Phoebe’s story

The challenge

Phoebe has been living with a chronic pain condition for the past three years, which has made it impossible for her to attend school full time. This academic year has been particularly stressful, as she entered Year 10 and began preparing for her GCSEs. Although the school and her teachers explored different ways to help her stay on track academically, these alternatives often came with their own challenges, ultimately taking a toll on her health.

‍School tried to be supportive, but lessons posted online where often the slides teachers referred to in lessons made no sense to me, or else teachers forgot to post them, which then made me stress about falling behind and increased my pain.‍

‍I was wanting to engage in lessons but this style of learning wasn’t suitable and I was becoming frustrated and disengaged in my learning.

‍A few members of staff tried to do a live lesson link for me to watch. This was a slight improvement but I couldn’t always see the screen, there were connection issues and I still couldn’t interact, just observe.‍

‍Before the AV Robot, school was very difficult for me. It was depressing being on my own and trying to access lessons at the same level as my friends. I found it virtually impossible to follow lessons and knew I was falling behind. All this stress amplified my pain and made me feel isolated, depressed and disengaged.

Discovering AV1

As the challenges piled up, Phoebe’s mum, aware of AV1’s success in other schools, suggested giving it a try. Curious but slightly apprehensive, Phoebe and her family approached Hall Mead to explore the possibility.

‍As the time went on my anxiety and frustration rose at the lack of access to my lessons. Then my Mum mentioned the AV Robot as she’s a teacher and was aware of them being successfully used in other boroughs.‍

‍I was excited and a little apprehensive at the thought of it so we approached Hall Mead to ask if they could investigate the possibility of getting one.

A turning point

Soon after, a few teachers agreed to trial AV1 in the classroom, and the change was immediate:

‍A few teachers kindly agreed to trial the robot in class and after seeing the success of lessons others are now using it too. It doesn’t add to their workload, they don’t have to email me links, post slides or do anything extra apart from turning the robot on!

‍I’ve now started to enjoy my lessons from home rather than dread them. They are easier to access, I just turn on my ipad and wait for school to turn on the robot.

Thanks to AV1’s interactive features, Phoebe could now actively participate in the classroom and stay connected with her peers:

The board can be clearly seen and as I can control the robot I can make it look around the room. It’s so much more inclusive.

I can change the colour of the robot’s head so teachers can answer my questions and best of all I can talk to my friends in class and join in group discussions, even if they do call me Robot Phoebe!

Looking ahead

As Phoebe continues her studies, AV1 is not just helping her stay on track academically, it’s offering hope and continuity:

I feel really hopeful that the AV robot will help me achieve my GCSE’s and hopefully, if I am able to return to school at some point, the transition will be so much easier and smoother as I know I’ve been in the same lessons as everyone else.

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Source: https://cenmac.com/2025/03/phoebes-story-the-importance-of-different-ways-to-access-education/ 

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