During the 2017-2018 academic year, the UCL Institute of Education carried out an independent review of HHELC to inform best practice for the future educational provision for children unable to attend school for medical reasons. They focused the research on the following;
1. Reviewing how the education service for child and adolescent MH should be developed in the context of service expansion to include an Eating Disorders ward and a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit – what the curriculum will be there, therapeutic curriculum and issues of safety, security and handling;
2. For anxious school refusers, what are best practice approaches and what evidence is there that working in a base setting – where students come in to the base for lessons, as opposed to just having sessions at home – is effective?
3. What is best practice in terms of curriculum design across all elements of the service and what is the role of the service in therapeutic terms?
4. What is best practice in terms of communication with and transition issues to home schools?
5. What is best practice in terms of assessment and tracking of pupil progress for hospital school services?
6. How do structural issues including the way in which the service is constituted, its funding, and its positioning in relation to NHS services, affect the effectiveness of the service and what recommendations might there be for best practice in this regard?
Below you will find a slide set summary and paper presenting the findings of this research.
