DRI celebrates ‘Good’ Ofsted result for education provision for young patients

The report, received in March this year, encompasses the education provision delivered by the Hospital School and as a part of Maple Medical - a local authority maintained pupil referral unit based in Doncaster. Educators are permanently based within the hospital school and are available on site during regular school hours.

The inspection praised the service for nurturing good relationships with children and their families, ensuring they are comfortable and receptive to learning. All children, if well enough, are encouraged to take advantage of the school, either within the classroom or at their bedside.

The school caters to children from reception age up to and including GCSE level. For young people who are in hospital during SAT and GCSE examination dates, their exams can be taken within the hospital school.

Equipped with its own classroom and a small library, the school is staffed by qualified teachers and available to any child on the Children’s ward, whether they are an inpatient for one day or are receiving long term care.

The report highlighted that the school provides patients with a sense of routine and normality whilst being treated for their illness. Further to this, the report emphasised access to books and story time as a significant aspect of the service, actively promoting reading through a book trolley and access to a Children’s library within the Hospital library.

The Children’s ward features many displays that promote curriculum learning, from science-based topics to information on reading resources. The walls also are decorated by art produced by the patients whilst attending the hospital school.

Claire Riley, Hospital School teacher at DBTH, said: “We are proud to receive a ‘Good’ rating for our services, and that our work has been recognised for the positive difference we make to children in our care.

“We strive to ensure that children do not miss out on their education whilst in hospital, we have a focus on promoting reading and ensure that our patients have access to learning resources to enrich their education and patient experience whilst in our care.”

Jane Morgan, Assistant Head Teacher for the Hospital School, said: “I am very proud of the achievement of the team. The past few years have thrown us significant challenges and the team has risen above them each time to ensure the children at DRI receive the best quality of education that we can offer. ”

For any local companies that are interested in supporting our hospital school with donations or other activity based items for the children’s ward, please contact the Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Charity.

You can contact the charity team on: 01302 644244 or email: [email protected]