FEATURE FOCUS: CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY


learning experience for students. Through data analytics, this technology can assess individual students’ work and pinpoint which elements of the work they understand and where they may be struggling. Using this data, it can provide additional questions on topics so that the student gets as many opportunities as necessary to practice the question before they move on. This ensures that they are not left behind in the classroom and have the space to work out problems at their own pace.


Intelligent learning platforms have evolved to be learner-led, rather than instructor-led, which lends itself particularly well to supporting children with SEND. The data and analytics are used to ensure that the student’s learning needs and abilities are factored into the work that is given to them. By permitting students to work at their own pace, the platform allows them to build up their confidence, which then boosts their morale and motivation – factors that many children with complex needs need extra help within the classroom.


Breaking down barriers


The barriers that children with SEND face in mainstream schools strongly impact their learning. Not only do they face barriers in their learning because of a lack of support, but they often face social isolation. This can occur because they are often taken out of their classes to be put into smaller groups with more focused specific teaching that is tailored to their level. This may result in an isolating experience, with a potentially damaging impact on their mental wellbeing and their social development.


Intelligent learning platforms can alleviate this problem. It allows children with SEND to be given tailored learning within the same classrooms as their peers. This means they can still enjoy the socialisation process that comes from being in the classroom with their peers, whilst receiving high- quality, focused teaching that is right for them. As we know, the importance of school is not simply based on education provision and learning. It is also a place where students learn to socialise, make friends and enjoy a well-rounded and happy life. Remaining in the classroom is a key part of ensuring that children with SEND can enjoy all the positive, and necessary, elements of school life.


Helping teachers It is well documented that teachers are under March 2023 www.education-today.co.uk 39


increasing pressure, with fewer resources and more responsibilities. As the cost-of-living crisis continues, schools and teachers have become providers of more holistic, wrap-around care for students, with teaching unions reporting that 58 per cent of teachers have provided food and clothes to disadvantaged students. As recent teacher strike action has shown, those working in the profession are finding it increasingly difficult to provide the very best education for their students with the consistent strain they are under. Additionally, another key finding from Ofsted’s report into SEND provision in mainstream schools was that gaps in teachers’ understanding of their students’ needs were a barrier to their learning. Moreover, Ofsted found that sometimes schools’ special educational needs coordinators (SENCos) were also classroom teachers. This often results in teachers being over stretched and unable to provide the support required with the time they have.


Intelligent technology can assist here by analysing students’ work and creating personalised workstreams, thereby allowing teachers more time to focus on other elements of teaching. It further provides teachers with a more granular level of insight as they follow their students’ work and progress, which can help the development of teacher-student relationships. Improved teacher-student relationships have a fantastic impact on educational outcomes, student satisfaction, and teacher’s job satisfaction.


Additionally, one of Ofsted’s recommendations for SEND provision was that positive relationships with parents help to improve the provision for children with SEND. Edtech can also benefit teacher-parent relationships as it allows teachers to directly communicate with parents and carers


and provide them with regular updates and feedback on their children’s schoolwork. For many parents, increased engagement is highly desirable, as too often they feel they are not given enough information about their child’s learning and development.


Time for change


The education sector, children with SEND and their parents alike all know that there needs to be significant change to the way learners are supported in the classroom. The current figures highlight the damaging effects not getting the provision right is having. Edtech, as part of a reformed system, can play a part in supporting teachers to identify the needs of individual students and subsequently create tailored pathways that meet their learning requirements. The learner-first approach that intelligent learning technology provides means that students with SEND can be given the appropriate work that matches their ability and recognises the progress of their learning. The result is to ensure that learners are not left behind in the classroom, as is too often the case in mainstream school settings, and to break down any barriers to learning that they may face.


Improving SEND provision must be a joined-up effort from government, schools, and edtech providers, which can provide new ways to approach teaching and learning. Intelligent learning platforms, in particular, can address some of the challenges within the current system with innovative technologies that do not require huge sums of money or long-term reform change. Alongside other changes to the system, intelligent learning can transform learning for students with SEND and put them on a pathway to success.


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