Robotics Link

Under Application

At a glance

  • What this is:  NI–England robotics collaboration project linking primary, secondary and SEND settings through live, shared challenges.

  • Who it’s for: Schools, teachers and support organisations interested in meaningful, hands-on collaboration.

  • What makes it different: Pupils remotely control real robots in partner classrooms, not simulations.

  • What schools get: Equipment to keep, staff CPD, and an ongoing partnership device.

Building a new, lasting network of schools and educators in England and NI.

 

Live-video long-distance remote-controlled robot racing through mazes.

 

Three sessions that take young people from zero robotics knowledge to long-distance robot racing!

 

Two clusters in each region, consisting of:

One Secondary, Two Primaries and Two SEND provisions.

How Schools Are Linked:

Schools in Northern Ireland will be linked with schools in England (initially Wiltshire/Swindon), using physical computing and robotics as the shared focus.

At its heart, the project is about building lasting relationships between pupils, teachers and schools through meaningful, hands-on collaboration.

The project is designed around clustered networks of schools and support organisations in Northern Ireland and England, rather than isolated pairings. 

This reflects how relationships already work on the ground and allows participants to build confidence locally before moving into cross-jurisdiction collaboration.

How Sessions Run:

  • Pupils are pre-taught locally using familiar tools, including micro:bits and robots such as the Kitronik Move Motor.
  • This ensures all pupils have the foundational skills needed before working together live.
  • Exciting resources encourage pupil and staff to develop their skills in coding, technical assembly and control systems

How Schools Connect: 

  • At an agreed point in the day, both classrooms go live together using multiple camera feeds and a dedicated data link.
  • Pupils in Northern Ireland can remotely control robots located in England, and vice versa.
  • Activities include maze navigation, races and collaborative challenges.

First-person cameras on the robots allow pupils to see exactly what the robot sees in the partner classroom.

  • Session 1: build and control locally

  • Session 2: prepare for remote control and shared challenges

  • Session 3: live cross-sea racing and collaboration

At a time when schools rarely collaborate beyond their immediate locality, this project creates live, meaningful connections across the Irish Sea.

What Remains After The Visit:

  • Each paired school is left with a small physical device that remains in the school and stays digitally linked to its partner school.

     

  • This device acts as a permanent shared object, giving pupils an ongoing, tangible reminder of the partnership.

     

Schools are equipped to interact, update activities and build new challenges over time, beyond the initial visit.

CPD Skills Development for Staff

  • We are confident that the project-based learning approach which informs this project will encourage engagement throughout each of the three sessions that partner schools receive. 

     

  • Class teachers will be involved throughout, creating a meaningful CPD opportunity rather than a one-off visit.

     

  • Subject Coordinators and members of SLT will be invited to engage where possible, supporting wider whole-school impact.

     

Wider Networking and Community Building:

  • The project will actively support the recently established NI Robotics Network.

     

  • Teachers and educationalists in both Northern Ireland and England (mainly in Swindon, Wiltshire) will be invited to become involved, either:

     

    • directly through participating schools, or

       

    • indirectly by following and engaging with project developments.

       

  • A project webpage will host updates, shared resources

 and reflections, allowing wider engagement without obligation.

 

  • Modest funding will support the NI Robotics Network 

and an equivalent English network, helping with resource purchase and essential travel.

 

  • All members of the project will be invited to a Physical Computing Experience Day in Mourne Park, Northern Ireland.
     The focus will be on bringing this emerging community together in person to explore robotics, outdoor sensing and creative physical computing approaches.

     

The overarching aim is to strengthen a community of practice with genuine, practical links across the water and within Northern Ireland.

Outcomes

  • A small but strong East–West network of teachers who remain connected beyond the project.

  • Pupils who experience real collaboration, not just watching a screen.

A repeatable and adaptable model that schools can continue using for future partnerships.

Who is delivering this?

Delivery of this project will be led by Keith Phillips, Director of Digital Writes CIC, and Phillip Anley, Managing Director of Flickernet Ltd. Keith and Phillip have worked in close partnership for over five years, delivering school-based projects involving physical computing, robotics, creative coding and live collaborative activity. Their joint work engages pupils and teachers through practical workshops, shared problem-solving and co-creation, across mainstream schools, SEND settings and alternative provision, with a strong emphasis on accessibility, inclusion and sustained engagement.

Digital Writes CIC brings extensive experience in project design, delivery and management within educational contexts, including safeguarding, data protection, evaluation and reporting for publicly funded programmes. The organisation has successfully delivered multiple grant-funded projects supported by national funders, working in partnership with schools, local authorities and cultural organisations. This includes recruiting and supporting participating schools, preparing pupils and staff for collaborative activity, and ensuring that engagement is meaningful and sustained rather than one-off.

Digital Writes CIC has a strong and well-established track record of delivering inclusive, creative, technology-led engagement projects with children and young people in England. For ten years, the organisation has worked extensively with primary, secondary, special schools and alternative provision to design and deliver participatory projects that combine digital creativity, physical computing, collaborative making and storytelling. Digital Writes specialises in creating structured but flexible learning experiences that enable meaningful participation from pupils with a wide range of abilities, including those with SEND.


Flickernet Ltd is a Northern Ireland–based creative technology company founded in 1999. Flickernet operates Space To Learn, a dedicated learning and experimentation facility located in the Mourne Mountains, which provides a distinctive environment for hands-on physical computing, creative technology and outdoor-linked learning.

Flickernet Ltd contributes specialist expertise in physical computing, robotics and real-time interactive systems, alongside long-standing experience delivering hands-on workshops, demonstrations and teacher CPD using platforms such as micro:bits and classroom robotics. Its Northern Ireland base, and the Space To Learn facility in the Mournes, strengthen the partnership’s capacity to deliver cross-regional collaboration, place-based learning and sustained connections between participants.

This page is intended for participating schools, partners and supporters. It is not a public call for applications.