NEWS

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Well at School have published a new section on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, written by Prof. Esther Crawley, Dr Roxanne Parslow, Dr Maria Loades and Amberly Brigden at the Centre for Academic Child Health.

Karen returns

We are delighted that Karen has returned to help us clear our admin backlog!

Mental Health Awareness Week

It's Mental Health Awareness Week and the topic is Kindness.

COVID-19 for schools

Well at School have created a new COVID-19 resource for schools, with information and advice on learning from home, wellbeing, transition and research.

It's good to talk!

Two of our students, who have been missing each other, get to meet up again to say hello on a Teams video call, along with Lala, Faith, Deirdre and Charlotte.

All The Way

Our musician Brian has written a song called "All The Way" to bring encouragement to us all, in these difficult times.

Brian, teaching music online

Our teachers continue to work with some of our most vulnerable young people. Here we have our musician, Brian, teaching online from home.

Teaching Online From Home

Our teachers continue to work with some of our most vulnerable young people. Sometimes this means working from home. Here we have our principal, Janette, with her two assistants and John, our geography, computing and IT teacher.

Thank You Action Amanda

A huge thank you to Action Amanda who are donating a percentage of profits from their Wash Your Hands song to our hospital school.

Goodbye To Eva

Eva Leung came to work with us, at Lavender Walk, as a learning assistant on Thursday 19th March and finished on Friday 3rd April. This is probably one of the shorted stays that anyone has ever had with us, however in those short weeks Eva made the biggest impression. Eva came at a time when schools were closing, transport reducing, and society going into lockdown – in short the most challenging of times. This did not deter Eva, she got fully ‘stuck in’ to supporting the young people and their learning on the unit. She was a tremendous help to her teaching colleagues and just great to work with. Eva you made such a huge impression on everyone and we want to thank you for your commitment from Day 1. We wish you every success in your new job, they are so lucky to have you! Good luck and thank you!

Thank you Teachers!

Our teachers are continuing to work with some of our most vulnerable young people. Here we have Andy, Marie and Shaun at Lavender Walk.

Learning at Home

As many children and young people continue to access education at home Well at School has been researching useful resources that have been created to help parents, carers and teachers make learning away from school both accessible and engaging. We will be reviewing and adding to this resource list over the coming weeks.

Thank you teachers!

Our teachers are continuing to work with some of our most vulnerable children. Here we have Robin at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and Helen and Marius at The Portland Hospital.

A message from Janette Steel, our Principal

At this time of year we would usually be celebrating spring through our Easter service, with children singing, reading poetry, and sharing their art work, this always brings a joy to our hearts, there is a sense of growth and refreshment. However, now we are all in a different place, some of us quite alone, missing our wider families and concerned about the future. A lonely and worrying time for us all, I want to assure you that we will be with you to share any concerns you have about your child's education, their next step in their journey to college, and to support them in assessing their levels for their exams.

Art Takeover

Over the next few weeks we will be filling our social media with art created by children in hospital.
Follow us and checkout the #arttakeover!

Supporting Learning at Home

Well at School have put together information from trusted sources that parents and carers will find useful for supporting learning at home in the weeks ahead.

Well at School - advice and guidance

The latest advice and guidance for schools, parents and carers during the Coronavirus pandemic from Well at School.

Coronovirus Update

CCHS is following up-to-date national guidance regarding Coronavirus. The most up-to-date guidance from the NHS can be found here: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19
If you have any questions or concerns please contact us.

World Book Day Celebrations

We celebrated World Book Day by searching for Paddington Bear in deepest, darkest Peru. At Chelsea, star of the show was primary pupil Sienna - dressed in a wonderful homemade costume as Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree. Staff love to dress up too - Jags as Harry Potter, Charlotte as the clockwork clown from Amelia Jane, Deirdre as the bunny from Amelia Jane and Jonny as a character from a pupil, Lauren's, own story "The Possessed Teacher". Children also designed some Roald Dahl character masks and made Roald Dahl themed pottery, as Roald Dahl is our theme for the term.

Thank you Sainsburys!

Congratulations Michelle!

Congratulations to Michelle who has officially been recognized as the fastest South African woman in her category on two wheels!

Denise, our No Boundaries Award winner!

Congratulations to Denise for winning the No Boundaries Award for the amazing work she does teaching cricket to the children and young people at the hospital school.

Cake Sale

A huge thank-you to our wonderful FCCHS volunteers who organised a cake sale for our school charity.

Visit from Hungarian partner school

We were delighted to welcome students and teachers from our Hungarian Erasmus partner schools from our Sparks - Wellbeing project.

World Mental Health Day #cchswmd

Follow our special World Mental Health Day hashtag #cchswmd to see what our students have been doing.

Mental Healthcare in Young People and Young Adults

We need a holistic approach to the health, education and care needs of all young people. Read Well at School's review of the recommendations of this new report.

Congratulations from the Mayor of RBKC

We were delighted to receive this letter from the Mayor of RBKC.

Welcome back, from Janette, our Principal

Welcome back to all the students and teachers, we have had a great welcome from Lavender Walk who have missed the teachers hugely - and greeted them with bribes of chocolate to make them promise they would not go away again!

At the other hospitals, there has been a holiday programme each day staffed by the learning mentors, teaching assistants, our famous artist of course and also we welcomed back two of our students who have worked through the school holidays with great energy and verve bringing much fun and laughter to the summer.  Thank you all so very much, from the reports from the wards and especially Collingham it is clear your ideas and presence supported the nursing team.

Read more...

