Policy

Migraine in schools

Children of any age can develop migraine and it is thought that 2% of 5 year olds have migraine.  This number significantly rises when children enter puberty as 18% of 13-14 year olds have migraine. 

Guidance to help schools, teachers and parents identify the students affected by migraines and headaches, and ensure that they receive the appropriate attention and care is available.  School Policy Guidelines for Students with Migraine and Troublesome Headache, endorses by The Royal College of General Practictioners, Royal College of Nursing and Headache UK, highlights the impact of the conditions on the wellbeing and academic performance of individual pupils.  It provides advice on identifying the causes of the migraine and troublesome headache and suggests simple methods for dealing with the problem.  Schools are also provided with a series of sample policies, letters and documents that they can adapt and issue to parents and students.

The policy is available for download here.

The Migraine Trust is interested to hear from young people or parents of children or young people about their experiences of managing their migraines in schools.

We would particularly like to hear from you if:

• Your/your child’s school has taken a positive approach to supporting your/your child’s migraines in school.
• Your/your child’s school has good policies in relation to medication and health conditions which have enabled you/your child to manage your/your child’s migraines in school.
• You/your child have experienced difficulties in receiving adequate support and understanding of your/your child’s migraines in schools e.g. unable to store medication in school, lack of support to catch up on missed work, unable to attend trips or activities by the school, ‘informal’ exclusion due to your/your child’s migraines.
• You/your child feel that the school may have discriminated against you/your child due to your/your child’s migraines.

We are interested in hearing your experiences to inform our work in schools and at policy level to raise awareness of the issues young migraine sufferers can face and educate schools and education providers of good practice.  If you would like to contribute your experiences to The Migraine Trust please contact Hannah Verghese by email or call 020 7631 6973.  All correspondence will be treated in confidence.