Project to support pupils with medical needs up for prestigious national award
17/06/2019
This article is more than four years old.
A pioneering initiative supported by Oxford University Hospitals and designed to improve school life for children with medical needs has been shortlisted in the Times Education Supplement (TES) School Awards.
The Medical Needs in Schools (MNIS) project is a partnership between Oxfordshire Hospital School (OHS) and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust, and is designed to improve the educational outcomes of children and young people with medical conditions in Oxfordshire schools.
MNIS has been nominated for the TES ‘Community and collaboration’ award that goes to schools that are outward facing and demonstrate a beneficial collaboration and effective engagement with other schools and local organisations.
The project, first of this kind in the UK, started in January 2018 after teams at OHS and Children’s Psychological Medicine at OUH had the idea to take their combined expertise out to the community to help schools retain children with medical needs.
The two teams of teachers and psychologists developed a training package to help school staff identify and assess their pupils' mental health and medical needs and to access psychological support quickly and easily.
Steve Lowe, Head Teacher at Oxfordshire Hospital School, said: "We are thrilled about the TES nomination as it is recognition of our effective work in bridging the gap between health and education.
"Although there has been legislation since 2014 to regulate the way schools teach and care for children with medical needs, there is still uncertainty and insecurity on special arrangements they should be making or how to communicate with the pupil, their parents and their classmates about their condition.
"As a hospital school we have a robust protocol for supporting these children and it just makes sense for us to extend this know-how to schools out in the community."
Schools that register for MNIS receive classroom training run by OUH psychologists and OHS teachers, as well as a resource package to help them implement their policies.
As part of the project these schools have access to free advice, as well as the ability to refer children with medical conditions to the Children's Psychological Medicine team at OUH if they need psychological support.
The project has proved to be successful, with 20 schools initially signing up for training in Oxfordshire, rising to nearly 50, with many making significant changes in the way they deal with children with medical conditions.
The MNIS pilot was initially funded for two years but, due to the growing demand from schools, it has been extended for an extra year and it is hoped to provide the training to all schools in Oxfordshire.
The MNIS team has also been asked by other trusts to train psychology teams to deliver the project in other areas of the country.
Dr Helen Griffiths, Principal Clinical Psychologist in Children's Psychological Medicine at Oxford University Hospitals, said: "Children with medical needs don't want to feel different and their time in school can offer a relief from worries about their condition.
"Teachers need to be enabled to help them stay in school with their friends as much as possible as it makes it much easier to pick up again when they might be feeling better.
"The project demonstrate the effective working of OUH with partners in the local community to improve health and wellbeing of children, and we hope this award will help us reach out to as many people as possible to share our resources with."
The TES awards follow the recent success of the MNIS being awarded the Best Poster (Delegate's Choice) Award at the Paediatric Psychology Network Annual Conference, in Cambridge on 7 June 2019. The conference showcases good practice in supporting the psychological wellbeing of children with physical health needs.
OHS is also in the running for the TES School Award for 'Innovative use of technology' and 'Alternative provision school of the year'. The winners will be announced at the TES School Awards night taking place on 21 June 2019 at Grosvenor House Hotel in London.