In December 2001 the Department for Education and Skills (DIES) published the Access to Education document setting out minimum standard guidelines for the education of children and young people with medical needs Following this they commissioned a research project that aimed to identify examples of effective practice in this area and provide recommendations for local education authority (LEA) officers and for staff in mainstream and hospital schools-services In this article Karen Harris and Peter Farrell present the main findings of this research project and discuss its implications for improving services for this potentially marginalised group of young people.