On 1 August 2024, a new education law entered into force in Norway. This article is based on the Directorate of Education's review of the most important changes in the new Education Act and takes you through what these changes mean for the use of the school robot AV1.
Obligation to follow up absences - AV1 helps pupils return to school
Municipalities are now obliged under the new Education Act to ensure that students who are absent from education are followed up both in primary school and in upper secondary school. This should make it clearer than today that work needs to be done for more attendance at school. This is stated in the new law § 10-6.
In this article, you can read more about how the school robot AV1 supports work with school attendance in Swedish municipalities. Evaluations of hundreds of interventions show that for pupils with problematic school absences, 6 out of 10 succeed in approaching school. For pupils with somatic sickness absence, 9 out of 10 are successful.
Distance learning - AV1 ensures secure communication in real time
The new Education Act allows for the use of distance learning as long as it is considered safe and pedagogically sound. As a general rule, students must receive distance learning at school, but students can in special cases receive distance learning from places other than the school.
In addition to gaining access to learning, an important aspect for students who use AV1 is that they independently log on, move the robot in the classroom, raise their hand, use their own voice and thus experience a sense of active participation in the community. Well-being and social belonging are among the considerations the school must make when assessing whether parts of the education can be solved with distance learning:
"When it is to be assessed whether it will be safe and pedagogically sound to provide parts of the training as distance learning, consideration must be given, among other things, to the students' opportunities for learning, development, well-being and social empathy." (§ 14-4. Distance education)
Furthermore, the new Education Act emphasizes that the pupils and the teacher must be able to communicate effectively and that the technical solutions must facilitate communication in real time or with a short response time.
The school environment must promote inclusion
One of the most important benefits for a student who uses AV1 is to experience being included in the school environment. We are therefore pleased to see that the concept of inclusion has been included in the new Education Act, to better describe the right to a safe and good school environment. You can read more about the new Education Act's continuation of pupils' right to a safe and good school environment here.
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Customised training and individual facilitation
The new Education Act continues the municipality's and county council's duty to ensure that pupils receive adapted education. It also becomes clearer that it is the municipality and the county council that have the overall responsibility for fulfilling the duty. Section 11-5 of the Act states: "Students have the right to the technical aids and the physical adaptation they need in order to be able to participate in the training and get satisfactory results from it."
The Directorate of Education also writes on its website that the new Education Act clarifies that "adapted education means that pupils must get a satisfactory result from the education regardless of functional level, and that everyone must be able to utilize and develop their abilities. The clarification is intended to make it clear that adapted education applies to all students, including those with great learning potential."
Pupils with great learning potential have had positive experiences with AV1 as a technical aid. In Linköping in Sweden, project manager Erik Helmersson says:
"When it comes to somatic sickness absence, it is above all about the social aspect, that for a limited period you can stay in touch with your class and not fall behind with your school work. For students with great learning potential, it is mainly about logistics. A pupil at the end of primary school who participates in maths lessons at secondary school can sit in his familiar, safe school environment and take part in the lessons from there."
Here you can read more about Linköping municipality's experiences with AV1, which is one of the projects highlighted in connection with the municipality being voted Europe's most innovative city.
Transition from primary school and upper secondary education - AV1 builds a bridge to a new school environment
It is included in the law that the county council must ensure that pupils have a safe and good transition from primary school to upper secondary education, and the county council must cooperate with the municipality on this. This is stated in the new law § 9-5.
AV1 can be used as a tool to keep students safe in the transition to a new class, school level or between primary and secondary education. We are already seeing many good examples of cooperation between the county council and the municipality around the use of AV1.
Do you work with a school or are you the guardian of a pupil who can enjoy AV1? Click here to get in touch with us.
