Awards

Our vision is to be the national benchmark for hospital education. Here are some of the awards and nominations that recognise the excellent work of the staff and students and the Oxfordshire Hospital School.

The Oxfordshire Hospital School (OHS) has been awarded the Innovative use of technology to influence outcomes award at the prestigious Tes Schools Awards 2019!

The Tes awards were held in London on Friday 21st June and a very proud team of staff members attended the ceremony where the OHS had been shortlisted for three Tes Schools Awards: Community and collaboration, Innovative use of technology to influence outcomes and Alternative provision (including Hospital Schools) school of the year.

The OHS submission for the Innovative use of technology to influence outcomes award included the use of Virtual Reality in lessons, the ‘Hospital Hubbub’ podcasts and the ‘Robots in Schools’ project – which allows pupils to take part in mainstream lessons and extracurricular activities without physically being in the classroom.

The judges said: “This gives a little bit more light to pupils with a long-term illness, including cancer and those who are terminally ill. It allows them to be with their friends and part of a school community.”

The judges concluded: “Although the standard of entries was extremely high, Oxfordshire Hospital School shone out in the way that it used technology to try to help with a very human issue. A very worthy winner.”

OHS wins Creative Learning Guild Award

Catherine Costello, Curriculum Leader for English and the Arts at the OHS, has won a Creative Learning Guild Award, on behalf of the Oxfordshire Hospital School, for the innovative ‘Poetry Conversations on the Hospital Hubbub’ project, in which a series of podcasts were created in collaboration with the radio producer, Penny Boreham.

The brilliant project came out on top in the ‘Digital & Film’ awards category. Catherine was presented with the award on Friday 8th March by Creative Learning Guild member, Rob Young, award-winning writer, artist and former BAFTA Screenplay judge. Rob said: “Hospital Hubbub Poetry Podcast is the distilled essence of low-cost, high impact, patient centred healthcare, bringing well-being to society’s most vulnerable in a positive, pro-active and truly innovative format. It demonstrates, beautifully, how one woman can plant a seed and many flowers bloom ‘and then some’ because it is not just a one-off event, it is a template that can be replicated so the seed becomes a meadow.”

Catherine said: “I was very proud to receive the award on behalf of all those involved in this poetry project. Many thanks to the OHS staff, in particular Caron Houchen and Juliet Wraith, who shared their own inspirational poems in lessons; welcomed poets, writers and artists into their classrooms and helped to plan, create and present the podcasts at the Oxford Festival of the Arts.

“Thanks must also go to Ruth Charity from Artlink, at the Oxford Hospitals Charity, for her support in getting the project off the ground and of course to Penny for her wonderful expertise in creating such high quality podcasts.

“However, the young people involved deserve the heartiest congratulations of all: their resilience, wisdom and positive energy, in the face of personal difficulties, is a continual inspiration.”

Click here to visit the OHS news page to hear some of the podcasts.

Selected podcasts will also form part of a ‘Listening Post’ at the ‘Healing Spaces – Child Health in Oxford’ exhibition’: April 26th to 24th August 2019, at the Gallery, Museum of Oxford. This exhibition has been created in close collaboration with the Oxfordshire Hospital School. Look out for more details about the exhibition in April’s newsletter.

Robot project shortlisted for Creative Learning Guild Award

Our telepresence robot project was shortlisted for a Creative Learning Guild Award in the category of SEND Achievement. The news was featured on BBC Radio Oxford’s Breakfast Club show with David Prever. Assistant Headteacher James Shryane was in the studio along with Wood Green School pupil Adam and his mum Sam. The interview was a follow up on our first appearance on the show in June 2018.

You can listen to the radio feature here:

For more information, see our Robots in School project page.

Here’s what the Creative Learning Guild judge said about the project:

“New technologies are an exciting way forward to ensure more opportunities for disabled children and young people to not only participate in the learning environment, but also to be involved in a whole myriad of extra curricular activities.  These digital natives will certainly teach us older ones how to lead into a future that ensures inclusion at every level.” Awards Judge Canon Ruth Gould MBE, DL, FRSA

OHS wins third Investors in Pupils Award

Investors in Pupils is a programme which is very highly valued within schools and by Ofsted. It provides a unique pupil participation framework for schools and is built on the principle of valuing pupils views and opinions and giving them a voice in the running of the school.

The OHS has once again been recognised by the national Investors in Pupils award scheme for our commitment to promoting student voice and empowering our pupils to participate fully in their learning.

We have held the prestigious Investors in Pupils award for the last six years, having previously won two awards, each of which lasts for three years.

To read more please click the Newsletter link  –  BESPOKE

Artsmark Gold Award

Artsmark has a common sense application process that is light on paperwork and flexible to each school. … Artsmark supports Arts Award which recognises the creative development of individual young people. Schools are awarded Silver, Gold or Platinum, based on their achievements.

In the spring term, we became one of only three hospital schools in the UK to be awarded a coveted Artsmark Gold Award from Arts Council England, for our work bringing learning to life through a rich artistic and cultural education.

To read more please click the Newsletter link  –  BESPOKE

OHS Shortlisted for NASEN Award

In October 2018, the OHS was shortlisted for a NASEN (National Association for Special Educational Needs) Award.

NASEN is the leading organisation that represents and supports special educational needs education and teachers.

Its annual award ceremony, which was held in London on 19th October 2018, recognises and celebrates best practice teaching that benefits children and young people with special and additional educational needs and disabilities.

We were shortlisted in the Excellent Practice in Special School or Provision category, and although we didn’t win on the night, it has been brilliant to have our work recognised in this way, and to raise awareness of the role that we and our fellow hospital schools play in the special educational needs sector.

To find out more, visit http www.nasen.org.uk

Values based Education

The OHS has become the first hospital school in the UK, and one of only 10 schools overall, to be awarded an International Values-based Education Trust (IVET) Enhanced Quality Mark in recognition of the effectiveness of the values-based education we provide.

The award reflects our work to teach positive human values such as respect, integrity, honesty and compassion as part of our everyday curriculum, to live and work by these values, and to show our pupils how to do so too. In this way we believe we can help our pupils to develop

Oxfordshire Hospital School teacher wins award for inspirational music teaching

Higher Level Teaching Assistant Maria Price won the Most Inclusive Music Initiative award at the Oxfordshire Music Hub Gala Awards for her work with children at the Oxford Children’s Hospital and Helen House.

Maria was nominated for the award by Oxfordshire County Music Service teacher Corrine Watts. She and Maria have worked together for two years, delivering a variety of weekly music-based teaching sessions including singing and playing the ukulele and percussion instruments

To read more please click the Newsletter link  –  BESPOKE

OHS teacher recognised at Hospitals’ excellence awards

We are delighted to announce that OHS teacher Ruth Jervis was shortlisted in the prestigious Oxfordshire University Hospitals Staff Recognition Awards.

She was nominated in the Award for Excellence category in recognition of her tireless dedication and hugely successful teaching work with children and young people suffering from chronic pain.

To read more please click the Newsletter link  –  BESPOKE