Diagnosis

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Below are some things your school can to do to support a child when they are diagnosed with cancer, and to support their family, siblings, school-friends and teachers:

  • Identify a teacher who will be responsible for liaising between the child or young person and family, and the school. This means that the family and staff at the school have one point of contact, which lessens the burden on the family and means that staff know who to go to for information. If this is the head teacher or special educational needs coordinator (SENCO), it might be helpful if one of the governors takes an interest in special educational needs or for the governors to appoint a committee to monitor the school’s work in this area.
  • Ensure the school has a clear policy for pupils with medical needs that specifies aims, objectives, actions and outcomes
  • Let the local authority or educational welfare officer know if a child is absent for a prolonged period of time due to medical reasons
  • Carry out a baseline assessment of the child’s educational need as part of the CAF or specialist assessments e.g. special educational needs assessment
  • Draw up an individual education paln for the child  
  • Provide suitable work and material (e.g. textbooks) for the child
  • Liaise with home and hospital teaching services
  • Contact the local authority to arrange home tuition (if required), and liaise with the home tutor
  • Ensure the needs of brothers and sisters are considered and their teachers are informed of the situation
  • Inform staff and pupils according to the family’s wishes
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" There were a lot of rumours going around and we wanted to put the record straight. So the year head actually phoned [the pupil’s] parents and said: “this is what’s happening at school, can you let us know exactly what we can say, what we can’t say? Are you happy for us to get all of her year group together? It was a parents’ consent, and it was the parents’ information that was actually relayed to the year group. " Ellie, teaching assistant and Year 11 keyworker

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