Special needs · Medical needs and long-term illness
Keep learning through treatment, from home or hospital
Pencil Spaces keeps students with medical needs learning from home or hospital, with lessons that move around treatment, work saved between lessons and recordings to catch up.
Free for 2 weeks on any paid plan. No credit card required.
Area
Physical and medical needs
Who it helps
Children with long-term illness, including cancer, hospital schools, home and medical tuition teams, charities and families
What lessons need
Flexibility, continuity, catch-up, access from a bed or ward, connection with school
In Pencil Spaces
6 features available today
Customer story
Part of
What helps children with medical needs in an online lesson?
Long-term illness can take a child out of school for weeks or months: hospital stays, treatment days and time at home with low immunity. Online lessons keep learning going, and keep a child connected to it, when the classroom isn’t possible.
- Join from a bed or wardAny Device · AvailablePencil Spaces runs in the browser on Chromebooks, laptops, tablets and phones, with touch and stylus input.
- Work waits for themPersistent Spaces · AvailableBoards stay in the Space between lessons, so work resumes after a hard week or a hospital stay.
- Lessons that move with treatmentScheduling · AvailableSchedule and move lessons around treatment, with the link built in.
- Catch up laterSession Recording · AvailableLessons are recorded to the cloud, so students can watch them again in Pencil Spaces and pause or rewind as they need.
- Small groups, own boardsPrivate Boards · AvailableIn a small group, each child works on their own board while the teacher stays on video with everyone.
- A recap for familiesLesson Summaries · AvailableAn automatic recap of each lesson, with action items, comes in versions for the student, the parent and the tutor.
Customer story
- BemorefabCustomer storyA free virtual school for children whose schooling is interrupted by cancer treatment
The features behind it
Why can online lessons be hard for children with medical needs?
Illness doesn’t keep a timetable. A child can be well enough to learn on Tuesday and too tired on Wednesday, and packs of work sent home rarely get done.
Every gap makes going back harder. Losing touch with learning can feel like losing touch with normal life.
What does a lesson look like in Pencil Spaces?
A child on a treatment day joins from a tablet in a hospital bed. The teacher’s face and last week’s phonics board are there.
They drag letters on screen for fifteen minutes, then stop. The next lesson picks up exactly where they left off.
Tips for teaching children with medical needs online
- Plan short, flexible lessons, and expect changes.
- Keep work in one place, so nothing is lost between lessons.
- Stay in touch with the child’s school, and follow its curriculum where possible.
- Check with the family and medical team about energy, infection risk and timing.
- Keep the connection alive. A friendly face matters as much as the work.
Questions people ask
Can children keep learning online during cancer treatment?
Yes. Bemorefab runs a free virtual school in Pencil Spaces for children whose schooling is interrupted by cancer treatment. UK-qualified teachers teach one to one or in small groups, and boards stay in the Space so work resumes after a hard week.
Does Pencil Spaces work in hospital?
Pencil Spaces runs in the browser on tablets, laptops and phones, with nothing to install. A child can join from a ward or bed with an internet connection. Hospital networks vary, so check the connection first.
Can lessons be rescheduled around treatment?
Yes. Programs schedule and move lessons in Pencil Spaces, with reminders by email and text. The permanent link stays the same, so a moved lesson is never hard to find.
How do students catch up on missed lessons?
If your program records lessons, students can watch them again in Pencil Spaces. Lesson summaries set out what was covered, and every board stays in the Space for the next lesson.
See it in a live Space.
We’ll walk you through it, shaped around how you teach.
