Educational support for children with cancer

September is childhood cancer awareness month. As one Twitter entry put it, “We often do recover and grow up, but treatment has short and long term side effects. We need better options” (@vickyyyf)

Of course, parents and children are likely to focus on their cancer treatment, coping with side effects and supporting the child and family. It is important, however, to know that additional education support is also available.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilites

It may not seem obvious that a child with cancer could have special educational needs. The phrase “special educational needs and disabilities” (SEND) has a particular meaning. A child or young person has SEND if they:

1. Have a learning difficulty or a disability and

2. That learning difficulty or disability requires special educational provision.

Cancer is a disability. That is defined by the Equality Act 2010. The Act sets out that from the point of diagnosis, a child or young person with cancer has a disability.

A “special educational provision” is education which is additional to or different from the provision generally made for children of their age in mainstream maintained schools in the area.

Children with cancer are likely to miss school, require additional provision and may need differentiation of the style of provision of education to make sure that they are able to engage with it. These are likely to be a form of “special educational provision”.

As a child with cancer has a disability which is likely to call for special educational provision, there is a significant possibility that they have special educational needs.

Available support

Children with special educational needs can expect to receive additional support. This support can either be via Additional SEN Support or via an Education, Health and Care Plan (formerly a Statement of Special Educational Needs).

The Additional SEN Support scheme requires that each pupil with special educational needs is entitled to up to £6,000 worth of funding from their school per annum. With this budget the school/college is expected to provide each child with the special educational needs support that they require. This support is prepared, delivered and monitored by the school, with input from professionals, parents and the child.

If Additional SEN Support is insufficient to deliver the support that the child requires, it is possible to seek an assessment of the child’s special educational needs from the local authority. This is called an Education, Health & Care (EHC) needs assessment.

Following the assessment, an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) may be issued by the local authority. This details, in a legally binding document, the education, health and social care services which must be provided by school, health commissioning groups, and social care.

What to do

The focus for any parent of a child with cancer will obviously be to try to help them receive treatment and hopefully go into remission. However, education is a basic right. The UK law requires that all children access a suitable full-time education.

If a child is struggling to access school as a result of having cancer, parents should first talk to the school. They should also speak with the local authority special educational needs team at the earliest opportunity.