Welcome to Hospital School

The Hospital School, which is organised by Aalborg municipality’s Department for Schools (Aalborg Kommunes Skoleforvaltning), is a school for children from years 0 to 10 who experience a period of their school lives either admitted, or connected in other ways, to the hospital. We also offer education for students who are in temporary need of an alternative schooling.

The Hospital School consists of two departments, one at the Psychiatric Hospital and one based at the main hospital (North/South) itself. 

Our teaching unit consists of eight teachers and one head teacher. We are all passionate about our work involving children with special needs, and we value highly a close cooperation with all of the caregivers associated with each child, helping us to formulate individualised teaching plans

(We follow the school calendar used by the municipality of Aalborg.)

If you are a parent or a pupil/student at the school, you can find useful and practical information by clicking on the following links.

Aim
The school follows the 2014 Primary and Secondary Education Act (Folkeskolelov - the law nr. 694 of 20. June 2014) together with Aalborg municipal education-system’s 2010 Joint School Guidelines (Aalborg Kommunale Skolevæsens, Fælles Skolebeskrivelse 2010). Generally speaking, our task is to give the admitted children of all school ages education which is adapted to their own individual situations. The Hospital School’s two departments appreciate that these admitted children can suffer from various learning difficulties influenced by many different backgrounds and symptoms, which, diagnostically speaking, range from physical pain to mental illness. The children need a skilled, professional and social education organized in small, well-structured surroundings. This kind of teaching demands a large amount of understanding of the individual, flexibility and experience, along with knowledge of psychological disorders, and insight in - and cooperation with - the hospital environment. Amongst other things, it is about giving the children self-esteem, self-confidence and self-awareness together with ways to deal with the current situation in which they find themselves. It’s about making them an active participant in their own lives again. Some children are in a crisis- and life-threatening situation which necessitates extra vigilance from the teachers. A vital prerequisite for a successful hospital-based education is to create the necessary security and clarity in the children’s lives, both in school and out of school, and this involves full cooperation with family and professional networks connected to the children.

Conclusion
Having outlined and described our multi-faceted work at the Hospital School, it is clear that hospital school education cannot be compared to any of the other municipality-driven educational services. We are a special educational service located in a hospital environment and therefore we will always be affected by the changing composition in the groups of children we educate, from those that suffer from physical illnesses to those that suffer from severe mental disorders. Furthermore, it is our belief that the children who now come to us have more serious diagnosis and appear more ill than in times gone by. Unfortunately, this tendency seems set to continue.

It is undeniably hard, but nonetheless exciting and challenging to be involved with this group of children. We strive to support each other in our daily work and do our best to create as positive and enjoyable a work environment as possible. But this type of work can’t be taught just “by studying books.” It has to be learnt through work experience, guidance and supervision on the spot.

With regards to Aalborg municipal education-system’s Joint School Guidelines of 2010 (Aalborg Kommunale Skolevæsens, Fælles Skolebeskrivelse 2010), we strive to work accordingly to and fulfil as many of the guidelines’ themes and areas for action as possible. We see ourselves as a school with room for everyone. The fundamental ideas behind inclusion in the classroom are the foundations of our work here at The Hospital School.

The constantly changing composition of the groups of children we work with and the special problems that come with them mean that we cannot, or do not have, the option to fully consider all themes and focus areas at all times in our daily practice.

The themes we have particular focus on are as follows:

- The child’s learning and academic development.

- The child’s all-round development.

- The child’s health and well-being.

- The 2014 Danish Educational Reform.

The areas for action we have particular focus on are as follows:

- The efforts to increase the children’s well-being.

- Inclusion.

- The use of ICT in our teaching practises 

- Implementation of the 2014 Danish Educational Reform.

The on-going areas for action are as follows:

- Continually improve upon the academic, social and treatment-related practices used with our children.

- Support and maintain a positive and enjoyable working environment.

- Further development of our written communication skills in relation to school statements.

- Expand our knowledge of psychiatric diagnosis and the consequences for the schools’ children, their families and the surrounding community.

- Implementation and adaption of the 2014 Danish Educational Reform into our school framework.

We regularly evaluate the points throughout the school year.