IT Support Engineer vacancy

We have a vacancy for an IT support engineer. Are you looking for a new challenge in a creative and unpredictable environment?  Would you like to put your advanced IT skills to good use in our hospital school covering 7 sites in west London?  Are you interested in and fascinated by IT systems?  

Well at School Newsletter

Read our latest newsletter.

Lavender Walk Cinema Trip

The pupils at the newest addition to the Chelsea Hospital School, Lavender Walk, Adolescent Unit enjoyed their own private screening of Men in Black: International, in the CW+ MediCinema at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, on Friday 12th July.

Thanks Lush!

A big thank you to @LushVictoria for bringing their magic to our hospital school. They ran an amazing workshop for our children over the summer holidays, teaching us how to make blackberry and treasure chest bath-bombs! Thanks, Lush, you are amazing!

Volunteer driver wanted

We are looking for one or two experienced minibus driver volunteers, with a clean driving license. If you have some time to spare on Wednesdays (9.30am - 12.00) and/or Fridays from (12-4pm) we would love to hear from you. MiDAS training provided. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 0203 315 8672 /3

30 year celebrations!

Janette's speech at our celebration of 30 years of the Chelsea Community Hospital School. Thank you to everyone who came along to join us in our celebrations and an extra special thank you to Nissa who organised the whole event. :)

New partnership with Adopt a School chef

We are delighted to announce our new partnership with The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts’ Adopt a School Trust. Chef Ashley Marsh, will deliver food education sessions to young people at Lavender Walk, our adolescent mental health unit. Read here for all the details.

For the love of bravery

Listen to Helen talking about some of the great work we have been doing to to engage children who have medical needs in education.
Please vote for her here!

Bright Futures

We are delighted to be working in partnership with Bright Futures who will be supporting us with their  full range of programmes to ensure "ILLNESS DOESN'T DEFINE US".

Vacancy for English teacher

We have a vacancy for an English teacher who is confident with teaching GCSE &  A Levels. A chance to work in a challenging and unpredictable environment.

Congratulations to Lloyd!

Congratulations to Lloyd who was Ordained as a Deacon by the Bishop of  Ely on the 30th June 2019. On a beautiful sunlit day in the magnificent Ely Cathedral with its exquisite stained glass windows, we were honoured as members of CCHS and former colleagues of Lloyd to be in invited to be witnesses as he was ordained as a Deacon.

Thank you!

Thank you to Lysiane and family for kindly donating an electric piano to our school - just when our old one broke!

#FridayConversation

Janette and Maria presented Well at School at the RSA Rawthmells Friday Conversations and enjoyed a stimulating conversation about mental health and wellbeing in schools.

Thank you Fara Kids Charity Shop

A HUGE THANK YOU to our local Fara Kids Charity shop for donating such lovely items for Charlotte to take with her to Uganda for the Mother & Baby unit. Good luck & Bon voyage Charlotte!

Making Your Mark Project - A collaboration with Armenia, Sweden and Ireland

Two members of our staff, Shaun Dolan (Artist in Residence) and Charlotte Thorpe (English Coordinator for Key Stage 1 and 2) have been very busy working with other countries on their project 'Making Your Mark'.

The Friday Conversation with Well at School

Well at School will be presenting at the Friday Conversation this Friday 14/06 at 12pm at RSA, London. Join us!

Thank you Mountain Warehouse

The teachers at Lavender Walk would like to send a THANK YOU to Beth and Kel at Mountain Warehouse, for donating reusable water cannisters to our young people. We've been focusing on making our classroom more sustainable, reducing waste and single-use plastic, and this definitely helps!

Celebrating the 300th anniversary of Westminster Hospital

The thanksgiving service was held on 23 May 2019, at Westminster Abbey, the original Westminster Hospital was built in 1840 in Broad Sanctuary, just opposite the Abbey.

Newsletter

Read the latest Well at School Newsletter

Vacancies

We currently have vacancies for two teachers, a finance officer, and an IT support engineer. Click for more details.

Open Day

Come to our Open Day and find out all about our Hospital School on 27th June from 4pm - 6pm at our Chelsea and Westminster school site.  Please let Karen know if you would like to attend on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 02033158672

Getting the best for your child - advice for parents and carers

We have written Advice for parents/carers to enable parents/carers to work with a child’s school to get the help they need to continue accessing education whatever their medical or mental health condition.

Marie is our new Youth Mental Health First Aider

One of our teachers, Marie, recently attended NIMH's Youth Mental Health First Aiders course. Read her review here.

Sponsor our Sensory Room

Emily, a mental health nurse, is running 10k to raise money for equipment for the sensory room at Lavender Walk. Please sponsor her here!

Newsletter

Check out the latest Well at School newsletter here:

And you can sign up for future newsletters here.

Happy Easter!

Students and staff came together for an Easter celebration in the Chapel of St Stephen at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. Students shared their work: poetry and singing. Happy Easter from all of us!

Well done swimmers!

A huge thank you to everyone who sponsored John, Lala and Rachael for swimming 5k to raise money for our new Lavender Walk unit - together we raised £826.77!

Baroness Mary Warnock

We were saddened to hear of the passing of Baroness Mary Warnock. We remember her launching Well at School back in 2011. Read our Well at School blog post.

Sparks - our new Erasmus project

Sparks is our new Erasmus project on well being, with partner schools from Germany, Hungary, Ireland and Poland. Find out more: www.sparkswb.eu

Thank you Sponsors!

A huge thank you to everyone who sponsored Martin for running the half marathon to raise money for our holiday programme - together we raised £645!

Exam Stress, Reintegration and DLD

Read the latest newsletter from Well at School

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)

Take a look at the new section on DLD on our Well at School website