Supporting creative learning for children in hospital

At the Old Royal Naval College (ORNC), we believe that learning and creativity should be accessible to all children, including those receiving care in hospitals.  

Through our partnership with Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust (LGT) at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich and the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, we provide interactive educational sessions every six to eight weeks, designed in collaboration with the Hospital Schools Team – a ‘school trip’ taken to the hospital. 

These sessions cover themes linked to the hospital school curriculum map and are inspired by the history of ORNC, providing children and their families with engaging, hands-on activities. Workshops include arts and crafts, model-making, and object handling that bring to life the stories, art and architecture of this UNESCO World Heritage site in the heart of Greenwich.  

Art and creativity offer hope, interaction, joy and relaxation for children in hospital. Since the programme started in Spring 2019, we have run 25 sessions, engaging approximately 178 children and accompanying family and hospital staff. 

Our goal is to give children facing illness a chance to explore their creativity, reduce stress, and provide a sense of accomplishment. The programme ensures children continue learning in a fun, relaxed way, even in the hospital, while offering a welcome distraction from treatment. This can take place in school rooms, playrooms, wards or outpatient units depending on the hospital. It’s also a way to foster a sense of ownership over their local heritage, particularly for families from underserved areas in the borough. 

In one session, we invite children to explore replica objects linked to the Tudor period. This leads to interesting discussions about rich and poor societies, both in Tudor times to modern day society. Another popular activity is linked to Black History Month where participants produce artwork inspired by Afrofuturist artists such as Lina Iris Viktor and with a broad theme of travel, linking to the history of sailors who had come from all over the world, living at the then named Royal Hospital for Seamen, now the ORNC. This session proved very popular and produced a good body of work, not only with the children but also with some of the accompanying adults.  

Other sessions have included subjects such as the constellations linking to navigation; ‘mask-making’, linking superheroes to Ancient Greek mythology; ‘Tudor diets’, linking to healthy eating; and ‘impossible creatures’, linking to animals that feature on the Painted Ceiling.  

As a charity, one of our key aims is to share the significance of this place with as many people as possible, making history accessible and connecting people to the Old Royal Naval College through our learning and community engagement. 

I am particularly proud that our Hospital School Outreach Programme was shortlisted for the 2023 Museum + Heritage Awards in the Learning Programme of the Year category. This initiative not only benefits the children, siblings and parents, but strengthens our ties to the local community and helps hospital and Old Royal Naval College staff develop new skills. It is a recognition of the collaborative work undertaken by our learning team and the Hospital School staff. 

Ellen Lee, Schools Programme Manager at Old Royal Naval College says: “I find my role incredibly rewarding knowing that through art, history, and imagination, I can provide a momentary escape with play and creativity, hopefully having a lasting positive impact on the well-being of both patients and their families. It gives me and the team a real sense of purpose to hear the difference we make.”

A hospital teacher at Royal Marsden Hospital, said, “The session was well planned and well resourced. It was inclusive and adaptive to meet a range of learning needs and ages.  Both Ellen and Anne have a wonderful way with pupils to make them feel comfortable and ready to learn. Once again thank you so much for your time and efforts in making this such a lovely session for our pupils.”    

We are very pleased to have extended our pioneering ‘Young Explorer Pass’ to our hospital pupils, who are able to, when ready, visit the Painted Hall with their family for free using the voucher, providing much needed respite, relaxation and something to look forward to.  

It is encouraging to see growing interest from other hospitals in Greenwich and Lewisham in our outreach programme. However, expanding our reach will require additional support to increase our capacity and resources. Your support and donations, big or small, help us continue this important work. 

Find out how you can support our work to conserve and share our historic site with all.