Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice his Department gives to schools to ensure that pupils with (a) neurofibromatosis 1 and (b) other genetic conditions receive adequate and effective support.

Our ambition is for every child, no matter what challenges they face, to have access to a world-class education that sets them up for life.

The statutory guidance to support pupils at school with medical conditions are designed to help schools ensure that they are meeting their legal responsibilities by taking reasonable action to support children with medical conditions and to give parents confidence that the right support will be put in place. The guidance is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

The guidance 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 based on good practice in schools.

We will continue to work with organisations such as the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance to help raise further awareness of the duty on schools. Collaborative working between local authorities, health bodies, schools and school governing bodies is vital to ensure that pupils with medical needs are appropriately supported in school.