My First Time at HOPE

This might sound crazy, but I never really thought of other hospital schools around the world. I knew they existed, but I never really considered how they could be different. My team suggested that I could present at the conference, which sounded mad two years ago. As it turned out, my fellow CCHS colleague, Tatyana, and I would present together, sharing our experiences of the hospital school and our home schools, and what we would like to see changed.   

I had no idea what to expect. Would it be formal? Would it be awkward? Can I speak in front of people? Would anyone turn up to listen to us? When I saw that as part of our ID badges, it would say UNITED KINGDOM, it reminded me of a film I watched as a kid where Mary–Kate and Ashley were US students in a UN student debate team, and they were representing the UK (random I know!). 

The Rocky Road to Dublin 

You may have heard of the Rocky Road to Dublin, and that could not be truer than the two weeks leading up to the Congress. I started with a sore throat, thinking it was hay fever. But as a few days passed, I realised that this was not hay fever. It turns out I had a powerful head cold. I was coughing, out of breath, tired, and had a few fevers. I saw my Cystic Fibrosis team (who would have admitted me) who gave me antibiotics and increased steroids to help with airways. I was not the only one wondering if they would make it to HOPE. Tatyana was also facing medical issues that could jeopardise her trip. We kept messaging each other to see how the other was doing and fitting in rehearsals when we could on video calls. We were not in the best shape, and knew we would have to rest a lot, but by hook or by crook, we made it to Dublin on 13th May.     

After travelling to Dublin (where I filmed so much footage for a social media post, you would think this was my first time on a plane), Tayana and I got a taxi to the hotel and settled in. Martin messaged us to let us know that there was an evening reception at Dublin City Hall and to be ready by 6:30. When we entered the hall, a stunning dome-shaped building, we found a lovely choir singing, accompanied by appetisers and drinks. We were able to see Martin, Maria, and Shaun and take in the atmosphere, but we found it odd, as it was our first HOPE Congress, so we didn't know anyone outside of CCHS. However, we struck up a conversation with some people and looked around the hall. Unfortunately, we had to leave a bit early as the day's travel was taking its toll, and we were getting hungry, so we ate dinner at Eddie's Rockets and walked back to the hotel for an early night.    

On Your Marks Get Set - GO!  

The first official day of HOPE began with an opening assembly led by HOPE President Jan Haverkate and Fergal McNamara, chair of the team organising the Dublin congress. We then were able to listen to a panel of current hospital school students with a range of conditions, both mental and physical. This was an insightful and, unfortunately, reaffirming talk, as it confirmed what our speech was about: that not much had changed from our time at school to theirs. After this, it was a matter of choosing what we wanted to see, ranging from speaking presentations to workshops (we had to pre-book in the morning to attend these each day). My first talk was about the link between school practice and students with mental health issues, as well as their impact on school absences, presented by Tara Bell from the UK.  

I also saw a talk on supporting returning students with acquired brain injuries by Dr Avril Carely and the team from Ireland. Plus, I saw a talk about returning to school after absenteeism by Tiina-Reetta and the team from Finland. These were fantastic talks, and I was able to get great ideas for future blog/social media posts (stay tuned). 

 I also saw a talk about a dollhouse that children with mainly neuropsychiatric and eating disorders in Italy made, where the children created every part of the furniture and decorated the house. They then created a 360-degree view of the house to tell a story that flows through the miniature house. 

Team CCHS 

We went to see Shaun's workshop for support, although he didn't need it, as the room was so full that hotel staff were helping to find more chairs. He explained his job role and how art can help a child open up about what is worrying them and how art can help connect with a child. He also showcased some work and projects done by students in the UK, as well as collaborations with other hospital school students. He also got people in the room to get involved by assigning them different tasks. Some were given colouring-in jobs, using blue or red magazine paper, while others had sunflowers that the children had made and covered in a glue substance, allowing them to scratch a design into it. Tatyana and I helped hand items out and collect them back for Shaun to arrange into their version of Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers, which was impressive.  

