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SPUK|Resources|Education|Secondary|Case Studies|Trevelyan Middle School
SPUK|Resources|Education|Secondary|Case Studies|Trevelyan Middle School
Debra Roscoe SENCO
School name and type: Trevelyan Middle School We are a large middle school situated in Windsor with 521 pupils on roll. Our pupils begin with us in Year 5 and then move onto their high schools at the end of Year 8. Currently 68 pupils are on the SEN register with a significant minority presenting with Specific Learning Disabilities such as dyslexia. We also have approximately 15% of pupils with English as an additional language.
What review process did you follow and what conclusions did you draw? I am in the processing of conducting a review of the scanning pen with the child who trialled it. I have spoken to the pupil to see how successful and easy he found the pen to use. I have also spoken with his teachers to gauge their impression of the pen. Overall, it has been a huge success. I have been so very impressed that I have put a bid together with the aim to get funding for two sets of pens to enable our dyslexic learners to access the curriculum and examinations more independently.
What do you most like about the ExamReader? I like many things about this technology. Firstly, it allows pupils to gain more independence and be self-reliant which in turn boosts their self-esteem. The pen is small enough to be portable and non-intrusive yet has the power to make real and significant impact on a learner’s self-esteem and access to education. In terms of bureaucracy, I very much appreciate that no access arrangements need to be sought for a pupil to use this pen in examinations.
Please describe how you are using the ExamReader? We have trialled this pen with one dyslexic pupil. Luke has had access to this pen in lessons where there is a significant amount of reading and comprehension. We are hopeful that as Luke gets used to using the pen as ‘second nature’ in lessons, he will
easily and naturally put it to its best use in examinations. This will help to ‘level the playing field’ with other pupils.
Please describe how the use of the Exam Reader has affected your students’ academic work. Luke has been able to access the curriculum more independently, thereby reducing his reliance on the class teacher. The facility the pen has to read difficult vocabulary means that he has spent less time struggling to decode language or waiting for the teacher to explain words and this has therefore given him more time to focus on understanding the learning. We anticipate that this will, in the fullness of time, impact positively on his academic success.
Please describe how it has affected your student’s confidence/independence.
Luke has been very excited about the independence the pen has given him in the classroom. Luke’s English teacher has reported that he is fully engaged in the lessons and as he has become more familiar with the pen he has become less reliant on her. This self-reliance has boosted Luke’s self-esteem as he can now learn at the same pace as others.
Please describe any other areas in school you feel the ExamReader has helped (staff time savings, school results, cost savings etc) When Luke (and others) begins to use this pen in all lessons I anticipate there being a more fluent learning process for all pupils. The teacher will be able to focus on the learning of the whole group rather than aiding pupils to decode the vocabulary first. Luke may still have a ‘reader’ for some of his examinations, however as we extend the Exam Reader to other pupils I am hopeful that we will reduce the pupils’ reliance on a ‘reader’ thereby allowing staff to be redeployed as pupils find they are more independent. Where schools pay for the services of a ‘reader’ I can see this cost being significantly reduced. The ExamReader is an expensive outlay for a school, but one that will very quickly pay for itself in cost and time savings.
How likely are you to recommend the ExamReader to others? I would absolutely recommend this pen to all schools.
Any other comments you would like to add? Yes. As part of the bid I have put together to fund more of these pens for our school I have researched a number of areas. The reading about opportunities for dyslexic pupils is disheartening:
The Dyslexia Research Trust states that: “dyslexia is the most common cause of childhood loss of self-confidence. It can lead to misery, depression and even suicide.
Sometimes the frustration leads to vandalism, violence and criminal behaviour.”(DRT, April, 2018) Data indicates that lack of support for dyslexic pupils is not only “a most potent cause of misery, but also an appalling waste which costs the country £2 billion per year in terms of additional teaching, truancy, school exclusion, unemployment, drug addiction and crime.” (Crime in context speech: www.gov.uk/government/speeches/crime-in-context-speech [13.06.13] In 2013 the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Rt Hon Chris Grayling gave a speech about the needs of young offenders, a high proportion of whom “ – maybe more than half – will have dyslexia (43-57%).” He continues that lack of qualifications and “worklessness” is blighting lives.)
We can only do so much in our school but thank you for allowing us to take the first step on the road to addressing the challenges for these pupils. If we can get it right for these children in school, we can go a long way to keeping them engaged in the learning process and improving their life chances in the future.
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