Local Authority Update on PANS and PANDAS

We are delighted to share with you that a Local Authority Update on the status of PANS and PANDAS has been distributed across all Local Authorities in England.

Despite the release of the 2023 PANS PANDAS Working Group Statement and the subsequent update in August 2024, reports from families supporting children and young people with PANS or PANDAS suggest that there continue to be a range of professional responses to these medical conditions.  This indicates that some Local Authorities may not be fully abreast of the work underway in the NHS, nor of the most recent information from the Department of Health and Social Care.

This update highlights the work of the Steering Group and underscores the importance of interim measures. It emphasises that while we await further research and formal guidance, all professionals share the responsibility to seek out further training, access available resources, and uphold their duty of care to support children and young people with medical conditions in education.  

Additionally, the update references a recent High Court Judicial Review involving a diagnosis of PANS, providing further legal context. For more details, you can access the information here. 

We anticipate and hope that this updated information may support families who have continued to face significant difficulties and an inequitable response to the conditions.  

We are continuing to work and explore further avenues to facilitate the wider dissemination of this information across the devolved nations.