What MissingSchool does

MissingSchool is an Australian not-for-profit organization founded in February 2012 in Canberra by three mothers — Megan Gilmour, Gina Meyers and Cathy Nell — to address the educational and social isolation of children missing school due to serious illness or injury. The organization is the only Australian provider of a comprehensive, free-to-families telepresence robot service (branded See-Be and Seen&Heard) specifically designed for classroom presence, built on OhmniLabs hardware with student-controlled mobility that distinguishes it from standard video conferencing tools like Zoom or Teams.

The core technology platform delivers real-time two-way video and audio with remote robot maneuverability, enabling seriously ill students to participate in lessons, move between classrooms, attend assemblies, and maintain peer relationships from home or hospital. Supporting products include the See-Be Teach Me professional learning forum for educators, the Live & Learn Podcast, the National Insights for Education Directories, and a curated research library built on 4,500+ evidence points from 481 surveys and 344 long-form interviews.

MissingSchool operates as a registered charity (Missing School Inc.) with tax-deductible donation status, funded entirely through donations, corporate sponsorships and grants. Major funding partners include St. George Foundation (inaugural Telepresence Robot Pilot grant), TPG Telecom Foundation (catalytic funder of the Seen&Heard initiative), UnLtd, Google Impact Challenge, and a broad roster of corporate and academic partners (Optus, Bendigo Bank, AusPost, RMHC, HeartKids, ARACY, three Australian universities). Go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer via a national helpline (1300 237 234) and website registration for families, plus school-partnership and corporate-partnership channels for deployment and funding. Customer segments are families of seriously ill children, schools and educators meeting Disability Standards for Education obligations, and corporate/donor partners — with a free freemium pricing model for end families and donation/sponsorship for institutional counterparties.

Name

MissingSchool

Legal name

Missing School Inc.

Website

https://missingschool.org.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

MissingSchool is an Australian not-for-profit that provides free telepresence robots to seriously ill children, enabling them to remotely attend school, interact with classmates, and maintain educational continuity while absent due to illness.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Education Continuity Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Virtual Special Education & Related Services (IEP Delivery Online) (EDAJADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Education Online / Virtual Schools & Remote Programs (EDAKAAAL), Specialized Instruction & Resource Support (Inclusion, Pull-Out, Co-Teaching) (EDAJAKAC), Specialized Programs & Classrooms (Autism, Emotional/Behavioral, Intellectual/Developmental, Multi-Disability) (EDAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Telepresence robot service
• School reconnection programs
• Pediatric education support
• Serious illness education
• Teacher training resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: MissingSchool relies primarily on public donations, fundraising campaigns, and corporate giving to fund operations and robot deployments. Donations are tax-deductible. The organization runs campaigns like the 'Don't You Forget About Me' campaign to raise funds.
2. Corporate Sponsorships and Partnerships: Corporate partners provide funding, pro bono support, and in-kind contributions. Partners like St. George Foundation, TPG Telecom Foundation, and UnLtd provide grants and sponsorship. Corporate sponsors can donate robots or provide pro bono services.
3. Grant Funding: The organization receives grants from foundations and government programs. Notable grants include the Google Impact Challenge, St. George Inspire Grant, and TPG Telecom Foundation catalytic funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

MissingSchool provides a free telepresence robot service (Seen&Heard/See-Be) that connects seriously ill children with their classrooms, teachers, and classmates so they can attend school remotely from home or hospital. The service includes robot deployment, training, ongoing technical support, and a digital community for educators (See-Be Teach Me Forum) to support students with serious illness.

Product overview

MissingSchool is an Australian not-for-profit organization offering the Seen&Heard technology service, a platform that provides telepresence robots and supporting infrastructure to connect seriously ill children with their schools. The core offering is the See-Be robot service, which provides free telepresence robots to families of sick children, enabling remote classroom attendance. The portfolio also includes the See-Be Teach Me Forum (a professional learning community for educators), research resources and knowledge products, the Live & Learn Podcast, and the National Insights for Education Directories. The service works alongside Ohmni-based telepresence robots to deliver real-time video/audio connectivity, remote maneuverability, and classroom presence for absent students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• See-Be: The telepresence robot service provided by MissingSchool that connects sick kids to their classrooms, friends, and school communities when they cannot attend in person.
• Seen&Heard

Products and services

• See-Be Telepresence Robot Service A free service that deploys telepresence robots (Ohmni-based) to families with seriously ill children, enabling them to remotely attend classes, see and hear teachers and classmates, and move around the classroom independently. Includes needs assessment, robot deployment, training, and ongoing technical support.
• Seen&Heard Technology Service An innovative and scalable technology service platform that builds the capability of teachers, schools, and government to advocate for and support seriously ill children, combining telepresence technology with systemic advocacy for educational continuity.
• See-Be Teach Me Forum A professional learning community platform for educators providing information, talks, resources, and crowdsourced solutions for supporting students with serious illness. Connects teachers from across Australia for peer learning and support.

