School in hospital: exploratory survey on the situation of the Roman units of oncological pediatrics.

The school is the structure better defines the daily life of every child. More than whichever other activity, school represents, for children with oncological disease, a mark of continuity and a sign of acknowledgment as child more than patient. It performs three main tasks: preserving the educational purpose, distracting the child and fostering elaboration of emotional experiences in a pleasant context. Currently in Italy the activities of school in hospital is regulated by numerous circulars of Ministry of Education and some Interdepartmental Understanding Protocols: that is, an organic normative about school in hospital doesn’t still exist, in spite of the numerous bills introduced in Parliament and never approved of. The exploratory survey carried out in the units of oncological pediatrics of Rome has the aim to verify the actual realization of the different provisions of law and the ways in which the scholastic service is effectively organized. This preliminary analysis reveals that the hospital schools aren’t in keeping with the provisions in force. In detail, the problematic nodes are the shortage of: suitable spaces, educational staff with specific training and collaboration between teacher and the forwarding school - essential for the educational process’ continuity - and between teacher and health workers - fundamental for the purpose of a overall taken into care. An appropriate scholastic service could allow the child - in the anonymous and depersonalized hospital environment - both to preserve sense of control of situations and to experience themselves as independent, with positive effects on the medical treatments too.