Customer story · Charity virtual school

How Bemorefab keeps children learning through cancer treatment

Bemorefab, a UK children’s cancer charity, runs a free virtual school on Pencil Spaces for children whose schooling stops after a cancer diagnosis. UK-qualified teachers teach them live, one to one and in small groups, from home or from hospital. Since February 2026, they’ve taught more than 460 hours of lessons.

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Virtual school · small groupLive

Phonics and counting

Sound it out

cat

How many?

Next: everyone to their own board

TTeacher

AAva

LLeo

IIsla

Illustration of a small-group lesson. The names and work are made up.

Organisation: Bemorefab Children’s Cancer Charity, registered charity no. 1209136 bemorefab.co.uk ↗
Based in: United Kingdom
Teaches: Children whose schooling is interrupted by cancer treatment, from their first years of school to secondary
Modèle: Free tuition, taught live by UK-qualified teachers, one to one and in small groups
On Pencil Spaces: Since February 2026

Bemorefab at a glance

A virtual school, free to every family.

How Bemorefab’s virtual school runs, in numbers.

4 days

From Bemorefab’s first conversation with us to its first live lesson, in February 2026.

460+

Hours of live lessons its teachers have taught in Pencil Spaces, as of November 3, 2026.

Free

What families pay. Bemorefab’s tuition costs them nothing.

Every lesson is live, with a UK-qualified teacher.

Sources: lesson hours and dates from Pencil Spaces records, February 10 to November 3, 2026. Free tuition from bemorefab.co.uk, Tuition page, read November 3, 2026.

The short version

When treatment stops school, the lessons keep going.

The challenge

Learning that simply stops

A cancer diagnosis can keep a child out of school for months. Hospital stays, treatment days and weeks at home with low immunity leave no room for a normal timetable, and learning can stop altogether.

What Bemorefab did

A virtual school, taught live

Bemorefab set up its tuition on Pencil Spaces in February 2026. UK-qualified teachers teach children one to one and in small groups, wherever treatment has them that day.

What happened

460+ hours, and growing

Its teachers have taught more than 460 hours of live lessons since February. September 2026 was the busiest month yet, and the charity now plans to bring its virtual school to UK hospital schools.

The charity

Started by a family who lived through it.

Bemorefab Children’s Cancer Charity grew out of one family’s experience of childhood cancer, which began in May 2022. They saw how much the support around them helped, and knew not every family facing childhood cancer had the same. Read the family’s story ↗

Today the charity helps children, families and schools in four ways: free tuition, support for schools, a hub that connects families with emotional support and other charities, and awareness work, including encouraging people to join stem cell donor registers.

Who teaches, and who they teach

Andrew Bark, Co-founder and Education Director, leads the charity’s education work. Patrick Tierney, Education Operations and Impact Lead, runs the virtual school day to day. Lessons are taught by UK-qualified teachers, one to one or in small groups, for children from their first years of school to secondary.

Where they can, teachers work with each child’s school. That keeps the child in step with classmates and makes the return to class easier when treatment ends.

Why online, and why live

A child in treatment often can’t sit in a classroom, and on some days can’t leave the house or the ward. A live online lesson brings the teacher to them. It also keeps something normal in the week: a teacher they know, other children at the same board and work that picks up where it left off.

Since February 2026

First call to first lesson, in four days.

Bemorefab didn’t wait for a long rollout. Its teachers started teaching within days and told us what they needed as they went. Here’s how the first nine months went.

February 6, 2026
First conversation
Bemorefab tells our team it wants to teach children with cancer at home and in hospital. Its account is set up the same day.
February 10, 2026
First live lessons
Bemorefab’s teachers start teaching in Pencil Spaces. By the end of February they’ve taught 30 hours.
March 2026
Online activities in the lesson
Teachers open online learning activities inside the Space with the web viewer, so a whole group works on the same one together.
April 2026
A problem on tablets
Teachers tell us that children on tablets can’t drag letters and shapes in some of those activities.
May 20, 2026
Drag and touch, fixed
We ship drag and touch improvements to the web viewer. Every customer using it gets the change.
June 2026
Nearly three times February
Teachers teach almost 86 hours of live lessons in a single month.
September 2026
The busiest month yet
87 hours of live lessons as the new school year starts.
Suivant
Hospital schools
Bemorefab plans to bring its virtual school to the UK hospital school network.

