UK: Hospital and Outreach Education granted £500k to provide continued education to children absent from school due to long-term illness.

[MSEsperanza]

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https://www.noisolation.com/global/av1/alternative-provision-innovation-fund/

Hospital and Outreach Education were recently granted with £522,142 to provide continued education to children absent from school due to long-term illness. The grant is a part of The Alternative Provision Innovation Fund, set up by the UK's Department for Education to deepen the evidence base on how to improve outcomes for children in alternative provision.

The project will provide 90 children in key stages 1-5, with No Isolation’s AV1 telepresence robot, in order to allow them to continue ‘attending’ school throughout their treatment. The children, affected by a variety of conditions ranging from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME) and cancer, to mental health illnesses, including anxiety and eating disorders [...].

 

[Andy]

Hospital and Outreach Education were recently granted with £522,142 to provide continued education to children absent from school due to long-term illness. The grant is a part of The Alternative Provision Innovation Fund, set up by the UK's Department for Education to deepen the evidence base on how to improve outcomes for children in alternative provision.

AV1 to help 90 children
The project, in partnership with No Isolation and 10 alternative provision schools across the country, aims to support the education of children suffering from long-term physical and mental illness through the introduction of AV1 robots, which would enable the children to virtually attend school, socialise with classmates and remain connected to their home schools and communities. In addition to improving the overall levels of education, the collaboration also aims to minimise the impact that school absence can have on a child’s friendships, mental wellbeing and future prospects. Using AV1 will ensure that the child remains an active part of their school community, even if they are being treated outside of their home county, easing the transition of the pupil back into full-time education wherever possible.


The project will provide 90 children in key stages 1-5, with No Isolation’s AV1 telepresence robot, in order to allow them to continue ‘attending’ school throughout their treatment. The children, affected by a variety of conditions ranging from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME) and cancer, to mental health illnesses, including anxiety and eating disorders

https://www.noisolation.com/global/av1/alternative-provision-innovation-fund/

 

[MSEsperanza]

Evaluation of the alternative provision innovation fund - GOV.UK

An independent evaluation of the alternative provision innovation fund launched in March 2018 to improve outcomes for children in alternative provision.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-alternative-provision-innovation-fund

Documents published 21 May 2021 that mention the Hospital and Outreach Education project on telepresence robots:

1. Evaluation of the Alternative Provision Innovation Fund (PDF), p. 17:

https://assets.publishing.service.g...the_Alternative_Provision_Innovation_Fund.pdf

"Technology as an enabler and a barrier to AP innovation... from Hospital and Outreach Education (HOE) using ‘AV1’ – the robot for children with long-term illness"

The HOE project used advanced technology (AV1 robots) that transmitted a live
stream of the young person’s mainstream classroom. Notable work was required to
overcome concerns and misconceptions from schools, teachers, parents and carers
e.g. in relation to privacy, safeguarding and data security.

HOE project staff provided information for the AP practitioners about AV1, and on the
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to help them explain the offer to schools.
Providing technical and implementation advice added another layer of support for
schools.

Despite the technology being encrypted, APIF practitioners said that ”lots of people
feared that it would be recording”. Queries from both schools and parents/carers about
the technology, safeguarding and risk, required continued explanation between the
APIF practitioners and stakeholders, as the following quote illustrates:

"They have a misconception about GDPR and what it is and what it
isn’t. Some schools are quoting 'safeguarding' [in their decision
making] without having/providing any clarity over what that means."

– Project Lead

Various steps were taken to address this issue. For example, in one school, HOE staff
were able to attend an established parent/carer coffee morning, in order to try and
unpick some of the misconceptions about the technology and the security of it.

In another case APIF practitioners worked through the informed consent process with
specific stakeholders on a one-to-one basis explaining how the AV1 technology worked
in the classroom and providing reassurance regarding any outstanding concerns.

2. Learning from practice: Reintegration to mainstream settings from APIF projects (PDF)

https://assets.publishing.service.g...file/988277/DfE_Key_finding_Reintegration.pdf

Focus on practice examples:

Tools to aid reintegration

AV1 Robots provided to support children with long-term illness

One APIF project used AV1 ‘telepresence’ robot technology to enable children and young people (CYP)
in medical AP to be part of their classroom from wherever they were.

AV1s are distance learning avatarsthat project audio and video from a CYP’s classroom to them via an app on a phone or tablet.

The project aimed to ensure that CYP experiencing hospitalisation were able to maintain relationships with their teachers and could receive as much education as possible to facilitate a more equal footing with their classroom peers.

Practical advice for implementing the technology included:

●Having designated support for the day-to-day operation of AV1, for example taking on tasks such as
moving it from classroom to classroom as required

●Encouraging a ‘can-do’ mindset that sees the benefits of wider use of technology in education;

●Support and understanding of legislation to mitigate worries about security and privacy;

●Creating systems to sustain the use of the robots into the future, including maintaining contact with
home school, parents, checking if the AV1 is still being used by the young person.

The robots aided reintegration by enabling CYP to have a consistent link to their classroom and their teacher.