Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what additional support her Department is providing to schools to help provide more help to pupils with serious neurological conditions.

We recognise the need to ensure children with serious neurological conditions can access their education alongside everyone else. In recognition of this, the Children and Families Act 2014 now places a duty on governing bodies of maintained schools, proprietors of academy schools and alternative provision academies and management committees of pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, which would include serious neurological conditions, at their school. This has been reinforced through new statutory guidance for maintained schools and academies on ‘Supporting pupils at school with medical conditions’ which was published in September 2014:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3

This guidance emphasises the following:

• Pupils at school with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they have full access to education, including school trips and physical education.

• Governing bodies must ensure that arrangements are in place in schools to support pupils at school with medical conditions.

• Governing bodies should ensure that school leaders consult health and social care professionals, pupils and parents to ensure that the needs of children with medical conditions are effectively supported.

Where a pupil has a neurological disorder that results in a special educational need (SEN), the school and the local authority are also under an obligation through the reformed SEN and Disability (SEND) system to meet their needs and provide appropriate support.

In 2015-16, the department has funded £5.9 million of grants through the voluntary and community sector (VCS) National Prospectus and £7 million of contracts to support implementation of the SEND reforms. These organisations provide support on specific types of SEN for schools, teachers and parents; delivery support for schools, colleges, early years settings and local authorities in implementing the new duties in the Children and Families Act 2014; and support for parent-carer forums.