Table 1
Baseline Requirements of the Proposed Australian School Re-Entry Guidelines (From Lum et al., 2017).
| HEALTH AND EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS CARING FOR CHILDREN NEED TO … |
|---|
| Provide a continuing, flexible education program in hospital or home |
| Assign a pediatric oncology team member as the hospital-based liaison officer |
| Assign a school team member as the school-based liaison officer |
| Establish a collaborative learning support team to regularly meet, involving family, school and hospital personnel |
| Develop an individualised education plan that is available to all school and hospital staff |
| Develop an individualised health plan that is available to all school and hospital staff |
| Transition the child to school as soon as possible |
| Maintain communication between school, family and hospital |
| Provide resources for teachers to understand the illness, its educational implications and how they can be managed at school |
| Educate classmates about cancer and its implications |
| Monitor academic functioning annually throughout school enrolment |
| Monitor psychosocial well-being annually throughout school enrolment |
| Identify and monitor high-risk students (e.g., CNS treatment) |
| Give special consideration to transition periods (e.g., progressing from primary to high school) |
| Provide information regarding legally bound educational support |
| Have in place, if necessary, a special palliative care plan for the student, their peers and teachers |
Figure 1
The OEP theoretical model.
Table 2
OEP Components.
| OEP COMPONENT | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| Face-to-face teaching | Aims to engage students in targeted learning tasks to assist in their progress while unable to attend their enrolled school. Provided in the HSSA classroom and on the wards (at the bedside or in the playroom). |
| Learning online | WebEx used as the online platform to participate in face-to-face HSSA teaching sessions, individually and/or in groups. WebEx can also allow students to connect with their class via video conferencing. Through learning online, students are able to participate in lessons and/or engage with peers socially. |
| Learning@Home | Aims to continue and consolidate students’ learning progress while at home and not able to attend their enrolled school. Learning packs are sent home in the mail. Maintains students’ connection with their key teacher from HSSA and normalises their day by engaging in learning tasks. |
| Connecting Kids | Aims to maintain students’ relationships and connections with school friends and encourage engagement in fun writing activities. Maintaining connection likely to ease the transition back to school. Adapted to suit different ages and interests;
|
| Waiting room visits | Face-to-face teaching and/or contact and support from HSSA teachers provided while children are waiting for treatment or appointments. |
| School visit | A school liaison nurse and HSSA representative visit the student’s enrolled school to provide school staff with disease- and treatment-related information. An information pack is provided, including an oncology patient care plan, a letter template for informing the school community about the risk to the student of infectious disease, relevant community support services, tutoring options and hospital contact information. |
[i] Note: HSSA = Hospital Schools South Australia.
Figure 2
The OEP pathway.
Table 3
Demographic Information on Children With Cancer.
| PARENT | CHILD | GENDER | AGE (YEARS) AND SCHOOL GRADE AT INTERVIEW | AGE (YEARS) AND SCHOOL GRADE AT DIAGNOSIS | AMOUNT OF SCHOOLING MISSED (APPROX.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parent 1 (Mother) | Child 1 | F | 6(1) | 5(Rec) | >6 months |
| Parent 2 (Mother) | Child 2 | F | 9(3) | 6(Rec) | >6 months |
| Parent 3 (Mother) | Child 3 | F | 9(3) | 7(1) | >6 months |
| Parent 4 (Mother) | Child 4 | M | 8(3) | 7(2) | >6 months |
| Parent 5 (Mother) | Child 5 | M | 6(1) | 3 Relapse at age 6 (Rec) | 3–4 months |
| Parent 6 (Father) | Child 6 | M | 8(3) | 5 (Rec) | >6 months |
| Parent 7 (Mother) | Child 6 | ||||
| Parent 8 (Mother) | Child 8 | M | 6(2) | 1 Relapse at age 5 (Rec) | 1–2 months |
| Parent 9 (Mother) | Child 9 | M | 15(10) | 12(6) | >6 months |
[i] Note: Rec = Reception (first grade of schooling in South Australia).
