Sick, but still at school

With KlasseContact, one of KPN’s socially responsible initiatives, we’re ensuring that chronically ill children can stay in touch with their class. With the help of a laptop at home or in the hospital and a smart ICT set in the class, sick children can still join in.

Raising your hand in class. Working with classmates. And chatting in the school yard during the break. Schoolchildren take all this for granted. But for chronically ill children this isn’t the case. They frequently have to go to the hospital for treatment and can’t go to school. These children don’t just miss lessons, they also miss out on contact with their classmates. Thanks to KlasseContact they can join in with their class again. In recent years, more than a thousand chronically ill pupils have participated in KlasseContact.

KPN Klasgenoot

At home or in the hospital, children are given an ICT set comprising a laptop with a webcam and the "KPN Klasgenoot" (classmate) with its rotating camera is placed in the classroom. This means the children can follow the lesson remotely and stay in contact with their class.

Support from day one

Every year, hundreds of KPN employees help sick children from the first moment that they reconnect with their classmates from home or from the hospital – a fantastic and often emotional experience. The KNP-volunteers, together with KPN technicians, make sure that the pupil, the parents and the teachers know how to operate the equipment.

In recent years, more than a thousand chronically ill pupils have participated in KlasseContact. The majority of the children have been sick for 6 months or longer. The pupils can use KPN Klasgenoot for as long as is necessary. Then, the equipment goes to another pupil who can’t go to school due to illness.

Joint initiative

KlasseContact is a joint initiative of the KPN Mooiste Contact Fonds and EDventure, the sector association of educational consultancies in the Netherlands. The affiliated members (consultants) work in the areas of youth care and primary, secondary and special education. The consultancy firms are active in, amongst others, the pedagogical, didactic and strategic innovation fields. Municipalities, provinces, companies and day care centers are amongst EDventure’s many clients.

Do you want more information about, for example, the application of KlasseContact? You can find more background, method and practical information on the KlasseContact website.