School Teaching Team

We are a team of qualified teachers who provide educational support to school-aged children who have been in hospital for more than three days. To find out more about the range of teaching we can offer, please visit our website.

How we support you and your child

The School Teaching Team will, in consultation with parents or carers:

• make sure your child receives regular teaching either at the bedside or in a communal area (e.g. if they are participating in a group workshop);
• liaise with your child’s school;
• prepare an individual education plan (IEP) for long-term pupils which is informed by information from school and relevant assessments;
• send a report to your child’s school following discharge after a longer spell of hospitalisation;
• where necessary, provide advice, assistance and support in reintegrating your child back into his/her regular school;
• represent your child’s educational welfare in any issues or situations arising from his/her period of illness or hospitalisation.

What happens when your child is admitted to hospital?

If this is your child’s first stay with us, we will visit you on the fourth day of his/her admission to discuss and formulate an appropriate educational plan for them.

If your child is readmitted, we aim to visit on the first day of your child’s readmission to make appropriate arrangements for commencement of teaching.

When it is judged appropriate for regular teaching to begin, we will aim to offer your child at least one teaching session per day. Depending on your circumstances and the capacity of the teaching team, more sessions may be offered and lengths of sessions may vary.

Returning to school

When your child is ready to be discharged we will talk to clinical staff to find out when he/she is likely to return to school. Some children return to school straight away while others require more time before going back. We will contact your child’s school to let them know when they have been discharged.

In the event that your child will continue to be absent from their usual school for a prolonged period of time, we can support you to request home tuition.

All completed work and details of lessons will be collated and shared with your child’s school as appropriate.

If your child has received a substantial amount of teaching or had a long-term stay in hospital, we will send a report to your child’s school.

Additional Opportunities

We are acutely aware that children are often missing lots of fun and engaging activities which take place during the course of the year in their mainstream schools. With this in mind, we try to offer a series of events and participation in national initiatives over the course of the year.