At Birmingham Children's Hospital, James Brindley Academy provide education for any children and young people, from Reception to Post-16, whilst they are receiving inpatient or regular day patient care*.

*Due to ongoing restrictions within the hospital, we are currently only able to deliver ward teaching at the bedside for inpatients.

We are one of the largest hospital schools in the world and have a team of dedicated teaching and support staff who aim to minimise the impact of a stay in hospital on the child's education. The academy base can be found on the ground floor of the Hospital.

We understand that this can be a worrying time for pupils and parents or carers, and recognise the importance of high quality educational provision and the role it plays in trying to normalise a child’s life during their hospital stay. 

Our staff are available to deliver lessons at the bedside for children who are an inpatient for more than three school days, or five days for Post-16 pupils. We strive to work in partnership with the pupil’s home school to provide a personalised curriculum, supporting the child with their school or college work. We work with schools from across the UK!

We have our own SENCo on-site which allows us to assist and advise medical professionals with Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) applications and reviews that need to be in place for a pupil's return to their home school. Our dedicated staff know what it takes to engage and enthuse children in learning, even if they are not feeling well. 

Discharge

If, at point of discharge, medical professionals consider that a pupil is still too unwell to attend their school for longer than three weeks, we will work in partnership with them to make a referral to our Short Term Provision (STP) team, or if outside the Birmingham area, to the relevant authority.  This way the pupil can still access education whilst awaiting return to their own school.

Janine Zablocki
Hospitals Centre Leader

Contact: bch@jamesbrindley.org.uk