in schools.

We continue to work with organisations such as the HCSA to help raise further awareness of the duty on schools.

To be awarded qualified teacher status, trainees must meet the teachers’ standards, which include a requirement that they adapt teaching to meet the strengths and needs of all pupils. The performance of all existing teachers in maintained schools must be assessed every year against the teachers’ standards. It is the responsibility of school leaders to determine the training needs of their staff within their approach to school improvement, professional development and performance management.

Staff training is critical in enabling school staff to provide the support needed to pupils with medical conditions. The statutory guidance is clear that governing boards should ensure that any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs has received suitable training. It also states that training should be sufficient as to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support pupils with medical conditions, and to fulfil the requirements as set out in individual healthcare plans.