This tech helps me to educate kids at home, in hospices or anywhere in the community

GIVING seriously ill children access to education that is both fun and stimulating is what Katie Simmons is all about.

- BY AMANDA STOCKS

As children's rights and education practitioner at Tŷ Hafan Children's Hospice in South Wales, she is a pioneer.

The hospice is the first in the UK to launch an initiative that enables Katie to provide education to seriously ill children in hospital, at home or in the hospice.

While other hospices might have a teacher visit to help residents with homework, Katie's dedicated role means she can deliver an education programme to a child wherever they are.

The children referred to Katie range from three to 20 with varying abilities and she also helps children revising for GCSE exams.

Katie uses Lifelites technology to educate the youngsters she visits and says it's vital for helping children learn and connect.

Our festive appeal this year, Light Up a Child's Christmas, aims to raise funds to provide youngsters with lifelimiting conditions with access to assistive and sensory technology.

The charity Lifelites partners with 65 children's hospices and palliative care services in the UK and Ireland.

Of the 100,000 children in the UK with lifelimiting conditions, 15,000 currently have access to Lifelites tech but 85,000 are still without it.

Among the tech the charity provides are AV1 robots (see below), Eyegaze, which enables users to control a device with just their eyes, the Magic Carpet, which projects interactive images onto a flat surface, and Soundbeam, which translates motion into music.