Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether primary school staff receive compulsory training on assisting students with epilepsy; and if she will make a statement.

All those training to be teachers must meet national standards. The standards require teachers to have a clear understanding of the needs of all pupils, including those with medical conditions, to be able to adapt their teaching to the needs of all pupils, and to have an understanding of the factors that can inhibit learning and how to overcome them.

Statutory guidance specifies that any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs must have received suitable training. Governing bodies of maintained schools, proprietors of academies (excluding 16–19 academies) and management committees of pupil referral units are required to have regard to this guidance. It recommends that this training should be sufficient to ensure that staff are competent and have confidence in their ability to support pupils with medical conditions. The guidance advises that staff will need an understanding of the specific medical conditions they are being asked to deal with, the implications of these conditions and preventative measures.

Schools are also advised that policies in place to support pupils with medical conditions should set out arrangements for whole-school awareness training so that all staff are aware of the school’s policy for supporting pupils with medical conditions and their role in its implementation.

The guidance can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3