We’ll start off with the facts:

We know that more students than ever before are going to need a reading pen this year.

As schools prepare to throw open their doors this September, it’s not going to take all that long to realise more pupils than ever before are coming to school needing extra help with reading.

Why? Because more and more people are realising that the learners in their lives have reading needs: awareness around literacy differences is growing fast, and families are feeling more confident and proactive in seeking diagnoses and support. And that means a rise in support requests and EHCPs, too— they’re up 11% on 2024, and the number of plans awarded has more than doubled since 2016, with almost 500,000 now active in schools and colleges.

Add then add to this the fact that the impact of the pandemic hasn’t gone away overnight. Missed reading practice, less classroom time and disrupted routines have left reading gaps for millions of UK students, and it’s becoming harder to fill them as those learners get older. And many who came to the classroom with English as an Additional Language have seen some of the worst of it: thousands of EALs lost access to consistent English language modelling with those pandemic school closures, as well as focused small group language interventions designed to cultivate English fluency.

All told, there are a lot of reading needs in play in September 2025... which we know that left unchecked will lead to poorer reading outcomes for a large percentage of these learners.

...But how do you budget for that support?

Especially as the new budget isn’t high enough to combat increased resourcing costs

Although there has been a record allocation for SEND in the government’s last budget, schools are still feeling the pinch: many are reporting having to make redundancies, and a climate of growing material costs and unfunded pay rises has put the financial pressure up on schools all over the country. Budgets for SEND and per-pupil spending might be increasing, but that money is finding itself having to go further than ever. Very few schools in the UK will be looking at the start of the new school year and feeling flush… and that’s only likely to dwindle as September turns into October, then more as the school year continues to progress.

That means there’s going to be a focus on using funding in smarter, more manageable ways for the majority of schools, colleges and Trusts in your learning community.

Fact Check: SEND increases and changing per-pupil funding levels

The IFS’s annual report on education spending shows that, since 2019, school spending per pupil has increased by 11% in real terms—bringing funding levels back to where they were in 2010 after more than a decade of cuts. However, more than half of that rise stems from a sharp increase in the number of pupils identified with special educational needs.

When factoring in planned spending on high needs, the IFS concludes that real-terms funding per pupil in mainstream schools has only risen by 5% since 2019.

Why reading pens are the solution to September’s uptick in reading access issues

A reading pen is a small, highlighter-sized, pen-shaped device that relays the words on the page back to learners using lightning-fast text-to-speech audio. In doing that, it breaks down the barrier between that learner—who may have dyslexia, English as an Additional Language, or simply need a little extra literacy support to catch up to their peers—and their learning, meaning that understanding is back on the table. When you can read the questions, you can understand what they’re telling you, and what they’re asking you to do. And that’s where progress happens!

…But there’s a bit more science to it too. When learners supplement their reading with accurate audio feedback, that act takes learning multi-modal. And we know from research that students who learn to read multi-modally develop into stronger readers overall. So when you support reading with a reading pen, it’s not just applying a solution at the point of need, it’s cultivating an environment where those with reading needs become more confident, adaptable readers the more they engage with their support.

And our classroom reading pens come with a suite of assistive, adaptive learning tools and learning mechanisms that support readers as they get to grips with language and literacy. You can find out more about what each model does—and which one is the right pick for your setting—below!

Interested in seeing how reading pens have been unlocking access to literacy, learning and better grades in schools like yours?

Check out how a reading pen was the evidence-based reading support that students and teachers had been searching for at Nishkam High School! After implementing reading pens as part of their literacy intervention process, and using Scanning Pens’ reading support resources, students displayed significant advances in single-word reading, reading rate, reading accuracy… and 20 months of reading comprehension progress in 10 weeks.

➡️You’ve got to see it to believe it: check out the video on YouTube!

And you can ensure access to that support from just 24p a day!