Inside a lesson

What a Bemorefab lesson looks like.

A Bemorefab lesson happens in one Space: the teacher and children on video beside a shared board, with the activities the teacher planned already there.

A board of their own, with the teacher still there

In a small group, each child can work on a board of their own without leaving the lesson. The teacher stays on video with everyone, so no child ends up alone, as they can in a breakout room.

Activities children can touch

Teachers open online phonics and maths activities inside the Space, and the whole group works on the same one. Since May 2026, children on tablets can drag letters, counters and shapes in them.

Work that waits for them

Boards stay in the Space between lessons. After a hospital stay or a hard week, teacher and child pick up where they left off.

One link, wherever the child is

Pencil Spaces runs in the browser on a laptop or tablet, with nothing to install. A child joins from home or a hospital bed with the same link.

Across the charity

A small team, set up to grow.

Bemorefab runs its virtual school from one Pencil Spaces account, looked after by its education team.

One account for the charity

Teachers teach in Spaces on Bemorefab’s account, so lessons, boards and materials stay with the charity as it adds teachers.

Lessons booked around treatment

Lessons are booked through Bemorefab’s virtual school calendar, so they can fit around hospital appointments and treatment days.

Help from inside the lesson

Teachers message our support team from inside Pencil Spaces, and what they ask for goes to the team building it.

Ready for more settings

The same way of teaching fits hospital schools, alternative provision and SEND support. Bemorefab’s next step is the UK hospital school network.

For schools and charities

Teaching children who can’t be in class? Five ideas from Bemorefab’s virtual school.

Start small, and start this week

Bemorefab taught its first lesson four days after its first conversation with us, then improved its setup as its teachers learned what worked.

Keep an adult in every room

Young children working on their own boards still stay in the lesson with their teacher. Bemorefab chose this over breakout rooms, where a child can end up alone.

Bring the activities into the lesson

Opening online activities inside the Space means teachers don’t rebuild them, and the whole group works on the same screen.

Test every activity with a finger

Many children join on a tablet. Before a lesson, try each activity by touch as well as with a mouse.

Stay close to the child’s school

Working with the school where you can keeps the child in step with classmates and makes the return to class easier.

Questions

About Bemorefab and Pencil Spaces.

What is Bemorefab?

Bemorefab Children’s Cancer Charity is a registered UK charity (number 1209136) that helps children, families and schools affected by childhood cancer. It offers free tuition to children whose schooling is interrupted by treatment, support for schools, a hub that connects families with other support, and awareness work, including encouraging people to join stem cell donor registers.

How does Bemorefab teach children during cancer treatment?

Through a free virtual school on Pencil Spaces. UK-qualified teachers teach live lessons, one to one and in small groups, so children can learn from home or from hospital. Each lesson happens in a Space with video and a shared board, and the boards stay there between lessons, so work picks up where it left off.

Can young children use Pencil Spaces on a tablet?

Yes. Pencil Spaces runs in the browser on tablets and laptops, with nothing to install. Children can write and draw on the board with a finger, and since May 2026 they can also drag letters, counters and shapes in online activities their teacher opens in the lesson.

Can children work on their own boards without being left alone?

Yes. In Pencil Spaces each child can work on a board of their own while staying in the lesson, on video with the teacher and the rest of the group. Bemorefab uses this with small groups of young children in place of breakout rooms, so an adult is always there.

Can hospital schools and alternative provision teach this way?

Yes. The same setup works for any team teaching children who can’t be in a classroom, including hospital schools, alternative provision and SEND support. Lessons are live, boards stay in the Space between lessons, and children join from a browser with one link, at home, in hospital or at school.

How can a charity or school get started with Pencil Spaces?

Try Pencil Spaces free for 2 weeks on any paid plan, with no credit card required, and teach a real lesson in your first week. If you’re planning for a team of teachers, get a demo and we’ll help you set up Spaces for your children and groups.

For schools, charities and hospital teams

Let’s plan your virtual school.

See how your teachers, children and lessons would run on Pencil Spaces.