Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has carried out an assessment of the effect of (a) endometriosis and (b) other menstrual condition on the performance of children and young people in school; and if he will make a statement.

In 2014, the government introduced a new duty on schools to support pupils with medical conditions and published statutory guidance on this for schools and others to follow. The guidance can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

The guidance is clear that schools, local authorities, health professionals, commissioners and other support services should work together to ensure that children with medical conditions receive a full education. I met with the Health Conditions in Schools Alliance last week to discuss this. The guidance does not specify individual medical conditions schools should support and the department has not assessed endometriosis or menstrual conditions specifically.

For any child whose illness will prevent them from attending school, local authorities are responsible for arranging suitable full-time education.