Table 4
School Age Group and Rural/Remote Status of Participating Families Compared to All Eligible Participants.
| STUDY SAMPLE (%) | ALL ELIGIBLE FAMILIES (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Preschool age (<5yrs) | 12.5 | 33 |
| Primary school age (5–12 yrs) | 75 | 47 |
| High school (13–18 yrs) | 12.5 | 20 |
| Rural/remote | 50 | 16 |
Table 5
Engagements With Each Component of the OEP.
| FACE-TO-FACE | CONNECTING KIDS | LEARNING @HOME | WAITING ROOM | LEARNING ONLINE | SCHOOL VISIT | TOTAL ENGAGEMENTS | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLASSROOM* | WARD | |||||||
| Child 1 | 1 | 39 | Y | 6 | 8 | 1 | Y | 57 |
| Child 2 | 1 | 41 | N | 1 | 0 | 0 | N | 43 |
| Child 3 | 4 | 39 | Y | 3 | 4 | 46 | Y | 98 |
| Child 4 | 0 | 25 | Y | 3 | 2 | 5 | Y | 37 |
| Child 5 | 0 | 2 | Y | 0 | 1 | 0 | Y | 5 |
| Child 6 | 0 | 39 | Y | 2 | 6 | 0 | N | 48 |
| Child 8 | 0 | 0 | N | 0 | 0 | 0 | Y | 1 |
| Child 9 | 0 | 45 | N | 0 | 6 | 8 | N | 59 |
| AVERAGE NUMBER OF ENGAGEMENTS PER CHILD | 0.75 | 28.75 | 1.88 | 3.38 | 7.50 | 43.50 | ||
| (M, SD) | (1.92) | (18.07) | (2.10) | (3.07) | (15.84) | (31.04) | ||
[i] Note: Classroom = Hospital Schools SA classroom, located on-site at the children’s hospital.
Table 6
Themes and Subthemes.
| 1. Experiences with program components |
| Ways of learning |
| Connecting kids |
| School visit |
| Other sources of academic and social support |
| 2. The bigger picture of the program |
| Parent understanding |
| The message – Schooling is important |
| 3. Communication – Not proper three-way |
| 4. A burden of responsibility for parents |
| The school takes a backseat |
| What’s the plan? |
| A lack of resources |
| 5. Perceived impacts of cancer on schooling |
Table 7
Recommendations Addressed by the OEP (Adapted From Lum et al., 2017).
| HEALTH AND EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS CARING FOR CHILDREN NEED TO … | |
|---|---|
| Yes | Provide a continuing, flexible education program in hospital or home |
| Yes | Assign a pediatric oncology team member as the hospital-based liaison officer |
| Partially | Assign a school team member as the school-based liaison officer |
| Yes | Establish a collaborative learning support team to regularly meet, involving family, school, and hospital personnel |
| Partially | Develop an individualised education plan that is available to all school and hospital staff |
| Yes | Develop an individualised health plan that is available to all school and hospital staff |
| Yes | Transition the child to school as soon as possible |
| Yes | Maintain communication between school, family, and hospital |
| Yes | Provide resources for teachers to understand the illness, its educational implications and how they can be managed at school |
| No | Educate classmates about cancer and its implications |
| Yes | Monitor academic functioning annually throughout school enrolment |
| Yes | Monitor psychosocial well-being annually throughout school enrolment |
| Yes | Identify and monitor high-risk students (e.g., CNS treatment) |
| Partially | Give special consideration to transition periods (e.g., progressing from primary to high school) |
| No | Provide information regarding legally bound educational support |
| Yes | Have in place, if necessary, a special palliative care plan for students, their peers, and teachers |
[i] Note: Yes = addressed by the OEP, Partially = partially addressed by the OEP, No = not addressed by the OEP.