AV1 has proven to be an effective tool to tackle school absence in secondary schools, supporting pupils both academically and socially.
AV1 was designed to be portable; It is lightweight and has an integrated 4G sim card to ensure pupils can remain connected on the move. Even so, the idea of moving an AV1 between classrooms across a large secondary school site can seem daunting to begin with. However, once a routine is established it is far simpler than expected with some schools managing as many as 25 AV1s across their site.
Below is some guidance, followed by feedback from secondary schools who have successfully managed the logistics of moving AV1 around school.
- Many schools rely on pupils (AV1 buddies/monitors) to transport the AV1 between classrooms. This could be a friend/s of the pupil or someone who shares a similar lesson timetable.
- We would advise schools to start off small and build up a pupil’s timetable gradually when both the pupil’s and school’s confidence in AV1 has increased. To begin with it may be that the AV1 is just in one or two lessons a day, for example just core or favourite subjects.
- Agree with the pupil and family what lessons they will be joining and consider placing a timetable lanyard around the AV1’s neck so any AV1 buddies or staff know where it is going next. If you have multiple AV1s at your school you may also want to consider adding name tags to identify the AV1s.
- Having a base room that the AV1 defaultly comes back to ensures the AV1 is always returned, put on charge and picked up from the same location, for example the SENCO or head of year office.
- AV1 is covered by an accidental breakage warranty which means if it were to be dropped or damaged it can be repaired or replaced for free. However, if you are worried about protection we recommend transporting AV1 in its bespoke backpack.
Secondary school testimonials
“The pupil’s friend picks up the AV1 and takes it to lessons. He might pick it up before form and then take it to lessons or bring it back if it’s more practical. He’s also got a pass so staff and supply teachers know that he’s the robot monitor. That’s an important consideration; picking the right person in school who is going to look after it. However, it’s usually just moving between 3 lessons a day so it hasn’t been too burdensome.”
Ladybridge High School, Bolton
“The form tutor was really helpful in selecting somebody who is mainly in their classes to take the AV1 from lesson to lesson. I think it was important to give the tutors time to chat with the student using the AV1 about how they hoped to interact, as well as selecting people who they might want to build friendships with. It’s better to rely on the students to look after the AV1 because the teachers and TAs are always busy in between lessons. It’s also far better for social interaction within the peer group.
Harris CofE Academy, Warwickshire
"The Head of Year wrote to the year 9 parents to let them know the AV1 may be in some of their children’s lessons. We also asked friends of the pupil to be buddies and carry the AV1 around, so we wrote to those parents as well to make sure they were happy with that. The AV1 by default sits on charge in a storage room in the school and then in the morning one of the buddies collects it and it goes with them around school and between lessons."
Dunnottar School, Surrey
"Two of the student’s friends carried the robot between classes. We also placed a laminated copy of the student’s timetable around the AV1 neck with highlighted lessons. The students took the responsibility of looking after the AV1 very seriously and after a couple of weeks we slowly got the hang of things."
Dr Challoners Grammar School, Buckinghamshire
