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Wisteria Ward

Wisteria Ward is a twelve bed national inpatient unit for young people between the ages of 11 and 18 with severe eating disorders and weight loss related to mental health problems.  The multidisciplinary team are highly experienced in this specialist field.  Psychological therapies include individual, cognitive and psychodynamic therapies and group therapies.

As family therapy has been shown to be the most effective therapy in treating young people with eating disorders, a range of family interventions are offered – family therapy, multi-family group treatment, information sessions, dietetic advice, supported family meals and parents’ support groups.  A family suite means families from some distance away can spend time with their children when they are too unwell to go home.

We ensure a broad, engaging and personalised educational offer is in place for all young people admitted to Wisteria Ward. All inpatients are encouraged to attend school on a daily basis. On admission, pupils are requested to bring in their work from school, or the school staff can arrange for the work from school to be sent directly to the ward. Pupils who are not well enough, or not able to manage in the classroom environment will be visited on the ward by one of our teaching staff.

On first entrance to the classroom each student is met by their assigned lead teacher. This lead teacher is responsible for all aspects of pastoral care, progress monitoring and communication for the young person. We ensure the classrooms are safe and welcoming, offering phased integration and a range of strategies to enable students to engage with their learning. Each patient becomes a student once in the classroom, duly encouraged to refocus on their interests, academic studies and future pathway. Curriculum content and timetables are personalised in the light of student’s needs and interests.

The education team is comprised of highly specialist teachers and specially trained Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA’s) who are able to teach a wide range of subjects across KS3, KS4 and KS5. Education staff liaise closely with the pupil’s home school, ensuring continuity of education and supporting them to prepare for GCSE’s or A Level examinations or any other external accreditations.

The school is a registered examination centre and pupils who are inpatient during their exams will be able to sit exams in the CAMHS Campus School.

 

Curriculum Model

Subjects

Timetables

‘Every day my son looks forward to going to school – to get away from his room, and all the poking and prodding from doctors is such a relief. He is treated like a school boy, rather than a patient, and I think this has as much healing properties as medicine! Due to his illness, my son has missed about a month of schooling, but hopefully will have caught up because of the hospital school.’

(Parent, 2018)

‘Wow, where to begin. I wanted to write to you to demonstrate how much of a positive impact you have had on me……you have restored my faith in teachers everywhere...the CAMHS Campus School was definitely the highlight of Springfield for me as is the case for so many others. Rest assured if I ever get involved in the murky world of politics your funding will be quadrupled, ring-fenced and seared forever.’
‘We are so grateful and thankful for the brilliant staff at the St. George’s Hospital School. We have spent quite a lot of time there over the past 18 months, they have made learning such fun – memorable science experiments and story writing, the best time making posters and adverts and treats for the school cafe. The staff are cheerful, calm, gentle and above all fun. Thank you to the great team.’
‘We were so grateful to the teaching team. They have been absolutely fantastic. My daughter had surgery on Monday and was quiet and withdrawn. This has been instrumental in her recovery and also kept her mind on education whilst she’s been sick.’
‘Everyday my son looks forward to going to school – to get away from his room, and all the poking and prodding from doctors is such a relief. He is treated like a school boy, rather than a patient, and I think this has as much healing properties as medicine! Due to his illness, my son has missed about a month of schooling, but hopefully will have caught up because of the hospital school.’
‘We are so grateful and happy for the care and support – teachers are so helpful and very kind, we love you all for your hard work, keep it up. Thanks so much.’
‘Thank you for the range of learning opportunities you provided my son in hospital for the week for the week he was on the neuro ward. He found the activities very engaging and accessible. He thoroughly enjoys maths and looked forward to the activities you provided for this – he is especially looking forward to the spreadsheet analysis this afternoon. he enjoys music and was surprised to have the opportunity to learn about and play different instruments. Thanks again for all your help.’
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‘We are so grateful that there is a school/classroom to attend. Josie really needs something to focus on when he’s in hospital, he looks forward to getting out of his room and working/studying English, Maths and other interesting topics he can learn about. It has really made a difference to his mood during the hospital stays, having been admitted so many times throughout the past 7 months. Furthermore, it helps him keep on top of his schooling.’
‘Thank you for helping me for the past 10 months. You have helped me to keep as motivated and hopeful for my future as I could have been. I cant wit to start college and maybe become a paramedic. I’ll always remember this school and everyone in it’
‘The service aims to enable pupils with long-term illnesses, mental health issues or who are pregnant to remain in education…... You and your staff ensure that these aims are fully met. Most pupils have missed long periods of learning due to illness. They make remarkable progress during their short time in the school.
Pupils told us that, without the school, they would not be able to engage fully in learning or sit any examinations. Parents value the high-quality teaching provided alongside the excellent care and support given to each individual pupil.’

Ofsted, 2018

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