Meet the miracle teachers educating Victoria’s sickest kids at Yalingbu Yirramboi — The Royal Children’s Hospital School
Kids fighting health conditions at The Royal Children’s Hospital are getting the chance to continue their school studies from their hospital beds — all thanks to these incredible teachers.
Victoria
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No two days are the same for the teachers working at Yalingbu Yirramboi – The Royal Children’s Hospital School.
For special education teacher Brooke Bourgeois, a typical morning includes planning her lessons for the day and liaising with medical teams.
She’ll then venture out into the bustling corridors ready to conquer the day ahead.
As Ms Bourgeois walks past patients’ rooms, she’s filled with joy when she sees students smiling and laughing during their lessons despite often feeling unwell.
“It’s not unusual to walk by a room during a teaching and learning session and see families getting involved and participating as well, which is a really beautiful thing to be a part of,” she said.
Three of those teachers bringing joy to their students are primary educators Tori Julian and Lidia Foskett as well as secondary school teacher Becky Hall.
When they’re not with a student, these passionate teachers are wheeling the content of their classrooms around the hospital wards in trolleys.
Story books, paint brushes, pencils and flashcards are among the learning resources packed away in the carts, with each item sanitised or disposed of after each use for the safety of their students.
“As a hospital teacher, we’re always on our toes, modifying lessons to respond to the student’s learning and medical needs in real time,” Ms Bourgeois said.
The Sunday Herald Sun had the privilege of meeting not only the devoted teachers educating some of Victoria’s sickest kids, but two bubbly and clever patients — Joshua and Xavier — who continue to have a zest for learning despite their health challenges.
The grade five and one students are among 1500 children aged between three and 18 with acute and chronic medical conditions supported by the school annually.
Principal Naomi McBride said Yalingbu Yirramboi has a crucial role in maintaining a patient’s connection to their regular kindergarten or school by bridging the gap between their hospital, home and educational settings.
“Students enrolled at the school participate in tailored teaching and learning experiences designed to accommodate their learning, wellbeing, social and medical needs,” she said.
“The school also provides support to ensure a smooth transition back to their community education setting, helping to maintain continuity in their education despite their hospital stay.”
Education services at the Royal Children’s Hospital have been in place since the late 1960s, and has recently been registered as a Victorian Government School.
It’s now named Yalingbu Yirramboi — meaning “today, tomorrow” — in consultation with the traditional owners of the land.
Learning specialist Alanna Duffy said lessons were highly personalised at the school and aligned with the Victorian Curriculum and the Department of Education’s Victorian Teaching and Learning Model.
“Upon admission, each patient is paired with a Yalingbu Yirramboi educator, who takes the time to understand their unique learning and wellbeing needs, preferences, interests and background,” she said.
“Teachers adjust their practices to meet the specific needs of students by accommodating varying levels of ability, interests and learning preferences.”
Ms Duffy said each student had an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that was developed in conjunction with the students, their caregivers, their community school and their medical team, and contains learning goals as well as personal and social capability goals to support their wellbeing.
Flexibility and student agency are core to Yalingbu Yirramboi, with educators required to review their student lists and liaise with their medical and allied health teams daily to ensure it’s appropriate for their patients to do school work that day.
“Our students can engage in education sessions in several different ways based on their needs,” primary teacher Tori Julian said.
“We offer group learning sessions for students that are medically approved … and if students are not medically approved to attend group sessions, they are able to engage with one-on-one education sessions at their bedside,” she said.
Grade one student Xavier, 6, is one of Ms Julian’s students who has been part of the Yalingbu Yirramboi program for 10 weeks.
Xavier’s mum Mel Baker said Ms Julian’s lessons were helping her son keep in touch with his education while he received treatment.
“The system is fantastic, it’s such an asset to have in the hospital. We’ve been here for six months now and as soon as we knew we could be part of the school, I popped my hand up straight away,” she said.
Ms Baker credited Xavier’s success to his “awesome teacher”, who has gone above and beyond to cater for his needs.
