Parents and carers

Epilepsy Action has produced a Top 10 tips for parents and families and a template letter for telling your child’s school about your child’s epilepsy.

Epilepsy and learning

Most pupils with epilepsy will attend mainstream nurseries and schools.  But some pupils will need extra support. The support they need will be individual to them, but could include:

• having a trained first aider who knows what to do if they have a seizure
• having someone who is trained to give emergency medicines
• having a place to rest after a seizure
• having extra supervision during some activities.

Any support for your child’s learning and education is usually organised by the school or the local authority through the relevant support framework.

Talking to school

Epilepsy Action recommends that all pupils with epilepsy should have an Individual healthcare plan, even if their seizures are generally well controlled. As a parent, you will need to work in partnership with school staff to make this happen. This is to make sure that:

• they know what to do if your child has a seizure at school
• they know what epilepsy medicine they take, and how often it is taken
• they can let you know if your child is having any difficulties with learning  side-effects of epilepsy medicines, or behaviour problems 
• any safety precautions are in place, such as extra supervision while swimming   
• they get any extra help they need through the support frameworks and examinations 
• they are not at a disadvantage because of their epilepsy. There are simple ways of doing this. For example, a child with frequent absence seizures   may miss information or instructions during lessons. Giving them notes at the end of the lesson would be a reasonable adjustment under the equality laws.

Who to talk to at the school

In the UK, the head teacher usually takes responsibility for decisions at school level and shares some responsibilities with the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO). For example, the SENCO will make sure that pupils with special educational needs are identified, and that their needs are met as far as possible.

Some schools have a school nurse. They may provide services such as health education. They will keep records of pupils’ illnesses or medical conditions, and give medicine and first aid.  Some schools don’t have a nurse, but have a member of staff who is trained to look after pupils with medical needs. This is often a member of support staff.

Special educational needs/additional support for learning

Some children need extra help in education, because they have difficulties with learning. This help is provided through the relevant support frameworks. The help pupils can get is on a sliding scale, according to their needs. It can start in an early years setting (pre-school) and go right through to further education. The level of support can change up or down over time.