Quantifiable outcome

• 6,600 classmates reconnected since 2018 through 220+ deployed robots
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UnLtdcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerUnLtd supports MissingSchool's social and mental wellbeing mission, helping seriously sick kids connected to their classmates and education. UnLtd has facilitated pro bono marketing campaigns including the 'Don't You Forget About Me' campaign with partner agencies.
• Ohmni (OhmniLabs)coreTechnology or IntegrationMissingSchool uses Ohmni telepresence robots as the primary hardware for their See-Be service. The organization works with OhmniLabs for robot procurement and integration.
• ARACY (Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerARACY collaborated with MissingSchool on national-first research 'Who Are They?' report into challenges facing Australian kids missing school due to serious illness. St. George funded research with ARACY.
• University of Queensland (UQ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research collaboration and institutional support.
• University of New South Wales (UNSW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research collaboration and institutional support.
• University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing research collaboration and institutional support.
• AWCH (Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partnership supporting connection between hospital schools and MissingSchool's mission.
• RMHC (Ronald McDonald House Charities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting families of seriously ill children with accommodation and connection services.
• HeartKidscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with organization supporting children with heart disease and their families, including podcast collaboration.
• Siblings AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupport organization for siblings of children with additional needs, aligned with MissingSchool's focus on family connection.
• Cure Starts NowminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare charity partnership for childhood illness support.
• CBRIN (Canberra Innovation Network)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal innovation ecosystem partner based in MissingSchool's founding city of Canberra.
• CocoguncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCreative agency partner that developed the 'Don't You Forget About Me' campaign for MissingSchool, extended across multiple years.
• ZenithcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia agency partner contributing to MissingSchool's national campaign, inducted into UnLtd's Hall of Good.
• OMDminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia agency partner supporting MissingSchool campaigns, inducted into UnLtd's Hall of Good.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent): UK charity supporting children and young people with cancer, including educational support. Comparable as an international peer organization addressing school continuity for seriously ill children.
• HeartKids: Australian charity supporting children with congenital heart disease and their families. Comparable as a peer Australian children's-health not-for-profit and an existing MissingSchool partner.
• Starlight Children's Foundation Australia: Australian charity focused on the wellbeing of seriously ill children and their families. Comparable as a peer Australian not-for-profit serving the same beneficiary population with a broader mission.
• Make-A-Wish Australia: Australian wish-granting charity for children with critical illnesses. Comparable as a peer not-for-profit serving the same Australian sick-children beneficiary population through donations and corporate partnerships.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities Australia: Australian arm of RMHC supporting families of seriously ill children. Comparable as a peer Australian children's-health charity and an existing MissingSchool strategic partner.
• Kids Cancer Foundation Australia: Australian charity supporting children with cancer and their families. Comparable as a peer regional charity addressing the educational and social needs of seriously ill Australian children.
• Redkite: Australian cancer charity providing support to children and young people with cancer and their families. Comparable as a peer Australian charity serving seriously ill children with overlapping family-support services.

Direct peers

• OhmniLabs: Manufacturer of the Ohmni telepresence robots that MissingSchool deploys. Directly comparable as the underlying technology provider for the See-Be service, with overlapping end markets in education and healthcare.
• Double Robotics: Telepresence robot maker serving education, healthcare, and corporate use cases. Comparable as a competing telepresence hardware platform that schools and hospitals could choose instead of OhmniLabs.

Emerging players

• Ava Robotics: Telepresence robot vendor targeting healthcare and education segments. Comparable as an alternative supplier of remote-presence robots to schools and clinical settings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/missing_school
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLs1HHTQsTLQAX9jLBWKC6A
• Facebookfacebook.com/MissingSchoolInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/missing-school-incorporated
• Instagraminstagram.com/missingschool_org

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about MissingSchool