Education of Sick Children

Education of Sick Children
I’t is vitally important to the well being and to the future of each child that when they are absent from school because of illness or injury they continue to have access to education. This applies equally to those pupils who are expected to recover quickly and to be reintegrated ,who have chronic illness which may keep them out of school for a number of months or even years. It does not follow that because a pupil is unable to attend school, because of a medical condition, that he or she is unable to learn for at least some of that period. Education should be provided as soon as the child is well enough to cope with it. Educational regression, even for a short period, can have a lasting effect on a child’s life chances. Education also plays an important part in recovery of health, providing normality, motivation and hope for children who are coping with serious illness. It is a lifeline for children who suffer long-term ill-health. In any given year there are some 100,000 children who require education outside school because of illness or injury. In addition, there is a significant number of children who experience clinically defined mental health problems. The situations of these children will vary widely but they all run the risk of a reduction in self-confidence and educational achievement.The primary aim of educating children who are ill is to minimise, as far as possible, the interruption of and disruption to a child’s normal schooling by continuing education as normally as the incapacity allows. Sick or injured children can suffer educationally from the time spent in hospital or convalescing at home, and away from normal schooling, and also from the reaction to the trauma or illness or hospitalisation itself. It is part of the role of the teacher to continue the learning process and to keep education alive in the child’s life, and where possible maintain progress. The emphasis on continuing learning applies equally to children