News

Kaspar the Robot

28th November 2018

Yesterday morning we invited Dr Ben Robins from The University of Hertfordshire to speak to our parents about a partnership with Tram House School involving Kaspar, a robot which can be used as a teaching tool for children with autism.

‘Kaspar’ has been developed through more than a decade’s research at Hertfordshire University and is designed to help children with autism and communication difficulties. One of its lead researchers, Dr Robins presented to the school last term where he explained how staff can use Kaspar as an additional teaching tool to work on specific targets around communication and social skills. A key aspect of the research done so far is the increased speed at which new skills can be learned – something that we would be able to track through our existing teaching approach.

The coffee morning presented the opportunity for parents to see the robot in person and hear about the project directly from Dr Robins before seeing a demonstration and asking questions about how it could help their children. We will be introducing the robot in school as a pilot early next year, to see how our older learners engage with it, and the benefits it could bring them, before exploring a longer-term partnership.

It’s a fantastic opportunity and one that we are extremely excited about. Click here if you’d like to read more about the research already conducted by Dr Robins and his Kaspar team.