Becton Hospital and Outreach Education
The 1996 Education Act states “Each local education authority shall make arrangements for the provision of suitable education at school or otherwise than at school for those children of compulsory school age who, by reason of illness, may not for any period receive suitable education unless such arrangements are made for them.” The Local Authority has commissioned this provision through the Becton Hospital and Outreach Team.
Becton Hospital and Outreach Provision:
Outreach support
Young people referred to the Becton Hospital and Outreach Team must be ‘medically unfit’ to attend mainstream school, either as a result of issues relating to physical illness and/or mental health. Referral to our Outreach Service is through a Medical Consultant.
Wherever possible young people who are too ill to attend their mainstream school will attend a Becton School Outreach Teaching Centre.
If the Medical Consultant specifies that a young person is too unwell to attend the Becton School Outreach Teaching Centre they may be taught at home by one of the staff from the team. Verification will be required from the young person's consultant that the pupil is unfit for school or centre based teaching.
Teenage Pregnancies
School-age pregnant girls will be offered group mentoring support and education for a contact period of up to 16 weeks around the time of the baby’s birth. The curriculum offer is for a total of 16 weeks of education, generally from week 36 of the pregnancy, (i.e. 4 weeks prior to the expected due date of the baby’s birth), with two weeks off over the birth ‘maternity leave’ and then teaching for a further 12 weeks. The curriculum provision will be agreed with the school, the young woman and her parents/carers.
Sheffield Children’s Hospital
If a young person is admitted to the Sheffield Children’s Hospital, the Becton Hospital Team will aim to start teaching on day four after consultation with the medical and nursing staff and with the agreement of parents/guardians. (The three day ‘wait’ is at the request of the medical staff in the Children's Hospital).
In all cases, Becton Hospital and Outreach Team intervention is to be seen as temporary, pending reintegration to mainstream education or integration to a Special School following the EHCP process.