Become an Epilepsy Smart School

It’s easy to become an Epilepsy Smart School

To become an Epilepsy Smart School, your school must:

Ensure each student with epilepsy has a current Epilepsy Management Plan and, if required, an Emergency Medication Management Plan
Complete epilepsy education for all staff, as well as specific training for staff with a duty of care in the administration of emergency medication, if relevant to each child’s needs.

Epilepsy management plans

The Epilepsy Management Plan (EMP) describes the student’s seizure, what to do in the event of a seizure, the impact of seizures on the student and the post-seizure support required. The EMP also identifies whether emergency medication has been prescribed and when to call 000.

Parents/carers of a student with epilepsy will work with their child’s doctor to create the EMP, often in conjunction with a school nurse.

The plan should be reviewed annually and endorsed by the student’s doctor
The student’s EMP should be easily accessible to all relevant school staff.

EMP guidelines and templates

Emergency medication management plans

Where emergency medication has been prescribed for a student with epilepsy, the Emergency Medication Management Plan (EMMP) is the school’s authority for a trained person to administer the emergency medication in the event of a seizure. The EMMP also provides information on when to call 000.

Parents/carers of a student with epilepsy will work with their child’s doctor to create the EMMP, often in conjunction with a school nurse.

The EMMP is completed and endorsed by the doctor prescribing the medication and reviewed annually.
The EMMP is attached to the EMP and is easily accessible to all relevant school staff.

School staff are trained based on the individual requirements documented in this plan. Use these guidelines to assist you to fill out the EMMP template you download.

EMMP guidelines and templates

Training

Training is important so that teachers and staff understand and can manage students with epilepsy and, where required, can administer medication.

There are three key education and training courses:

Introduction to Understanding and Managing Epilepsy for Educators
Administration of Emergency Medication - Theory
Administration of Emergency Medication - Practical.

Training courses catalogue

About training

Understanding and Managing Epilepsy for Educators and Administration of Emergency Medication Theory can be delivered via our self-paced eLearning platform or in a training session (in person or virtual).
Administration of Emergency Medication Practical is delivered in a training session (in person or virtual).
You will need to have your student’s Epilepsy Management Plan and their Emergency Medication Management Plan in place before undertaking the Administration of Emergency Medication course. Training is provided to meet the specific needs of the individual student’s Emergency Medication Management Plan.

When enrolling, you can choose whether to enrol a number of staff within your school, under Organisational Training or, if you have a new staff member come on-board at a later date, you can enrol them under Individual Training. Most schools start with Organisational Training to ensure all relevant staff with a duty of care are included in the training, at a cost-effective price.
Each participant will receive a certificate and may be able to claim this towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Training should be renewed every two years or when a student’s Emergency Medication Management Plan is updated or a new student enters the school with their own Emergency Medication Management Plan. Please ensure that you monitor when your staff need to renew their training.

Recognition as an Epilepsy Smart School

Once you have completed the process of becoming an Epilepsy Smart School, contact your local epilepsy service provider to request an Epilepsy Smart Schools certificate.

You can display this for parents, students and visitors to let them know that your school has an environment where students with epilepsy are safe and part of an inclusive, supportive environment.

You are free to promote the fact that your school is an Epilepsy Smart School in your social media and your other marketing channels.

Remember, you will need to ensure that your staff renew their training as per your state requirements.

National Epilepsy Support Service
Phone: 1300 761 487
Email: support@epilepsysmart.org.au

Australian Capital Territory 02 6287 4555
Queensland 07 3435 5000
South Australia / Northern Territory 1300 850 081
Tasmania 03 6344 6881
Victoria / New South Wales 1300 761 487

Looking for support? Call the National Epilepsy Support Service on 1300 761 487 Monday - Friday