How Pill School made Ebony’s dream come true 

Ebony is now sleeping soundly following a visit to Sheffield Children’s.

After almost never having a full night’s sleep for four years, our Sleep Service and Pill School teamed up to help her. At Pill School children learn how to swallow solid tablets safely and confidently. 

Using different sizes of sweets — from tiny hundreds and thousands to large Skittles — Play Specialists like Donna Webster-Payne guide children through their own personalised lesson. 

“It’s a really useful skill to learn — for anyone,” explained Donna. 

“Tablets have lots of advantages over liquid medicine. You don’t need to measure them out, they last longer, and you can take them anywhere — no fridge needed!” 

Meet Ebony

Ebony from Bradford was one of the first children to graduate from Pill School, after being referred to Sheffield Children’s Sleep Service. 

Her mum, Charlene, said: “She hadn’t been able to sleep properly for a long time, and it was really stressful for both of us. Ebony was ratty, I was ratty — it just wasn’t a good place to be.” 

As part of her care, Ebony took part in a sleep study and was then prescribed iron tablets and melatonin—both of which are quite large, especially for a four-year-old. 

“They were about the size of Smarties and I was worried about her taking them,” explained Charlene. “But then we were told about Pill School, and Ebony just took to it straight away. 

“I was really impressed by how it all worked. We had our appointment with the Sleep Service, went straight into Pill School, and then picked up the medication—it was like clockwork. 

“A long time ago, my son was also on melatonin tablets and that was a huge battle—I had to pin him down to get him to take them! So to have something like this is amazing. 

“Ebony is really proud of what she’s now able to do. She’s taken control of her own medication. Not only is she taking her tablets and sleeping well—she’s happy to do it too. It’s a dream come true.” 

Before visiting the Sleep Service and Pill School, staying away from home—or even apart—was unheard of for mum and daughter. But now, at five years old, Ebony has been enjoying sleepovers with friends and family. 

“Sometimes when she stays over, their parent will ask, ‘When should I give her the tablets?’ And I just say, ‘Ask Ebony—she knows.’ 

“She understands what each tablet is for, and she’s proud of that. Life is so much easier now—for both of us.” 

A Wider Impact 

As well as improving the lives of children like Ebony, Pill School brings other important benefits. 

Although it isn’t possible to treat every patient with tablets, so far we’ve found that prescribing tablets instead of liquid medicine is, on average, 80% less expensive.  

There are environmental benefits too. Tablets require less packaging and are less likely to be wasted, which has led to a 90% reduction in our carbon footprint for each medicine prescribed as a tablet rather than a liquid.