Some children and young people attending early years settings and schools will have long-term health conditions. E.g., Asthma, Epilepsy, Diabetes.
- All schools are required to have their own policy on supporting pupils with medical conditions. This will be based on national guidance for schools, together with some suggested templates for writing individual healthcare plans.
- Some long-term conditions can easily be managed without the need for an individual healthcare plan, but for some children and young people and individual healthcare plan is required to make sure that their medical needs are met during their time at nursery or school.
- A decision on whether a plan is needed in school would normally be based on advice from health practitioners and be made in consultation with parents/carers and, where possible, the child or young person themselves.
Individual Health Care Plans (IHCP)
Ensuring that there is an individual healthcare plan when a child or young person needs one is the responsibility of the school or setting, but it is normally written in partnership with parents/carers (and ideally the child or young person). It is based on the advice given by health practitioners (likely to be a doctor or nurse) and should be updated at least annually.
Preparing for Adulthood
As young people grow and mature they will often be able to take more responsibility for managing their own health needs. This means that school staff no longer need to follow an individual healthcare plan because the young person has become able to monitor and manage their own condition. However, some young people with multiple or more complex needs may require a plan right up until the time they leave.
For those young people attending a school, the special nursing teams will contribute to the school's writing of individual health care plans until they finish school at the age of 18 (or 19 for special schools).
For those young people attending a post-16 college, the health practitioners working with them are available to provide advice and support at the point of transition.
More Information and Advice:
To view national or local guidance produced to support pupils with medical conditions in schools, please view the related links and documents on this page.