At Topcliffe the special needs pupils are integrated into the mainstream classes as soon as possible, and the teachers are giving Nao the robot an increasingly significant role in the technology mix that helps the teachers achieve this. When Thomas Jones arrived at Topcliffe Primary in 2011 aged five he was timid, unable to communicate or even make eye contact with other children or adults. But he is beginning to develop the skills to listen to and follow instructions, and communicate with people, which has led to him becoming much calmer in public situations. He is now able to sit through a morning assembly, something that would have been impossible for him when he first arrived at the school. ‘He responded straight away to Nao,’ Waterworth tells me. ‘He actually created quite a relationship with it where he saw it as a friend.’ Thomas could often be found just sitting with the robot, telling it stories about how his day had been. At one point, teachers had to guard against this bond the child was developing with Nao becoming too strong. ‘He felt the robot was his,’ Waterworth says. ‘He wouldn’t share it with anybody else.’