Kids in hospital to send little robot to school in their place

Children who are in hospital in Bristol are to take part in a trial scheme which would see them send a robot to school in their place while they are off sick. The Bristol Hospital Education Services arrange for children in hospital or being cared for at home for extended periods to continue their education - but that's often a challenge, and can lead to the child missing too much education and missing out on important social interaction with their friends at school. Now, the service has been named as one of just a few across the country to sign up to a new initiative, which will see'telepresence robots' given to 90 children to effectively take their place at their regular school, while the child can watch what the robot sees and speak through it, from their hospital bed or from home. The project won a half million pound bid to trial the idea, which those behind the initiative hope will mean young people are able to continue their education from home, and keep in touch with their friends too. "The project, in partnership with No Isolation, 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," a spokesperson said.