School Services

Who Can Attend

 
Anyone from Kindergarten to Grade 12 who is:

• An inpatient
• An outpatient, visiting the hospital for appointments or treatments
• A school aged sibling of a patient
• A child of a BC Women’s Hospital patient

Those who are unable to attend are supported in their rooms in the afternoon.

Accessing our Services

• Alert you child’s health care team to your concerns about school.
• With the approval of your child’s health care team, bring your child to the school room in the morning.
• If possible, phone in advance to speak to one of our in-hospital teachers and bring work from your child’s school teacher to ensure continuity and relevancy of studies. 

Schoolroom Hours & Location

9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Regular school holidays apply.
There is no school in the summer.


The Schoolroom is located in Room 3F5, on the 3rd floor of the main BC Children’s Hospital building.

Contact Us

Contact one of our teachers.

Diana Duncan Teacher Tel: 604-875-2345, local 7655 Toll-free in B.C. only: 1-888-300-3088, local 7655 Email dduncan3@cw.bc.ca

Lorri Taylor Teacher Tel: 604-875-2345, local 7691 Toll-free in B.C. only: 1-888-300-3088, local 7691 Email: lytaylor@cw.bc.ca

Sandra Garfinkel Teacher Tel: 604-875-2345, local 7656 Toll-free in B.C. only: 1-888-300-3088, local 7656 Email: sgarfinkel@cw.bc.ca

Keeping your child's studies up-to-date

Ask your child’s teacher to prepare school work to bring to the hospital, or contact us and we'll arrange to have the work prepared for you. If advanced planning is not possible, we can call the school after your child has arrived at the hospital.

We follow the direction of the child's teachers, but we know the curriculum and can offer an appropriate educational program for most students.  We focus on the basic subjects as we don't have facilities or equipment for technical electives.

Staying in touch with teachers and peers

We can relay emails or faxes between the school and the patient. Most hospital units have wireless internet so families can connect to their communities and schools.

Bringing student's textbooks

It is always best for the students to have their own materials to work with, but we have most of the common textbooks used in B.C., with the exception of French Immersion texts.

Leaving the hospital

If your child leaves the hospital, but is unable to return to school, We will contact the district or school to help set up home instruction teachers or teachers on call for your child.

Most districts have teachers available to support students who, due to health reasons or accessibility issues, cannot attend school.