Long-term illness can have an effect on a child’s education. One of the biggest concerns for a parent who has a child with a long term illness is to make sure that they don't fall behind or miss out on academic, sporting or social events in school.
School support
The best outcome can be reached by a consistent and collaborative effort between parents and schools. It’s vital for parents to meet with the principal and teachers to ensure that you’re both on the same page.You should also consider how much you want to tell the school regarding your child’s illness. Although you want to keep the school informed, you also have a right to protect our child’s privacy. You can make a plan with the school which will act as a guideline on how much school your child is able to attend so that they are there as much as possible, while also getting time to rest and recuperate. You should also engage with the school about having an emergency procedure in place should your child ever require medical attention during school hours.
School support
The best outcome can be reached by a consistent and collaborative effort between parents and schools. It’s vital for parents to meet with the principal and teachers to ensure that you’re both on the same page.You should also consider how much you want to tell the school regarding your child’s illness. Although you want to keep the school informed, you also have a right to protect our child’s privacy. You can make a plan with the school which will act as a guideline on how much school your child is able to attend so that they are there as much as possible, while also getting time to rest and recuperate. You should also engage with the school about having an emergency procedure in place should your child ever require medical attention during school hours.
Getting the best of both worlds
Your child’s teacher will be able to inform you about the curriculum and what the class will be covering during your child’s absence. This will give you a good idea of what areas you need to focus on.
Depending on your child’s needs, you may want to gain an understanding of what the minimum what the minimum attendance requirements are in case your child is too ill to fully take part in school as well as the maximum so they are challenged but not overloaded. The biggest difficulty when a child has a long-term illness is often not just keeping with academic projects but the loss of the social aspect that comes with school. You should speak to your child’s teacher about what school activities they can take part in and also arrange play-dates with their friends after school. Making adjustments
Depending on what your child’s needs are, you may wish to speak to the school about making necessary changes to the facilities, the uniform, attendance and the curriculum to make life a little easier for your child. Additionally, if a period of illness occurs during exams, you can ask for special consideration to be exempt or ask if it is possible to modify the exam process.
Maintaining interest
Games and activities that are educational are a great way of keeping your child interested in learning.
Depending on what your child’s needs are, you may wish to speak to the school about making necessary changes to the facilities, the uniform, attendance and the curriculum to make life a little easier for your child. Additionally, if a period of illness occurs during exams, you can ask for special consideration to be exempt or ask if it is possible to modify the exam process.
Maintaining interest
Games and activities that are educational are a great way of keeping your child interested in learning.
Make learning fun with some of these tips:
• Turn learning activities into a fun competition, offer a reward after a certain amount of activitieshave been completed
• Make use of your child’s interests when developing activities
• Change the learning environment , if possible
• If you can speak to other parents who have similar situation; they will be able to offer advice and ideas.
• Turn learning activities into a fun competition, offer a reward after a certain amount of activitieshave been completed
• Make use of your child’s interests when developing activities
• Change the learning environment , if possible
• If you can speak to other parents who have similar situation; they will be able to offer advice and ideas.
