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Hospital and Home Tuition Service (Medical Pupil Referral Unit)

WHHTS provides educational support for children and young people with complex medical and/or mental health needs that prevent them from attending school full-time.

It is comprised of two hospital schools, located at St George’s Hospital and Springfield Hospital, and a number of outreach services to support the education of students with medical needs. Staff include qualified teachers across most mainstream subject areas, trained in medical needs, mental health and specialist qualifications where appropriate, including a team of Teachers of the Deaf lead provision for NDCAMHS unit at Springfield. There is no charge to schools for students attending either of our hospital schools as inpatients nor is there a charge for our medical home tuition provision, however there is a charge for community programmes. The service:

  • enables pupils to access as much education as their medical condition or pregnancy allows
  • addresses gaps in learning and enables students to keep up with peers
  • supports pupils to reintegrate to school as soon as practically possible
  • works in partnership with parents, medical, safeguarding and educational professionals, to minimise disruption to the education of pupils through their period of illness

 

HOSPITAL SCHOOLS 

Students are taught in the classroom or by their bedside if needed. Referrals are not needed for the hospital schools. Both hospital schools are open for all young people admitted from the first day of their hospital stay. Provision is inclusive of all ages, abilities and profiles of students.

 

Springfield University Hospital – CAMHS Campus School

A school facilitating the education of inpatients on Acute Adolescent Psychiatric Unit (Aquarius Ward) Adolescent Eating Disorders Unit (Wisteria Ward) National Deaf CAMHS Inpatient Ward (Corner House)

           

St George’s Hospital School

A school facilitating the education of inpatients on:

  • Pinckney Ward: Isolation and Oncology ward
  • Frederick Hewitt Ward: Medical – e.g. sickle cell, diabetes, asthma, Crohns/gastric, Mental Health – tends to have recurring patients.
  • Nicholls Ward: Neuro Surgical and Neuroscience e.g. tonsils/adenoids, broken limbs, appendix, neuro patients (tumours, ABI, strokes, video telemetry etc).
  • Step-Down: PSDU is part of the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and shares the same medical and nursing team.
  • Jungle: The Jungle Ward is a specialist paediatric day care ward
  • PICU: Paediatric Intensive Care – for children who are critically ill. Children are admitted to PICU through their Emergency Department, by helicopter from across the South of England, and via paediatric critical care transfers from District General Hospitals.

  

OUTREACH SERVICES 

If a child or young person is not attending school due to a complex medical or mental health condition, schools may want to consider a referral to WHHTS outreach services. Please note: schools should submit a request for involvement of the WHHTS team, however we are very happy to talk through potential referrals with parents and wider professionals. Requests need to be accompanied by medical evidence from a suitably qualified medical professional. There are a range of programmes to best meet the needs of students, some of which incur a cost to schools (see FAQ below).

Home Tuition (Medical): The Home Tuition Service is for children and young people resident in Wandsworth who have been declared unable to attend school due to their medical condition. Due to the risk of social isolation and school phobia for children with medical needs, home tuition is only recommended when a young person cannot leave the home. It is much better for a young person to receive education in the community or on a school site.

Teenage Pregnancy and Young Parents: The service aims to support young people to overcome any barriers to learning they may face, to enable them to continue their education and access exams with appropriate support.

Reintegration Programme: A provision for who are not attending school due to high anxiety, school phobia, incidences of bullying or are disengaged from school due to a range of mental health issues. This is an 8-week reintegration support programme acts as a bridge to reintroduce a young person back into their school environment. It is normally put in place following successful engagement and therapeutic progress with CAMHS, however due to lengthy waits for CAMHS please contact WHHTS to advise on individual cases.

Community Education Programme: This programme is delivered from the CAMHS Campus School with separate Key Stage 3 and 4 groups. It is designed for students who may present with significant mental health presentations including school phobia, and a history of non-engagement, or unsuccessful engagement with school and wider support services. Referrals for this programme are carefully considered with a focus on successful placement or reintegration to full time education as soon as possible. There is a cost for this service. Please contact WHHTS to discuss referrals for this programme.

