GUIDE TO CURRICULUM FOR HOSPITAL SCHOOLS

As stated in Chapter Two of this Guide, hospital schools have started operation under the sponsorship of

the Hong Kong Red Cross since 1954. These schools provide education to hospitalized children who are excluded temporarily from normal daily classes. Children in hospitals have a need for continuation of education and activities. The offer of a school programme in hospitals ensures equal educational opportunities for these children. It provides the necessary tuition for the children in the hospital who are well enough to study, so that upon their discharge, they will encounter less difficulty in resuming normal schooling. It also serves as a comforting and familiar experience to a hospitalized child in an unfamiliar environment. The notion a hospital school programme communicates to the child that he is expected to get well is viewed as significant.

8.1 Student Admissions

The pupils attend hospital schools with permission or recommendation by the medical officers or nursing officers in charge of the hospital wards. Those who are less mobile receive individual bedside tuition. Pupils have their lessons in classrooms or in groups in the wards. Pupils of the

Home-based Teaching Programme are referred by the Services Division of the Education Department.

Pupils in hospitals feature their different health conditions when having lessons in wards or in classrooms. These include a variety of chronic or acute illnesses. Some of the pupils may have disorders which necessitate frequent suspensions and re-admissions. Educational emphases are likely to be different for these children. Besides children with various illnesses, there are also children with various handicaps.

8.2 School Programme

The amount of time allotted for instruction and the curriculum content vary according to the number of pupils enrolled, their length of stay, their physical, intellectual and emotional status, their academic standard and the availability of educational facilities in the hospitals. Due to the children’s ever changing physical status, the school programme often needs to be adjusted to their changing pace of learning. Flexibility and variations in the use of the curriculum content is a necessity to maximize teaching effectiveness.

One uniqueness in the hospital schools is the opportunity for individualization of instruction. The physically handicapped as well as young pupils, often have serious gaps in their experiences and knowledge. The hospital school programme offers an opportunity to fill some of these gaps in a non-competitive atmosphere. In this respect, the school programme also serves a remedial purpose. However, to ensure programme continuity, the hospital school programmes are usually carried out in such a manner that there is as little change as possible from the general pattern of an ordinary school.

 

8.3 Services Provided

At present, the hospital schools provide educational services to patient-pupils of the

general wards and psychiatric units in hospitals. A home-based teaching programme is also offered to pupils who are homebound for health reasons. The existing services in hospital schools are presented as follows:

8.3.1 General Section

Individual bedside teaching, or group teaching in wards or classrooms for preparatory, primary and secondary pupils who are hospitalized due to injuries or various illnesses such as

fever,

asthma,

pneumonia,

diabetes,

heart disease,

cancer,

scoliosis,

bone fracture,

burns etc.

8.3.2

Psychiatric Section

(1)	Individual, paired or group teaching and parent group meetings for ward patient-pupils or day patient-pupils, of preparatory, primary and secondary school levels, with some of the following disorders :

-

disruptive behavioural disorders such as

conduct disorder,

hyperkinetic disorder.

-

emotional disorders such as

depression,

obsessive compulsive disorder,

anxiety,

phobia,

school refusal.

-

developmental problems such as

mental retardation with

behavioural problems,

autism,

learning difficulties.

-

adult type psychiatric disorders such as

psychosis.

- others including

anorexia nervosa

and other eating disorders,

enuresis and

elimination disorders,

substance or

drug abuse,

tics and tourette disorders,

suicidal attempts,

child abuse.

(2)	Individual teaching and group teaching for day patient-pupils of preparatory level aged from 4 to 6 years with developmental problems such as

infantile autism

language delay

global developmental delay

(3)

In all psychiatric units of hospital schools, teachers work with other disciplines of the hospital including the psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurses, medical social workers, occupational therapists, speech therapists and other specialists (such as dietitians and physiotherapists) in the programme planning for each individual child. Advice and service are also provided by educational psychologists from the Education Department as may be required.

8.3.3

Home-based Teaching Programme

Individual home teaching is offered to compulsory school age children who are home bound for health reasons, such as leukaemia, brain tumor, osteosarcoma, etc.

8.4 Curriculum

8.4.1 Curriculum Applicable to the General Section, the Psychiatric Section and the Home-based Teaching Programme  

The curriculum of hospital schools mainly follows that of ordinary schools but is modified according to the need, ability and duration of stay of the pupils. The learning areas of the various levels are detailed as follows:

Preparatory: Language, Number Work, General Knowledge, Art and Craft, Music, Play

Primary:Chinese Language, English Language, Mathe- matics, General Studies, Art and Craft, Music, Putonghua

Junior Secondary: Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics, Integrated Science, Chinese History, History, Geography, Economics and Public Affairs, Art and Design, Music, Computer Literacy, Putonghua.

8.4.2 Curriculum Applicable to the Psychiatric Section Only

(1)

In addition to the curriculum above, there are also special programmes for pupils who cannot cope with the mainstream curriculum. The learning areas for preparatory, primary and secondary pupils with autism or mental retardation are focused on language (with emphasis on receptive and expressive skills, reading and writing skills), Mathematics (with emphasis on pre-mathematics and mathematical concepts) and integrated studies. The curriculum content is based on the following curriculum guides: Curriculum Guideline for Mildly Mentally Handicapped Children(Education Department) Curriculum Guideline for Moderately Mentally Handicapped Children(Education Department) A Guide on the Operation of Special Provision for Autistic Children in Special Schools(Education Department) Curriculum for Very Young Children (Hong Kong Christian Service) Developmental Learning Package (Heep Hong Club) For children with attention deficit and hyperkinetic disorder, the mainstream curriculum is followed, with modifications based on the individual needs of the pupils. For children of preparatory level in the psychiatric section, emphasis is placed on the development of classroom behaviour (e.g. sitting properly, attention and response), cognitive and pre-mathematics skills (e.g. sight, hearing and tactile abilities, fine/gross motors, spatial concepts), language and social skills.

(2)

Supplementary curriculum for the psychiatric section includes library activities, cookery, music activities, ethics/moral education, sex education and social skills training. Apart from formal teaching, there are activities such as contests, games days, speech days, parties, outings and visits.