Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2016
Children who are admitted to hospital for short or long periods of time are affected by the medical circumstances in which they find themselves, but they are also disadvantaged by their inability to continue attending their local schools. In many Western countries, hospital school services are provided to meet the needs of this group of special students. This paper overviews the development of hospital school services, the role they play in the medical and educational welfare of hospitalised children, and the importance of their existence in fulfilling the social justice goal of education for all students.