MissingSchool was featured in an article from ABC News. To view the original article click here.
Ayla Thompson has spent most of year 3 in hospital after being diagnosed with Leukaemia in May.()
Eight year olds Ayla and Elise have been classmates since May, but they have never met.
The year 3 students are both too ill to go into school, so they’re enrolled in the Queensland Children’s Hospital School’s first interactive virtual classroom.
When Ayla was diagnosed with Leukaemia earlier this year, one of her biggest worries was falling behind at school.
“It’s been good to have classmates and other people you can do school with, and feel normal with,” she said.
“I do miss home, but it feels good when I can go to school from hospital and do all the same subjects as my friends.”
Ayla is one of the first students to be enrolled in the virtual classroom.(ABC News: Arianna Levy)
The family moved 200 kilometres from Stanthorpe to Brisbane so that Ayla could receive treatment.
“She was worried she would miss out. We’ve been at the Queensland Children’s Hospital for six months already,” Ayla’s mum Katie Thompson said.
“When we were first admitted, the hospital teachers approached us on the ward and let us know there was this program.
“It’s made such a difference, it peps up Ayla each day and we can continue a bit of normalness amongst the chaos.”
Ayla with her mum Katie and dad Matt. Katie says school “peps Ayla up each day”.(ABC News: Curtis Rodda)
The Virtual Hospital Education Program (VHEP) was launched in 2022 for children like Ayla.
Over the past 18 months, it’s enrolled more than 100 students in hospitals across the state.
School without limits
Teachers like Thuy Thach-Nguyen are trained to help children with the physical and emotional challenges of learning with a chronic illness.
“We’ve captured a niche that wasn’t being captured in Queensland education, and that’s why we’re leading the way,” Mrs Thuy, as she’s known to her students, said.
“When you’re a child, education is your everyday.
“That is what you’re used to, so to maintain that education and routine makes such a difference while everything around them is changing.”
English teacher Thuy Thach-Nguyen says it’s important for children to keep a routine, especially in their learning, while they’re unwell.(ABC News: Arianna Levy)
When Megan Gilmour’s son Darcy was diagnosed with a combination of chronic illnesses including pre-Leukaemia in 2010, he missed 18 months of school.
‘Continuity is vital’
Ms Gilmour is the CEO of MissingSchool, a not-for-profit she started when he saw there were no options for her son to keep learning through his treatment.
“It was obvious to me even back then that we had the technology, but no-one was making the connection to help,” Ms Gilmour said.
“I could see him start to lose hope”
CEO of MissingSchool Megan Gilmour says technology is key to helping kids continue learning.( ABC News: Matt Roberts )
About a third of Australian students are thought to miss school because of a chronic illness, but the data is limited.
“Consistency for children is so important. That social and emotional connection helps to reduce anxiety and help bridge transitions between treatment and returning to school,” Ms Gilmour said.
“They slip through the cracks and that’s why continuity is vital. Presence is the only cure for absence.”
