Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that schools are aware of social, psychological and health problems that pupils with neurofibromatosis 1 may encounter; and what guidance her Department gives to schools to ensure that pupils with that and other genetic conditions receive adequate support to ensure that they do not feel socially excluded.

A new duty was introduced on 1 September 2014 for governing bodies to make arrangements to support pupils with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance, which came into force on the same date. The guidance focuses on the needs of each individual child and how their medical condition impacts on school life. We would expect those arrangements to apply to pupils suffering from neurofibromatosis.

The guidance advocates the use of individual healthcare plans, which may include details of associated conditions, and the support required for their wider educational, social and emotional needs.