Nothing on Telepresence Robots in DfE’s latest Guidance on Education for Out of School Children

On 14 December 2023, Department for Education (DfE) published updated statutory guidance on ‘Arranging education for children who cannot attend school because of health needs.’ This guidance, however, says nothing about using telepresence robots for education purposes for pupils who cannot attend school because of health needs. This is of particular concern to ALLFIE because this omission poses the risk of Disabled children and Young people who cannot attend school because of medical, health and other reasons being denied the opportunity to continue their education using telepresence robots within mainstream settings.

We recognise that there are Disabled children and Young people who are unable to attend school because of pre-existing conditions, infection risks, clinical procedures, chronic fatigue problems and other medical conditions. This has resulted in too many Disabled children and Young people being placed in special schools or substandard alternative provisions such as EOTAS (Education Otherwise Than At School) and denied the opportunity to access and experience mainstream schooling.  Thus, this practice is a barrier to Disabled pupils realising their right to inclusive education in mainstream settings.

Since 2018, more than 700 schools have used telepresence robots to enable children who cannot attend school because of health needs to continue their education in mainstream settings.  The robot represents the pupil in class, allowing them to attend lessons alongside their peers while they are at home or in hospital. This keeps the pupil connected to the school and their peers, something which has been found to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness. Thus, telepresence robots can enable Disabled pupils who cannot attend school because of health and other needs stated above to continue their education in mainstream settings, instead of placing them in special schools or alternative provision.

From a social justice perspective, this addresses inequalities in education, reducing the exclusion of Disabled people from mainstream settings and contributing to the creation of an inclusive and welcoming society. We at ALLFIE see the placement of Disabled pupils who cannot attend school because of health and other needs stated above in special schools and alternative educational provisions creates inequality and is a form of injustice in society general. Telepresence robots should be used to ensure that Disabled pupils to continue realising their right to inclusive education in mainstream settings instead.

That is why the DfE’s guidance should include guidelines on the use of telepresence robots in schools. These guidelines should make it a right that every Disabled children and Young person, when they cannot attend school for any of the above reasons, should be given the option of continuing their mainstream education using a telepresence robot. This includes prohibiting Local Authorities, schools or staff from refusing to use the technology. Telepresence needs to form part of the standard schools invest programmes under technology and considered as a form of access.

The guidelines should also clearly define when, where and how the telepresence robot should be used to facilitate learning and inclusion for Disabled children while at the same time guarding against it being used as a substitute for real and meaningful inclusion. Its appropriateness should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with a presumption of inclusive education being the desired outcome.

The guidelines also need to make it the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that the robot is available to any Disabled pupil who needs it to continue their education for reason already stated. Thus, local authorities should be given the responsibility of acquiring robots for schools in need of them. It should not be left to parents or charity organisations to acquire and supply these robots to school. This disadvantages pupils from less resourced families, who are also more likely to experience social disadvantage.

In addition, local authorities should be responsible for ensuring that every pupil who needs to use this technology has the resources to do so. This includes having a phone or tablet, internet access and the skills to use the technology. Disabled children should not fail to access this technology because of poverty and other intersecting disadvantages.  The use of robots must be considered a part of the inclusive education vision to make education work better for Disabled children and help reduce inequalities in education.

Telepresence robots can have a huge impact on the lives of Disabled people and society in general. They can be used as a vehicle for social inclusion. In the education context, telepresence robots can be used to enable Disabled pupils who cannot attend school because of health and other needs stated above to continue their education in mainstream settings, thus enabling them to continue realising their right to inclusive education. However, appropriate guidelines are required to make this a reality. This article highlights some of the issues that should be addressed by the guidelines.

By Edmore Masendeke, ALLFIE’s Policy and Research Officer