Supporting children with special educational needs helps everyone
How to embed inclusion in school from the ground up
Author
Teacher Kirsteen Steven often cites a simple cartoon which explains how accessible education benefits everyone. In the sketch, a person in a wheelchair asks a man clearing snowy steps to clear the ramp to the building. “All these other kids are waiting to use the stairs,” the man says, pointing at a queue of children. “When I get through shovelling them off, then I will clear the ramp for you.”
“But if you shovel the ramp, we can all get in!” the wheelchair user replies. The cartoon was inspired by a pupil with disabilities. “Clearing a path for people with special needs clears the path for everyone!” reads the caption.
Steven is motivated by a desire to combat barriers in the learning environment. “In schools this might be a lack of wheelchair ramps through to a lack of technology,” she says. “We trial and use technology with learners to overcome disabilities and barriers to their learning.”
Support needs are rising in schools
Record numbers of schoolchildren are receiving support for special educational needs (SEN) in England and in Scotland, where SEN are known as additional support needs (ASN). In England, 18.4% of schoolchildren, that’s 1.6 million, were identified as having SEN last year, up by 101,000 from 2023, with numbers rising since 2016. Pupils with the greatest needs are entitled to a legally binding document outlining the support they need. The number of pupils needing one of these rose in England by 71% between 2018 and 2024.
In Scotland, a record 40% of schoolchildren receive additional support for learning, with numbers rising each year since 2010.
The biggest increases are in needs related to autism; speech, language and communication; and social, emotional and mental health. Explanations for the rise are complex. It may reflect greater awareness of SEN among educators, changes in assessment and diagnostic criteria, and a catch-up following policy changes.
These rises occur amid insufficient resources for pupils with educational needs. Government funding hasn’t kept pace with the steep rise in the numbers of pupils with high needs in England and Scotland. This has prompted fears that schools won’t be able to accommodate or help SEN pupils and has undermined their parents’ confidence in the education system.
Universal support is the starting point
Schools and local authorities refer pupils to Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning (CALL) Scotland, which is based within the University of Edinburgh and part-funded by the government. CALL has worked in research and development and provided services for more than four decades.
“We don’t need a label, we don’t need a diagnosis, we don’t need a disability, although it’s important to understand these underlying conditions that give rise to additional support need,” says Steven, who has worked for many years as a teacher in mainstream schools and specialist provision, all within areas of high need. She’s now Assistive Technology and ASN Teacher within CALL.
Assistive tools can remove obstacles, give learners agency, and ensure classrooms are accessible, inclusive, and equitable, says Steven. “By normalising the use of assistive tools, straight away we are being much more inclusive.” Over the years she’s seen assistive technology evolve from clunky hardware through to the widely accessible tools teachers have at their fingertips today. Her team supports schools and learners with advice and training, and sometimes with equipment and software. “It depends on the learner; it depends on the teacher.”
“By normalising the use of assistive tools, straight away we are being much more inclusive.”
Kirsteen Steven
Only when universal support is in place can you offer more targeted help, says Steven. “We have many learners in classrooms who don’t have a diagnosis but still have learning needs.” Making tools available to everyone levels the playing field, she points out.
Inclusive education by design
Steven argues for flexibility in assessing learners’ output and achievements. “We are looking at learners who maybe can’t evidence their learning in the same way – via the written word, for instance – or they might not be on the same linear learning trajectory as their peers.” In an age of communication technology, she sees many options when appraising individuals.
Some tools can lessen the cognitive load that causes anxiety and stress for many, says Steven. “Over my teaching career I recognised that one day a learner could engage and complete a task, but the next day it was just too much. Something may have happened in the playground or at home, and it might overwhelm them. If we can alleviate that by engaging learners using tools, why wouldn’t we?” Those tools might be simple pencil grips, audiobooks, or specialist equipment and software.
“Some tools can lessen the cognitive load that causes anxiety and stress for many.”
Some educational games have accessibility built in. For example, all Minecraft games offer accessible menu navigation and narration, and the Immersive Reader function allows players to change font size and colour as well as background colour, split words into syllables, and use text-to-speech for chat. Players can also re-map controls to best suit their needs.
Some web browsers allow teachers to strip away distracting banners on screen, while all devices have a variety of accessibility tools built in.
CALL Scotland recommends products based on individual needs, such as communication aids, text-to-speech tools, and eye gaze technology, plus technology for specific diagnoses such as autism, dyscalculia, and dyslexia. But as CALL notes, research on the effectiveness of these tools yields mixed results. Some studies, for instance, show that text-to-speech tools produce no comprehension gain, whereas other studies do show such gains. Experts at CALL draw on their professional learning and experience to navigate this area. “We can make recommendations based on our personal research, and on what we feel will best meet the needs of the learner in front of us,” says Steven.
Personal digital devices in school
If learners are comfortable with their own devices, they should use them in school, Steven argues. She recalls a dyslexic pupil whose engagement and behaviour improved dramatically when he used his own device in the classroom. “Technology allowed him to do simple tasks – look up a word, for instance – that had previously been out of reach.”
“As educators we have a duty to support learner agency, remove barriers and normalise the use of assistive technology.”
Kirsteen Steven
Most children in school want to fit in, says Steven. That’s why she recommends offering tools such as headphones to anyone who wants them rather than only those who need them. This can be less stigmatising and gives teachers flexibility. She believes that high-quality professional training is crucial to make sure staff can support learners with the most complex needs. “All staff, including support staff, also need access to this professional training.”
Learning environments, Steven says, must be accessible, inclusive and equitable, with an element of challenge to engage and motivate learners. “As educators we have a duty to support learner agency, remove barriers and normalise the use of assistive technology.”
Author