Assistive tech training and a digital revolution? You’re spoiling us.
It’s finally happening: as of this year, teachers will receive mandatory training on using assistive technology to support children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). That’s great news for students and schools alike and a welcome step in addressing the gaps in SEN provision.
In a speech at BETT 2025, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson announced expansive plans to harness digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform teaching and learning. The aim is to revolutionise how the education sector engages with technology at every stage, and break down the barriers that prevent learners from accessing an equitable education.
…But what will actually happen? Let’s take a look.
Assistive tech in teacher training
The Department of Education has indicated that every new teacher who passes through traditional teacher training and entry methods will receive training on how to use assistive tech to support learners with additional needs and disabilities that impact their access to learning.
It’s a move based on evidence, but it’s something teachers have known for decades: using readily-available, low-cost assistive tech like text-to-speech software is a key part of delivering accessible learning and high-quality teaching for SEN students.
And stronger reading skills mean better grades, and brighter futures.
“It’s not about finding superficial shortcuts at the expense of genuine learning. It’s about using tech in ways that really work for children.”
- Bridget Phillipson MP
What’s the level of assistive tech training like in the classroom?
As of November 2024, there were 569,986 teachers in the UK. Most of these won’t have received any assistive tech training as part of their teacher training course or route into the profession.
That’s largely because it’s usually linked with SEN provision. And UK teacher training currently has very, very limited mandatory learning around SEN, neurodiversities, assistive tech and learners with additional needs – that’s why we so sorely need mandatory provision for it.
Research from the Driver Youth Trustrevealed that in 2013, 74% of teachers didn’t feel like they received enough training to adequately teach students with dyslexia. By 2018, that number drops very slightly, to 71.8%, but there’s the impact of the pandemic to consider too – far too many student teachers missed out on vital parts of their teaching education due to university and school closures, and many Covid-era teaching graduates report leaving university without covering all parts of the requisite ITT Core Content Framework.
And that’s not all: in terms of SEN CPD, an Ofsted review in 2021 highlighted that the majority of teachers in the UK had not had any professional development for SEND since the beginning of the pandemic – despite SEN needs increasing due to pandemic learning loss, a historic hike in neurodiversity diagnoses, and much larger demand for support.
There’s likely to be a strong AI element to the mix.
The Department for Education appears to be focusing heavily on Artificial Intelligence and its potential to reduce the administrative burden on teachers and other education professionals. It’s been touted as one of the most immediate ways teachers can take control of their workload, and boost work-life balance for those at the chalkface.
The DfE has confirmed that there’ll be training and guidance for teachers and leaders on how to use AI safely in the coming months, in a program developed by the Chartered College of Teaching and the Chiltern Learning Trust.
…But it’s likely not to be plain sailing: 84% of teachers reported that they haven’t changed the way they’re assessing student work despite the availability of AI tools. Around a quarter reported that they just weren’t interested in using AI for work-related tasks at all.
It does, however, seem to be related to scepticism of AI’s capabilities, rather than any other elements inherent in the form – a study by Trinity College, London revealed that a majority of teachers think AI is too unreliable at the moment.
As the technology develops, we might see that change.
But what about assistive tech training for teachers already in the classroom?
As of yet, there’s been no mention of mandatory assistive tech training for qualified teachers and those who are already in the classroom. If it persists, it’s a big oversight: we know that the majority of teachers standing in classrooms today haven’t had nearly enough education and training on SEN and assistive tech.
We also know that we’re in the middle of a retention and recruitment crisis that’s seeing thousands of teachers leave the profession every single year. Feelings of overwhelm and of being under-equipped for the high level of demand are incredibly common, so it’s important that policy moves to backfill the assistive tech gap for more experienced teachers.
A lot of eyes will be on the new package of teaching and guidance for teachers that the DfE has tipped for release in Spring 2025.
And data nerds, rejoice: an EdTech Evidence Board is in the pipeline
It looks as if we’re about to see a much larger research base for assistive tech for schools open. In the same speech at BETT, Bridget Phillipson MP also described the development of a new ‘EdTech Evidence Board’ delivered by the Chartered College of Teaching to explore how teachers can effectively choose AI products that will serve their needs and their students in the best possible way.
Further information on the project is difficult to come by for the moment, but according to a previously-issued tender document, Schools Week suggests that we can expect the board to be made up of a project team facilitating the running of an EdTech board of experts. Their role will be to ‘quality assure evidence of EdTech product efficacy against set criteria’, to help schools and colleges know which products are ‘grounded in evidence’.
So for teachers and assistive tech specialists, 2025 might be a busy one.
It certainly looks like it’s shaping up that way. And whilst all of these new investments in assistive tech and the teaching workforce look like they have the potential to create some real positive change for learners, you don’t have to wait until those changes happen to experience how the right assistive tech can change everything for SEN learners this term.
C-Pen Reader 3 combines tried-and-tested text-to-speech tech with lightning-fast, AI-led functionality to create a reading support experience that puts learners – and teachers – back in the driving seat. It’s as simple as scan, listen understand: just move the pen across the words on the page to hear them read aloud, and kickstart learning multi-modally!
That means no more waiting on human readers, and the security of knowing that every student in your classroom can understand the work they find themselves faced with… without any extra pressure on you.
You can find out more about C-Pen Reader 3 at its home at Scanning Pens.
Or claim your FREE educator trial today!
And we’re a chatty bunch. If you want to speak to one of our reading support experts about supporting the reading needs in your Trust, school or classroom, we’re always happy to explore in-depth solutions for your setting!
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