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Every year, thousands of very sick kids miss out on weeks and sometimes months of school as they’re confined to a hospital bed away from their friends. Nine year old Lucy Symes knows this all too well, having been diagnosed with neonatal Marfan syndrome as a baby But one organisation is keeping sick kids, connected to their class with the use of robots. I spoke to its CEO, Megan Gilmour, as well as Lucy and her mum, Jessica, about it all just a little earlier. We’re joined in the studio now by Lucy and Jessica. Good morning to both of you.
Good morning.
And also Megan Gilmour, who is, well, not normally a robot, but this morning definitely is. Morning, Megan. You are the CEO and co-founder of Missing School. And this is quite the contraption.
Certainly is. And these robots are doing great work to get kids who are unwell or injured back to the classroom.
This is the first time you’ve seen this robot, but you got to use one for quite a while, didn’t you?
Yeah, I did.
I got to drive it as well.
Yeah. So this would let you get into school while you were a little bit sick? Can you tell me how was it being on a robot?
It was very strange, I guess, but it was also fun. I could move it. I think I crashed into a table once or twice, but other than that, I’m a pretty good driver.
That’s really excellent. So these robots are helping kids to get back into schools making when they’re sick or unwell. How many of these robots are there out and about right now?
Well, MissingSchool has over 100 robots in our fleet, and we’ve supported close to 180 students to reconnect to the classroom from hospital or home. We’re putting them in classrooms all over the country, and we’ve been doing that since late 2017. So we’ve connected over five and a half thousand classmates, reunited sick kids to their peers and their friends and their teachers. And it never ceases to inspire us to be able to support students like Lucy.
I’m sure for kids, it must be an incredibly hard time, Jessica, when they can’t be at school. Can you take us through what Lucy was going through at the time, and how long was she using one of these bits of kit?
I’d say the first time would have been three or four months in total. Lucy had two long stints in hospital at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, and the first time she was able to connect to school using the robot. And then we kind of had an unplanned situation where she returned to hospital a few months later and school and Lucy were ready to give the robot a second go. So we were really lucky to use that where we keep in touch with school friends.
So how often was Lucy able to use the robot and to actually get into the classroom? Yeah it started off just connecting with their friends and having lunch together.
Yeah, I got to catch up with some of my friends that I didn’t get to see otherwise. It was really nice. I could talk to my friends once or twice. I joined in what was happening in the class and I got to talk to my teacher and my support helper and it was really, fun just to see all my friends again while I couldn’t be there.
The thing that stood out for me was Lucy said she was driving it around.
This thing moves certainly at that
Hey, very cool. Oh, so. So you can actually literally follow their friends as they’re running around the classroom or even in the playground?
Yeah, it’s like they’re there and they get to move through the environment from their remote location. So it gives them a sense of agency and control And, you know, they can look at what they need to look at and be where they need to be. We know that the kids are super confident at driving these robots around and, you know, often sneaking up on their friends And that’s always a lot of fun. But, you know, it’s being able to join in to anything from library class to school assembly, you know. So it’s also it’s not just about connexions for the learning. It’s also about connexions to those critical moments in school.
Jessica, tell me about that feeling for you when Lucy was able to get back into the classroom.
Yeah, well, as Megan said about having that presence when you’re physically away, and I think with Lucy missing so much school over a two year period. There were times when she wasn’t at school for the whole term and you know, in a sense, to her friends, she’s kind of just disappeared. So it was really nice to be able to have Lucy present via the robot and her friends see her and just to know that she’s still around and she’s going through something different and tough at the moment. But she will get back and so we found that really beneficial, didn’t we? Mm hmm.
Hey, Lucy, I understand that you just won your first ribbon at an athletics carnival. You’ve got some big dreams for the future, haven’t you? What’s your plans for 2032?
I want to be a singer. Hmm. I want to do lots of concerts, I guess. And I want to travel around the world when I become a singer. And I want to have lots and lots of pets
Brilliant, choices all around. I reckon we might see you singing the national anthem at the Olympics in Brisbane.
Hey.
Yeah, sounds good. Lucy, Jessica, thank you both so much for joining us here in the studio. And you too, Megan. And please feel free to leave the robot will tell you Tuesday.
Yes, the robot today. Great chat now. Thank you. so much. Just recapping the very special visitor we had in the show. On the show this morning on our Easter Monday edition, we talk about Rabbit’s loss bunnies over Easter. Well, we had the real thing. His name. There he is, Snoop Dogg Freddie Mercury. Jody, the owner, loves both artists and couldn’t choose to name I love it. Name the Rabbit, either Snoop Dogg or Freddie. So put both names. Why not?
But I have to say, I mean, I kept saying I really wanted Easter the Easter Bunny to visit. Yep Mainly to leave chocolates. Not quite. I didn’t quite have this in mind, however.
Yes. If you might have seen there in the back of this shot the look of grim faced terror on Emma’s face.
Not quite a very nice looking rabbit, I have to say.
Yeah.