“The way (Ms Julian) has adapted to Xavier’s needs is phenomenal,” she said.
“When she found out Xavier liked Pokémon, she made flashcards of the alphabet with Pokémon characters and because he was having trouble with his hands, she went to the effort of making a Poké Ball with a paddle pop stick and velcro so he can pick up the letters.
“It’s phenomenal, I’m so grateful that we came across Tori and after working with him for 10 weeks, she knows him in and out.”
Ms Julian said seeing her students thrive while developing confidence in their learning was a rewarding experience.
“Seeing the joy that our students get from engaging in education sessions is heartwarming,” she said.
“I am so grateful to be part of my students’ education journeys. They are all so strong and brave and to be able to bring a smile to their faces each day is a blessing.”
As for high school aged students, they’re taken care of by secondary years teachers such as
Becky Hall, with a typical day commencing with a group learning session from 9.30am to 12pm in a classroom for those students able to leave their rooms.
“A rotating team of secondary teachers lead this class, starting with a group task that focuses on a specific area of the curriculum each day and then students work on their individual learning goals,” Ms Hall said.
“The rest of the day is dedicated to providing individualised education at the bedside.”
Virtual sessions are also provided for students who are not able to attend group sessions in-person, enabling them to develop their social interaction skills and build relationships without compromising their own health and safety.
Ms Hall said teaching in a hospital environment had its differences to a mainstream classroom.
“We encounter a wide range of complex health conditions. At times that can be confronting, but it also drives us to continually innovate our lessons to engage our students effectively,” she said.
“This might involve using assistive technology, implementing physical supports, modifying tasks to minimise cognitive fatigue, or employing purposeful maths games and real-life problem-solving to assess learning.”
One example of teachers getting creative to educate their students included primary teacher Lidia Foskett’s use of manipulatives to teach grade five student Joshua about persuasive text.
Ms Foskett would verbally provide Joshua with an argument, and he would use “yes” and “no” laminated signs to show whether he agreed or disagreed with the statement, before verbalising his argument with relevant literacy terminology.
Joshua’s mum Keith Gerobin said she really appreciated how the teachers tailored their lessons specifically to her son’s needs.
“When you’re in a hospital, you’re always focused on the physical side of getting better, but there’s the mental side as well,” she said.
“But this education program gives him routine every day like he would if he was going to school.”
“There needs to be more programs like this in other hospitals,” Joshua added.
Yalingbu Yirramboi also plays a key role in facilitating students’ transition back to the school they were enrolled in prior to receiving treatment.
A gradual, graded return plan is often implemented, which typically starts with a reduced schedule that gradually increases as the student becomes more comfortable and capable of managing a full school day.
Ms Julian is helping grade six student Jett, who is receiving treatment at the hospital, keep up-to-date with his class by liaising with his teachers at his local school.
“Tori has liaised with both of Jett’s teacher’s directly to establish what Jett’s classmates were undertaking in terms of curriculum, and what they would like Jett to focus on while in hospital,” Jett’s mum Erin said.
“The direct communication between Tori and Jett’s teachers meant Jett was completing the same tasks and topics as his classmates, which allowed him to receive credits on his report for work completed.
“It also gave Jett the confidence to know that when returning to school he wouldn’t be behind.”
Year 10 student Leila also benefits from Yalingbu Yirramboi’s program, with her teacher Alanna ensuring she can remain engaged in her schoolwork while she receives treatment at the hospital.
“I’m able to keep up with schoolwork and am kept in the loop with what’s going on,” she said.
While every day might look different for the educators at Yalingbu Yirramboi – The Royal Children’s Hospital School, what remains the same is each teachers’ determination to help their students succeed no matter the challenges that stand in their way.
“The relationships we build with students and families in such a short amount of time is really something special and is one of the reasons I love teaching in this setting,” Ms Bourgeois said.
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Originally published as Meet the miracle teachers educating Victoria’s sickest kids at Yalingbu Yirramboi — The Royal Children’s Hospital School
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