For more information on specific services see below and please visit our website or make an enquiry if you require further information.

 

Advice and Guidance

WHHTS advise professionals to phone and discuss any referrals they are considering. It may be that WHHTS can provide them with appropriate advice and guidance to support the child or young person to remain in school.

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can Parents Refer to WHHTS?
No, referrals are taken from schools and must be supported by medical evidence from a suitably qualified medical professional.

Is Medical Evidence Required for a Referral to WHHTS?
Yes, and in the instance of home tuition a clinician letter explaining that the child is too unwell to leave home.

How long can a pupil remain with WHHTS? 
WHHTS education support is not long-term. The time spent at WHHTS depends on the impact of the medical condition and advice from the medical practitioner.

Does WHHTS Always Aim to Reintegrate Pupils Back to Their Home School?
All our pupils must have an intention to return to school or to transition to another placement and this is discussed at the set-up meeting. HOE is not a long-term alternative to mainstream education.

What is the Cost?

There is no charge for the education of inpatients/students in hospital or tuition on medical grounds as described above. There is a charge for provision for teenage pregnancy, community and reintegration programmes.

Does WHHTS Take Pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEND)?
Yes, however For Wandsworth students who are in receipt of an EHCP and who receive education by specialist services/schools, or via 1:1 support, it is often those provisions who are best placed to ensure appropriate delivery and amount of education is continued through illness. WHHTS will review and advise schools on how to support what is best for each student.
For some young people there may be occasions when a change of placement is required. A change of placement should be identified as early as possible and the process expedited so that a young person is not left without an educational placement.

Does WHHTS Offer Home Teaching?
Only if a child/young person has medical evidence to say they cannot leave the house. It is much better for children/young people to be taught in small groups on one of our sites or in the community or back in school. 

Will a Pupil Transfer from Their School Roll to the WHHTS Roll Once a Referral Has Been Accepted?
No, the pupil then becomes dual registered, so both WHHTS and the school can work together to provide the appropriate educational support.


Click here to read the Ofsted inspection report for this service.

Who to contact

Telephone
E-mail
info@hhts.wandsworth.sch.uk
Website
Hospital and Home Tuition Service website
Parent Organisation
Education Inclusion Service

Where to go

Name
CAMHS Campus School, Building Number 5, Entrance No. 8,
Address
Springfield University Hospital
61 Glenburnie Road
Tooting
London
Postcode
SW17 7DJ
Get directions
Notes

All classrooms are fully accessible and community based work is delivered in a setting that best meets the needs of the pupil.  Where required, education staff will use an interpreter. Staff in Corner House, Deaf Unit, communicate using BSL and SSE. 

Time / Date Details

When is it on
Monday-Friday: 8.45am - 4:00pm. This service runs during term time only.

Costs

Details
Free to inpatients and Wandsworth resident pupils

Availability

Age Ranges
From 5 years to 18 years
Referral Details

All children and young people admitted to St George’s Hospital or Springfield Hospital are able to access the service during their hospital admission, no referral is required.

For Wandsworth children and young people (rising 5’s to 18) who are not an inpatient and need home tuition or intervention in the community, a professional such as an Education Welfare Officer, Special Needs Coordinator (SENCo) or CAMHS need to make a referral using the Hospital and Home Tuition Service Referral Form. This collects information about the reason for referral, medical condition, strengths and the child’s needs.

Other notes

Complaints: Initially these should be addressed to the Education staff member involved, or the Headteacher. In the case of any complaints that cannot be resolved in this way, these should be directed to the Head of Education and Inclusion Service.

Local Offer

Description

What is Wandsworth’s Local Offer ?

To use this service the child needs to be referred through the Education Welfare Service, supported by links with CAMHS and with approval of the pupil's Headteacher.

The SEND Local Offer team value all feedback you may have about this service or the Local Offer in general. We invite you to click this link to leave your comments.

Last updated: 21 Feb 2024