The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Education Institute provides invaluable support for patients who often miss school due to the amount of time they need to spend in hospital.
RCH Education Institute teachers ensure patients, such as Keegan Quinney, Jordan McConnachie and Jordan Manos, stay connected to their school during their time in hospital.
The program caters for children who meet certain criteria, including expected hospitalisation of five or more days, six or more expected annual admissions, and 15 or more expected annual outpatient appointments.
At the RCH nine full-time and six part-time teachers, along with eight volunteers, take group classes on the ward and one-on-one classes with patients at their bedside. When teachers, such as Ross Dullard, first meet new students, they contact their school to supply the work that will be covered in their absence, and meet medical staff and social workers to determine the amount of study they can handle while in hospital.
The institute has developed over time, and now incorporates aspects of the new RCH into the teaching program, including the Meerkat enclosure, aquarium and Creature in Main Street.
RCH Education Institute executive director Glenda Strong says “Clinicians at the RCH see the children and young people as ‘patients’. I see them as ‘learners’.”
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