My child with cancer goes to private school … so he can't learn in hospital
Councillors have been accused of 'bashing' private schools that refuse to provide lessons for their pupils when they are ill in hospital for months with cancer.
Parents who pay for education have described how their children are prevented from joining state-school patients in the ward classroom at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh.
Privately educated children with cancer, and other serious conditions, are excluded from the hospital teaching service unless a fee of £115 per hour — more than double the typical cost of cover teachers or home tuition — is paid by the families or their schools.
In an escalating row Edinburgh city council has written to all private schools in the capital to remind them of this situation. The council is also writing to the Scottish government, asking if it plans to review its guidance on the matter, which the city claims to be following.
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