A Merseyside first: How robots are helping some Wirral children go to school

Move over R2-D2! A fleet of robots, yes robots, are helping Wirral children to return to school!

The robots have been designed to help children and young people with emotional based school avoidance (ESBA). For some kids, mental health needs, bullying, moving to a new school or experiencing lots of change at home can lead to long term absence from school.

Wirral now has 12 ‘AV1’ robots available to support children and young people who are struggling with ESBA and can’t be in school. The robots sit at the student’s desk in the classroom and live stream the lesson back to the young person. The student can join in by talking on the microphone. They can also use lights or emojis to share how they’re feeling with their teacher and classmates. One Wirral school even took their AV1 robot on a school trip. This meant that the whole class was included and the young person at home could take part in the visit in a way that was comfortable for them!

Sound futuristic? The robots have already improved engagement in lessons for children involved in a local pilot scheme.

The successful pilot scheme took place from April to July 2024 at seven Wirral schools. The official attendance scores of the pupils who used the AV1 robot in the pilot improved on average by 21%. The number of hours that pupils engaged with lessons improved by 42%.

Cllr Stephen Bennett, Chair of Wirral’s Children, Families and Education committee, said: “We all know the importance of school attendance to improve outcomes for children and young people.

“But, unlike truanting or ‘bunking off’, the families of young people experiencing EBSA are often aware of their absence from school and the underlying emotional issues attached to it. Many of these families want to do everything they can to work with school and help their child begin attending again.”

Schools will use the robots as a short-term intervention tool only. The aim is to help the young person to gradually feel comfortable coming back into school or re-engage with their learning. With a limited number of robots available, schools will be able to apply to use one on a student by student basis. Applications will be anonymised and discussed by a specialist EBSA panel to ensure impartiality.

Cllr Bennett said: “It may sound far-fetched or futuristic, but this project has already had a significant real-life impact on the children and young people who have been involved in a local pilot. 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.”

The robots are just one part of the local authority’s EBSA strategy. All schools across Wirral have also been offered EBSA training. So far staff from 845 of Wirral schools have now received the training.  For more information on Wirral’s EBSA strategy, visit: https://familytoolbox.co.uk/resource-list/wirrals-support-for-emotionally-based-school-avoidance-ebsa/.

To learn more about EBSA visit EBSA-Fequently-asked-questions-Final-version-16.05.2024.pdf

Wirral’s AV-1 robots have been funded by the Council’s capital programme. Funding from the council’s Capital Programme cannot be used for day-to-day items like running council services. Capital funding can only be used for assets and infrastructure.