The robots helping children go back to school

The robots are designed to support a child's emotional needs and get them back to class

Robots are being used to give emotional support to children who struggle to go to school.

The machines, being offered to pupils in Wirral, help pupils share their feelings using a microphone, emoji expressions and lights.

The robots have already been used in a local pilot and have helped improve attendance rates by 21%, the council said.

Councillor Stephen Bennett said it might "sound far-fetched or futuristic" but the robots had "already had a significant real-life impact".

Twelve AV1 robots are available to help children who experience emotionally based school avoidance (ESBA) in the Wirral Borough.

“This work has been overseen by the Local Area SEND Partnership Board and is a key project to help children with additional needs, attend school and succeed in their learning,” Mr Bennett said.

ESBA is a term used to describe children who have severe difficulty in attending school as a result of emotional factors.

'Build confidence'

The device, which is brought to school with the young person, allows them to access a one-way live stream and communicate via a microphone.

The pilot, which took place from April to July, involved seven Wirral schools where official attendance scores of the pupils who used the AV1 improved on average by 21%.

The number of hours that pupils engaged with lessons improved by 42%.

A representative of a Wirral specialist secondary school involved in the pilot said: “When fully connecting, the student has enjoyed the experience.

"There is clearly lots of potential for building relationships and confidence in learning.”

The AV1 will be used as a short-term intervention tool to allow the young person to gradually re-integrate back into the school system, the council said.

The local authority said EBSA training was also being offered to all schools in the borough, with staff from 84% of Wirral schools having already received it.

Wirral is the first authority in Merseyside to adopt the robots and incorporate them into a formal offer for young people in the borough.

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