Click here to download the Pupils with Medical Conditions Policy

Pupils with Medical Conditions Policy

The governors of Storth CE Primary School (hereinafter referred to as ‘the school’) believe that all children with medical conditions, in terms of both physical and mental health, should be properly supported in school so that they can play a full and active role in school life, remain healthy and achieve their academic potential including access to school trips and physical education (PE).

We understand that the parents of children with medical conditions are often concerned that their child’s health will deteriorate when they attend school because they may not receive the ongoing support, medicines, monitoring, care or emergency interventions that they need while at school to help them manage their condition and keep them well. This school is committed to ensuring parents feel confident that effective support for their child’s medical condition will be provided and that their child will feel safe at school by putting in place suitable arrangements and procedures to manage their needs. We also understand that children’s health needs may change over time, in ways that cannot always be predicted, sometimes resulting in extended absences and our arrangements take this into account. We undertake to receive and fully consider advice from involved healthcare professionals and listen to and value the views of parents and pupils. Given that many medical conditions that require support at school affect a child’s quality of life and may even be life-threatening, our focus will be on the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on their school life, be it on a long or short-term basis.

In addition to the educational impacts, we realise that there are social and emotional implications associated with medical conditions. Children may be self-conscious about their condition and some may be bullied or develop emotional disorders such as anxiety or depression around their medical condition. In particular, long-term absences due to health problems affect children’s educational attainment, impact on their ability to integrate with their peers and affect their general wellbeing and emotional health.

Local Authorities have a duty to arrange suitable full-time education (or part-time when appropriate for the child’s needs) for children who are unable to attend a mainstream or special school because of their health. We are a VC Primary school so this applies to all our pupils (or where a child is not on the roll of any school) equally whether a child cannot attend school at all or can only attend intermittently. We can find more guidance on the Local Authority duty in DfE statutory guidance ‘Ensuring a good education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs’ (January 2013).
We fully understand that reintegration back into school needs to be properly supported so that children with medical conditions fully engage with learning and do not fall behind when they are unable to attend. Short-term and frequent absences, including those for appointments connected with a pupil’s medical condition, (which can often be lengthy) also need to be effectively managed and the support we have in place is aimed at limiting the impact on a child’s educational attainment and emotional and general wellbeing.
This school also appreciates that some children with medical conditions may be disabled and their needs must be met under the Equality Act 2010. Some children may also have special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) and may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan (previously known as a Statement of Special Educational Needs) which brings together health and social care needs, as well as their special educational provision. For children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND), this Policy should be read in conjunction with our SEND Policy and the DfE statutory guidance document ‘Special Educational Needs and Disability: Code of Practice 0-25 Years’, January 2015.

Please click the link above to download the full document