Telepresence - a group of worried mums created a solution for kids with long periods of missing school due to serious illness

There are tens of thousands of sick kids in Australia who miss school often or for long periods due to their illness. Sick children can fall behind academically and experience isolation from their school communities. They experience deep anxiety, loneliness, and isolation after more than 12 months’ of school absence. Those who had returned to school found it very difficult to adjust and to form friendships, and their learning suffered.

In 2012, Cathy Nell, Gina Meyers and Megan Gilmour realised that there was no framework in place to support their children’s need to maintain contact with their schools and classmates and to keep up their education. Their children’s had just recovered from long and frightening critical illness. That was how MissingSchool was born: a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the educational issues facing children who miss school because of critical or chronic illness, and to exploring ways of supporting the children, their families, their teachers, and their learning through very difficult times.
MissingSchool looked for technological solutions. In 2018 ran the first pilot scheme to place telepresence robots in willing schools to demonstrate that continuous two-way connection is possible between seriously sick children and their classrooms when they are absent. “Telepresence allows kids who are away from school to dial in and be seen and heard in their classrooms, move around, and learn from their teachers with their classmates. The pilot is intended to be a catalyst for long-term solutions for sick kids that integrates connection between hospital, home and school.”
The Australian-first telepresence robot service began as a pilot in the ACT and now operates in every state/territory in Australia.

The Australian-first pilot is supported by a grant of up to $600,000 over three years from St.George Foundation. The grant is helping MissingSchool roll out at least 75 robots over three years to demonstrate cost effective and innovative ways to include sick kids in their regular schools.

Adapted from: https://www.actparents.org.au/index.php/news1/item/329-robots-keep-sick-..., https://www.missingschool.org.au/
https://youtu.be/lBvNT1zWxeg