Have you ever gone into a film, not entirely sure what you're going to see, but the title sounds good? Well, that's what I did with this last talk of the day. The Monkey in My Chair by Aisling Byrne and Lorraine Mitchell from Ireland. This could have been anything (hoping there was no real monkey), which there wasn't, but a big toy one—a project for primary school children. When a child is in the hospital, a toy monkey can sit in their class, even in their chair, to help their classmates understand that even if someone is not there, they are still part of the class. Some children in the class had been reported to talk or comfort the Monkey as if it were that child who should be there. The child in the hospital has a smaller version of the Monkey with them to keep them connected to the class.  The team was working on their version, as this was from America, and they wanted it to be tailored to an Irish family, with a book about the child's condition, to explain to the class why their friend was absent. It turned out they were not the only Irish hospital school, working on an Irish version of 'Monkey in My Chair' and could be a collaborative project. 

The Time Has Come 

We began on Thursday with a talk from the Irish Children's Commissioner, Dr Niall Muldoon, who discussed his role and journey as the Irish Commissioner for Children and how he is working to build a system centred on a child's voice. 

Thursday at 11am was our presentation day. Both of us were nervous, and I was worried about timing, as I knew other people had struggled. We also didn't have as much time to practice in person because we were both unwell. Additionally, we were both starting to feel the effects of the travel and the entire event, but we still wanted to present. After a brief technical issue with getting our presentation up on the screen (thankfully, the tech team sorted it out), we waited for the tea break to end and see if anyone turned up. Martin, Maria, and Shaun were all there to support us, and in the end, around 40 people came to hear us. There was a slight delay which didn't help with our nerves, but before we knew it, our presentation had begun. First, we discussed individual stories accompanied by childhood photos, and then we talked about what we wanted to see change for kids in the hospital and home school education in the future. Our jokes got laughs, people related to our story, and thankfully, nobody left.  Martin filmed our speech (now available on the Well at School website), and afterwards, all our team came up and told us they were proud of us, with some even having tears in their eyes. We had a few questions after, and even another hospital schoolteacher told us his childhood story with epilepsy. We were ecstatic that we had done it. I stayed to watch the following presentation, which was about the role of hospital schoolteachers in monitoring the functional skills of children undergoing highly invasive treatments by Jolan Belt-Kuntez and the team from the Netherlands.  

 We were tired from nerves and the whole event, so we went back to our rooms to rest and take it all in. 

A Well-Known Secret Garden 

Being in Dublin we couldn't leave without seeing some of this historic city. After coming down from the high of presenting we decided to look at Dublin Castle and its gardens. Unfortunately, we did not do the tour as we were both tired and in pain, but the castle gardens were stunning. They were enhanced by the glorious sunshine, from the flowers to the Gardi (police) memorial garden sculptures and the small free museum, which featured a history section of books and religious items.   

Oh Goodness My Guinness  

Thursday night, HOPE organised a social event at a place called The Church, a 20-minute walk from the hotel. The church was a bar and restaurant that used to be a church, but it was stunningly renovated, keeping the original architecture intact. We were in the downstairs bar (we found out after accidentally going upstairs and then having to go all the way down a winding staircase). We were given two drink vouchers, which, of course, I used my first one for a Guinness and blackcurrant (I had to). There was a great Céili Band (traditional Irish music) that played modern songs with an Irish twist and taught the crowd how to do some Irish dancing. Everyone was in fine form, and it was a great way to talk to people from the conference.   

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Adieu 

Before we knew it was the last day of HOPE. What happened? I swear it's only been the first day! Next was the poster presentation. Well at School had a poster to present, so Martin, Maria and I stood by it and answered questions people had about Well at School. A few people came up to me and said they had seen our speech the previous day, and we had handed out all our mini posters. I then had to go upstairs to finish packing and, WWE-style, try to close my case. Then, it was the General Assembly, where Jan Haverkate stepped down as president and became a HOPE ambassador, and Fergal McNamara was elected the new HOPE president. It was also announced where the next HOPE will be held in 2027, but as that is not 100%, I won't spill the tea here.   

As I sit and reflect on my first HOPE conference, I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend. Often, whether you are a student or in a hospital school you can usually feel isolated. Within a support bubble, but the outside world does not understand. Coming to HOPE showed me that the support bubble is, in fact, worldwide, which is both comforting and sad because we are all in a similar boat, wishing for a cruise (more funding and understanding). The best part was seeing that everyone was not just taking things as they were but wanted to improve and move forward, whether in their own countries or within HOPE.  HOPE is not just a place for sharing information and experience by hospital educators, but for all educators, and I highly recommend it if you are in education and can get to one you should (even if I am not guaranteed to be presenting!).