Director of the Waterloo Hospital School for Young Patients is recognized by the King

The head of the Evelina Hospital School, which enables young patients to gain an education, has been awarded an MBE.

Anne Hamilton, who lives between Lambeth and Croydon, has been the head of the school for eleven years – having to weather sometimes severe storms, including when a child is very ill and dies.

The 57-year-old man told him News: “We work in a children’s hospital and the experience of losing a child can be unexpected and shocking or expected and managed.”

She said that because of the nature of the job, staff are expected to be very resilient and this is explained to them right from the interview.

“The well-being of my team is a priority for the school,” she said, explaining that they are offered things like yoga and meditation, and she makes sure to always check on them.

“It’s important to model a good work-life balance and every member of staff is encouraged to do more and talk about their own.”

Prior to working at Evelina, she worked for the Home Schooling Service and Wandsworth Hospital for 17 years. She was recently awarded an MBE for 30 years of steadfast service to education.

On hearing the news, Ms Hamilton said she was “delighted”.

She explained, “It’s a real-time recognition of my career accomplishments and values ​​as an educator.”

Asked the best part of her role now, she said: “Being able to lead by my values, always making sure that every child counts every day.”

The biggest challenge, she explained, was working in a hospital school, where children’s medical needs must always be considered.

Mrs. Hamilton is known for taking a personalized approach to teaching. “When you educate, you want to focus on the whole child and find time for mind-broadening subjects.”

A few years ago, the council asked her to support a “talented” boy with medical needs who was being educated at home.

“We visited the family and put in a comprehensive GCSE support program from the school. This involved a remote work schedule as well as ensuring access to adequate resources such as broadband and a laptop.”

She said that, as was the case during COVID-19, teacher evaluations were used. So with their help he managed to get his GCSEs, including one in French, after getting the support of a French teacher. He then went on to sixth form at a school in Southwark and then to university.

“Without (our) intervention, his studies would have been suspended.”

Growing up in Lambeth, she said her mother was a ‘big influence on me’, commenting: ‘I was given the freedom and space to grow and become a well-rounded person. I was inspired by the love of learning and curiosity.”

It was this that encouraged her to pursue a career in education so that she could create a place where children could be inspired as she was.

Her own son, a middle school teacher, has carried on the family tradition, “something I’m so proud of,” she said.