School’s back, or soon will be for everyone else. Terms will\u00a0also start in many hospitals, too, so children who are inpatients don’t have to miss out.<\/p>\n
There are lots of ways of helping children keep up with\u00a0school progress and interests in learning while they are in hospital, or off school for\u00a0long periods due to their illness.\u00a0 \u00a0Some of the Children’s Hospitals could have as many school staff as some average size schools.\u00a0 The staff may teach in small classrooms, in corners of a ward, or one-to-one at the bedside.\u00a0 Most\u00a0children will be short-stay patients so teachers will have to build relationships very quickly and work with\u00a0flexible lesson plans, as well as often manage some intense emotions.<\/p>\n
For the children it is a way to recover some normality, something familiar, creative distractions from serious illness and the traumas of being in hospital.\u00a0 But it’s not just ‘back to school’, it needs to be tailor-made to suit the students and their circumstances.\u00a0 The vision of the James Brindley Academy, providing schooling through Birmingham Children’s Hospital, is “…to ‘Think Differently’ to inspire young people to overcome all barriers and achieve their dreams.” (A good model for education everywhere?)<\/p>\n
For those children, and sometimes their siblings, in hospital for lengthy stays or frequent visits, the school team is a valuable part of the picture.\u00a0 Good support for parents too, seeing their children cared for and enjoying opportunities to develop their skills and learning.\u00a0 Time to slip off for a coffee, or a phone call, with gratitude to yet more people in the team.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in the home community, there are teachers who help the class show their care for their absent friend,\u00a0holding their space in the place they know best.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Cards made in class time, letters written from school friends and sent to the hospital, are treasures that reassure a distant patient that they are not forgotten and haven’t lost their place.\u00a0 A ‘welcome home banner’ painted by the class.\u00a0 Time given helping classmates understand the reality of the illness and the space given to the young person on their return to school.\u00a0 A chance for\u00a0them to tell their story, if they choose, and to be accepted and understood if not.\u00a0 A novel about children and organ transplants read\u00a0together in\u00a0class\u00a0with\u00a0sensitivity and understanding.<\/p>\n
For some it can take\u00a0other pathways.\u00a0 Time out of school can bring disruption to friendships and circles.\u00a0 Misunderstanding of medical conditions and fears that grow in the absence of accurate information can leave someone\u00a0vulnerable to\u00a0isolation or bullying.\u00a0 \u00a0The schools that manage that well will not be forgotten (nor, sadly, will those that don’t).<\/p>\n
How do teachers, learning support assistants, others in the school teams, deepen their own understanding of organ donation, or other long-term conditions, to make it better for everyone?\u00a0 How can they sharpen their focus on the children in their charge who are in most need of support?\u00a0 Paradoxically, they may be the\u00a0very resources that could strengthen abilities in us all for empathy, compassion and care.<\/p>\n