About Well at School
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About Us

Who we are and what we do

Well at School is a resource helping schools support students with medical and mental health conditions, so they can fully engage in education.

We also provide information for young people and parents and carers.

We work in partnership with health professionals and students and teachers to ensure our content is relevant and up to date

Our Goals

  • Inform young people, parents carers and schools on a range of medical and mental health conditions affecting children and young people.

  • Advise young people, parents carers and schools on how to enable children and young people to fully engage in school life.

  • Promote awareness of the educational needs of children and young people living with medical and mental health conditions. Identify and promote relevant resources and policy guidance.

Well at School is maintained and updated by
Chelsea Community Hospital School.

The section on Kidney conditions was written with help from www.evelina.southwark.sch.uk

The section on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome was written by Prof. Esther Crawley, Dr Roxanne Parslow, Dr Maria Loades and Amberly Brigden at the Centre for Academic Child Health www.bristol.ac.uk/academic-child-health

Background to Well at School

Well at School began in 2010 following an Ofsted inspection at Chelsea Community Hospital School by Janette Steel, Maria Marinho and Martin Dixon.

Feedback from the inspection raised the question of how CCHS shared its breadth of knowledge and experience with the wider school community. It was this challenge that sparked the idea, and subsequent project to develop an online resource that would be accessible to schools and education professionals across the country.  

The site was launched in 2011 by Baroness Warnock who later mentioned the new resource in an address to the House of Lords.  

In 2017 it was agreed the resource needed an update and relaunch to enable it to harness the growth in social media and online communities. In the years following, the reach of the website grew hugely, not only in England, but across Europe, the US and Australia.  

Participation by the project team in conferences in London, Oxford and at the bi-annual HOPE conference raised the profile further. Work was done to translate the site into other languages, supported by HOPE.

Additionally, a big expansion of all areas of the website, a new podcast series, and active social media presence across platforms has helped the website remain responsive to wider educational developments.  

In late Autumn of 2023, a new member joined Well at School bringing social media experience and lived experience to the team. This expertise will be central to a new strand of the website focused directly on young people.  

In the autumn of 2024 the website was redesigned and relaunched, broadening the audience base to include young people, parents and carers, as well as schools.

About us