When children and young people are out of school for medical reasons, they become isolated from their friends and school. This project aims to increase understanding of learner isolation in partnership with children and young people who are users of the Leeds City Council Medical Needs Teaching Service (MNTS).
Children and young people who use the MNTS will help to design and conduct the research. We will develop a series of principles for reducing learning isolation and share these with individuals interested in the education of learners with medical needs. We will also consider the best way to produce research in partnership with children and young people who may be isolated and prevented from meeting other people face-to-face.
This project meets Leeds City Council areas of research interest in ‘Health and Wellbeing – Integration of health and social care and community support in reducing health inequalities’, and Inclusive Growth. We will promote inclusive education practices enabling children to make academic progress while out of school. The project aims to address inequality in education by identifying ways to reduce learner isolation. It will generate economic and societal impact by supporting children with medical needs to thrive as they grow up, having the same opportunities as their peers who receive education at school.
This project was funded by the 2023–2024 Research England Participatory Research Fund.