To Address the Educational and Developmental Service Gaps for Long-term Hospitalized Children

In 2012, drawing on domestic and international experiences and integrating knowledge and resources from fields such as education, medical care, social work, and psychology, Sunshine Charity launched the “Sunshine Charity Ward School” project. It established teaching venues both inside and outside hospitals to provide companion-based education for children aged 3 – 14 who are hospitalized for long-term serious illnesses.

The Origin of Hospital Schools

The author of this painting is Zuo Yan. He only attended primary school for three months before being diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia. Due to his illness, he was never able to step into a school again. He said that his greatest wish was to “go to school”. To fulfill his wish, volunteers from Peking University who were part of Sunshine Charity became his teachers and took on all aspects of his education. During the teaching process, Sunshine Charity discovered that there were many other children in the hospital like Zuo Yan who also longed to enter the classroom with their peers. Thus, the hospital school project came into being.

At present, there is still a gap in the education of children with long-term serious illnesses in China. With the continuous development of medical technology, the cure rate for these children is increasing. Take leukemia, the most common type of childhood cancer, as an example. The overall incidence rate of leukemia in China is 5.97 per 100,000, with about 80,000 new cases each year. Among them, the incidence rate among children aged 0 – 14 is 3.92 per 100,000, and there are about 8,000 new cases each year. Approximately 70 – 80% of these children will be cured and reintegrate into society.

The general treatment period for childhood cancer is 2 – 3 years, and in some cases, it can last up to 5 years. During the treatment, due to long-term absenteeism from school and a weakened immune system that makes them susceptible to infections, it is very difficult for these children to receive education in school like their peers. Moreover, neither hospitals nor homes can provide a suitable learning environment for children. Families already impoverished by illness cannot afford the high costs of tutoring courses offered by other institutions, whether online or offline.

The lack of education and corresponding alternative services has a profound impact on these children. To address the educational and developmental service gaps for long-term hospitalized children, Sunshine Charity referred to domestic and international experiences, integrated knowledge and resources from fields such as education, medical care, social work, and psychology, and launched the “Sunshine Charity Ward School” project in 2012. It established teaching venues both inside and outside hospitals to provide companion-based education for children aged 3 – 14 who are hospitalized for long-term serious illnesses. By using diverse methods such as small-class courses, one-on-one tutoring, and theme-based activities, the project helps these children maintain their learning abilities and social adaptability.

The Development of the Ward School Project

At the end of 2017, Sunshine Charity conducted multi-level evaluations of the ward school project, including model summary, social significance, and public welfare. After a preliminary nationwide promotion and replication, the project has now entered the stage of standardization and scaling up.

Third-party evaluations have confirmed the necessity and value of the project. The Sunshine Charity Ward School fills the gap in educational services and developmental services for long-term hospitalized children. By developing an interdisciplinary service model, the hospital school safeguards the educational and developmental rights of long-term hospitalized children and alleviates the social integration problems caused by serious illnesses.

In 2023, the project had 43 ward school classrooms in 20 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country, with a total of 36 full-time teachers. In 2023, the national project sites offered a total of 20,749 regular courses, 25,474 one-on-one cultural courses and companionships, and 567 theme-based activities, serving 185,034 patient visits. At the same time, the project also provided services to parents of patients for a total of 1,144 visits. During the implementation of the project, 1,825 volunteers participated in the volunteer services at the ward schools, bringing knowledge and love to the children.

From the launch of the project until the end of 2023, the project has provided services to more than 46,000 children for 820,796 patient visits and offered 175,239 courses.

We hope that every child who is hospitalized for a long time can enjoy the right to education and development. This has always been the goal that the Sunshine Charity Hospital School has been striving for!