The Aporia · Anxious schoolchildren are being represented in the classroom by £3,500 robots that allow them to join in the lesson from home

Anxious schoolchildren are being represented in the classroom by £3,500 robots that allow them to join in the lesson from home

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Carlin, S. (2026, September 19). Anxious schoolchildren are being represented in the classroom by £3,500 robots that allow them to join in the lesson from home. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16145021/Anxious-schoolchildren-represented-classroom-3-500-robots-allow-join-lesson-home.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

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Quick Summary

Children too anxious to attend school are using £3,500 robots called AV1 to participate in classroom lessons remotely. These robots, developed by a Norwegian firm and used in over 2,000 instances across the UK, help pupils with emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) stay connected to their education. Teachers interact with the robot as if it were the student, while the child at home can communicate and control the robot’s movements through an app. Devon County Council is one of many local authorities utilizing this technology to support anxious students returning to school.

Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Children too anxious to attend school are being represented at their desks by £3,500 robots called AV1, which allows them to participate in lessons remotely. These robots, developed by the Norwegian firm No Isolation, feature a camera, microphone, and speaker that enable an absent child to see, hear, and speak with classmates through an app. Over 2,000 of these robots are currently being used nationwide, primarily for children suffering from emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA), which is a severe anxiety-driven refusal to attend school. Teachers place the AV1 robot on the absent child’s desk and interact normally, while the pupil can respond through their device and even control the robot's camera view remotely. Devon County Council purchased 16 of these robots last year specifically for pupils who struggle with attendance due to overwhelming worry or anxiety. The AV1 includes a "whisper mode" feature that lets the remote student communicate privately with peers near the robot, enhancing social interaction despite physical absence.

Written for “Robots In Classrooms For Remote Students” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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69/100

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Daily Mail · 8837 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

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Clarifications and corrections

Who wrote this

Sophie Carlin

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Topics

AV1 Daily Mail Devon County Council No Isolation Norwegian

Subjects

No Isolation ORG · 2× Daily Mail ORG · 1× Devon County Council ORG · 1× Dorset GPE · 1× Haringey GPE · 1× Islington GPE · 1× London GPE · 1× Norwegian NORP · 1× Somerset GPE · 1× the Department for Education ORG · 1×

Narrative

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Children too anxious to attend school are being represented at their desks by £3,500 robots that let them join lessons from home. The AV1 robot, pictured below, has a camera, microphone and speaker enabling a child at home to see, hear and speak to classmates via an app.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19

🔮 Every school in England will receive its own attendance target under changes revealed by Labour last month, with more ‘Friday clubs’ encouraged to incentivise end-of-week attendance.

2026-09-19 · Daily Mail

Anxious schoolchildren are being represented in the classroom by £3,500 robots that allow them to join in the lesson from home · assertive framing

Claims (24 extracted, 2 hedged)

child → see → app

More than 2,000 are being used nationwide, many by children with ‘emotionally based school avoidance’, or EBSA – a chronic refusal to go to school driven by anxiety. asserted

2,000 → use → anxiety

Teachers place the robot on the child’s usual desk and ask them questions as though they were there, while the pupil at home can simply reply, as well as swipe their screen to turn the robot’s head through 360 degrees. asserted

pupil → place → degrees

A ‘whisper mode’ lets the absent pupil speak quietly to a classmate sitting beside the robot, rather than letting the whole room hear. asserted

room → let → robot

The camera is one-way, so the pupil at home can see and hear the lesson without being seen. asserted

pupil → see → lesson

The robot was developed by Norwegian firm No Isolation, initially to keep children in hospital connected to their classrooms. asserted

robot → develop → classrooms

Last year Devon County Council bought 16 robots for pupils who struggle to attend because of ‘worry, anxiety and overwhelm’. asserted

who → buy → worry

Children struggling with severe anxiety and unable to attend school are being represented in classrooms by £3,500 AV1 robots, allowing them to take part in lessons remotely More than 2,000 robots are reportedly being used across the UK, with many supporting children experiencing emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) The authority is one of at least 80 to have taken the AV1 since the Department for Education commissioned it in 2019. uncertain

Department → struggle → 2019

The robots are used for EBSA pupils in areas including Somerset, Dorset and Haringey and Islington in London, according to council documents seen by The Mail on Sunday. uncertain

robots → use → Sunday

In a glossy promotional video made by No Isolation, pupils at Moulsham High School in Chelmsford, Essex, which has 20 robots, spoke highly of them. asserted

which → make → them

One Year 11 pupil said: ‘I wasn’t accessing school for a few months due to anxiety. asserted

I → say → anxiety

Without the AV1, I don’t think I’d be at the level I am at the moment. asserted

I → think → moment

‘When first using it, I was quite nervous. asserted

I → use → it

But it helped me to realise that lessons weren’t actually that bad and it did help me to integrate back into class. asserted

me → help → class

‘I’m attending every day, due to the AV1.’ asserted

I → attend → AV1

Deputy headteacher Mark Blenkin added: ‘It’s a tried and tested method now. asserted

It → add → ?

It’s part and parcel of school.’ asserted

It → ’ → school

The number of severely absent pupils with additional ‘social, emotional and mental health’ needs has more than tripled in six years, from 8,453 to 27,442. asserted

number → triple → 27,442

A record 151,000 pupils missed at least half their schooling last year, from a pre-pandemic low of 60,247. asserted

pupils → miss → 60,247

Attendance rates were regularly above 95 per cent before Covid but have struggled to recover, falling to 93 per cent in 2025-26. asserted

rates → struggle → 2025

This is despite a crackdown on truancy, which has worsened since the pandemic closed many schools for significant periods. asserted

pandemic → worsen → periods

Every school in England will receive its own attendance target under changes revealed by Labour last month, with more ‘Friday clubs’ encouraged to incentivise end-of-week attendance. asserted

school → receive → attendance

No Isolation’s boss Morten Jorgensen said: ‘School absence is one of the biggest challenges for the education system, with much of this stemming from the rise in emotionally based school non-attendance. ‘Our AV1 technology allows schools to meet their statutory duties. asserted

schools → say → duties

‘So far this year, 76 per cent of students using AV1 have returned to the classroom, providing significant benefits for the student, schools, local authorities and society at large.’ asserted

cent → use → student