We know that the funding process is nebulous, and that schools rarely have enough funding to cover everything they need to cover at the start of the new school year, especially as reading needs rise and EHCP numbers increase. Sometimes things get held up, sometimes, materials and logistics have to take priority, and sometimes it just takes a little time for funding to work its way to you, through all the right channels and having been subject to all the right allocations and processes.

That’s why we created the Scanning Pens Reading Pen Leasing Program.

Because we believe that real reading gains and literacy confidence shouldn’t be dependent on a system of checks and balances. Your learners need support as soon as you know that there’s a reading need to be tackled, because it’s so easy to fall behind in those first few weeks of term when they’re faced with the anxiety of change, new faces and new routines, and the impact of summer skill loss (sometimes referred to as ‘summer slide’). And that’s just for new cases— for students who already have identified dyslexia or other associated reading needs, that reading pen support needs to be in place as soon as they hit the classroom for the new school year, or else there’s a risk of EHCPs going unfilled and obligations not being met.

…which used to mean a large outlay of funding, right at the beginning of the school year, when every other thing needs to be purchased too. But not any more: because your setting can lease the reading pen support you need through the Scanning Pens Reading Pen Leasing Program and split the cost, paying over the course of two or three years. This means that even at the start of the new school year, when competing priorities are the order of the day, every student who needs a support to understand the words on the page has access to award-winning reading pen technology, without breaking the bank or having to fall back on expensive human reading support.

It's about keeping things manageable and predictable on the cashflow side—and who wouldn’t love a more manageable, predictable September this time around?

What kind of reading pen can I lease from Scanning Pens?

Scanning Pens offers one of the UK’s largest ranges of reading pens, curated for you by education experts and literacy specialists. We don’t recommend models we don’t trust, and that don’t have proven positive impact on student literacy outcomes because we believe that students deserve better than tech they can’t depend on.

When it comes to UK educators, our bestselling reading pens are designed by C-Pen, the creators of the original reading pen design that’s supported learners for decades. Over the past three decades, they’ve truly put in the work to get students reading with confidence.

Click the arrows for more!

C-Pen Reader 2

A WiFi-free reading pen with built-in dictionaries and practice modes. Approved for use in SATs exams when exam-locked by the STA. Save what you scan, and record voice memos too: it’s a complete, customisable support for readers at all ages and stages. ►

C-Pen Exam Reader 2

A WiFi-free, zero-storage reading pen approved for use in GCSE and A-Level exams by JCQ, as well as in others such as Common Entrance (CE) exams. You can’t define or save what you scan with this one— but schools can save thousands every exam season by cutting down on the cost of human reading support. ►

C-Pen Reader 3

C-Pen Reader 3 is the latest innovation in reading pen technology. With a wealth of new features to enhance accessibility and support users as they practice, its new online definition function

and language module and super-sleek touchscreen design make it easier than ever to read with confidence, wherever your starting point and whatever you’re reading. ►

C-Pen Lingo 3

The world at your fingertips for any language-learner! Boost learner confidence in Modern Foreign Language (MFL) classes as they scan to translate instantly in 5 built-in languages, and connect online with their reading pen to access 40+ more! ►

C-Pen Secure Reader 2

A reading pen that takes data privacy seriously— but not at the expense of reading support. Designed for secure settings or anywhere that needs to keep information locked up tight. ►

So… how do I get started?

Head over to our Reading Pen Leasing Hub and let our handy calculator do the rest!

There, you can explore the reading pens we offer on our new leasing scheme, take a look at our quarterly payment schedule options, and kickstart the process by filling in the form at the bottom of the page. There’s no lengthy consultation process: one of our reading pen experts will get back in touch with you using the contact details you’ve provided to talk numbers and progress your request, and then you’re ready to kickstart a reading pen revolution in your classroom with minimum stress and fuss.

Need a little extra advice on which reading pen is right for your students? Take our super-handy (and super-quick, we promise) Reading Pen Guide Quiz to find out which model is perfect for the classroom or the exam hall where you are!