A Woodbridge girl with severe epilepsy attended a Question Time-style event at the Houses of Parliament yesterday. Emma Greenhouse, daughter of Woodbridge County Councillor Caroline Page, was invited to the event by national charity, Epilepsy Action.
The event was organised by an alliance of more than 30 health charities. Over 40 school children and young people with different health conditions were given the chance to put their questions about health support at school to a panel of politicians. Currently, support for many health conditions at school is a postcode lottery.
BBC newscaster and The Politics Show presenter, Jon Sopel, chaired the panel. Others on the panel were the Shadow Ministers for Children, Schools and Families, Tim Loughton MP and Annette Brooke MP and Dr Sheila Shribman, National Clinical Director for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. Jim Cunningham MP, who put forward the Schools (Health Support) Bill as his Private Members’ Bill in May this year, was also on the panel.
There are at least a million children of school age in England who have a health condition. Many struggle at school as the support they need to manage their condition is not in place. The alliance of charities is calling for support at school to be a statutory duty. Some schools provide good support for children. However, the current voluntary approach means that the lack of support for those with health conditions is seriously impacting on their health and education.
Emma, 16, who was diagnosed with epilepsy on her eighth birthday, said: “I’ve had epilepsy for almost nine years. Despite the huge help that Farlingaye High School has given me, my experience of living with epilepsy at school has often been very difficult and challenging.
“I was having a lot of seizures during my GCSEs. Because the seizures and drugs make it hard to take in information, the exams were really difficult for me at that point. I had to take most of them at home and only passed one. However, you can't go straight back and re-sit GCSEs. I have to take the courses again before I can do the exams again, which seems a bit of a waste of time. And I might do no better this time either; my entire academic performance depends on whether I am able to think, remember things and process information. This means not having seizures, not being in hospital AND not being knocked out by the drugs when I have to sit exams.
“It was very important to me to be at this event. It gave me the chance to let the people in power know what must happen to improve the lives of all school children with health conditions. I'm disappointed my MP, John Gummer, did not come to meet me but I did have the opportunity to ask a question about epilepsy to the panel."
Leanne Creighton, education policy and campaigns officer at Epilepsy Action, said: “It is vital that children with epilepsy receive support at school so that their health and education are not put at risk. MPs must understand that the current voluntary approach for schools to provide support for children with health condition is not working."