Daisy is six and was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy when she was three years old.
She usually has focal aware and impaired awareness seizures. Her mum Rebecca nominated her primary school, Minworth Junior & Infant School, in the West Midlands, because of how they have supported her daughter over the past year.
“Daisy’s school have been nothing short of fantastic. In late October 2020 right up until Christmas, Daisy started experiencing a major increase in seizures, due to her starting an additional medication. Some days she was having upwards of 6 seizures in school and started experiencing incontinence as a result. This was a new situation as prior to this Daisy’s seizures were quite well controlled, apart from the occasional breakthrough seizure. The school had to adapt quickly to the situation and Daisy’s needs. Minworth were amazing with her, nothing was too much trouble for them. They were caring and supportive during each seizure and helped her get changed. They never made her feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.
“In November 2020, Daisy had her first prolonged 30-minute seizure and the school had to call an ambulance. Not only were the staff attending to Daisy, but they were also comforting and consoling me as I found the situation very overwhelming. Mrs Miller, Daisy’s learning support, phoned me that evening to check how she was doing. The teaching staff always tell me when Daisy has a seizure and don’t just fob her off and say I need to collect her. They are happy to deal with the seizure in school and monitor her. If they feel she needs me to collect her, then they will tell me. They even did a session on epilepsy with Daisy’s class in November 2020 so the children could better understand Daisy’s condition. This was an amazing idea and such a kind gesture from them.
“The school phoned me before lockdown ended in March 2021 to see how Daisy was doing before returning to school and to discuss anything they needed to put in place. Daisy’s teacher (Mr Bennett) was also happy to support Daisy to wear purple instead of her school uniform on Purple Day, which meant a great deal to her.
“The teachers at Minworth are deserving of this award and the recognition of all the help and support they give to Daisy. They have truly gone above and beyond in their duty as a school and I just can’t show enough appreciation for everything they have done.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to everyone at Minworth for all the understanding, help and love you have shown Daisy. I am never worried sending her to school and I know she is well looked after. That’s down to all the lovely, caring staff. A very special mention to Mrs Miller, Mr Bennett (Year 1 teacher) and Mrs Larkman (teaching assistant). The three of them have been an incredible support to Daisy, offering her comfort and care when she needed it most. You are all amazing!”
Accepting the award, Matt Sadler, Minworth’s head teacher said: “We pride ourselves on being an inclusive school, always putting children like Daisy at the centre of all we do. Whilst it is not for reward or recognition that we do this, it is humbling to hear of the gratitude expressed by Daisy and her parents. It’s a firm reminder of the difference we make.”