Supporting reading across a Multi Academy Trust (MAT) is no small feat. It’s a balancing act—juggling tight budgets, limited time, and rising student needs.

So when a solution comes along that’s simple, scalable, and risk-free, it’s no surprise that MATs across the UK are choosing to pilot reading pens with Scanning Pens!

Here’s why.

It solves the problems MATs are actually facing

If you’re in education at any level, you likely already know that effective reading support isn’t about flashy tech. It’s about consistency, accessibility, and impact—and tools that students can use without preamble. It’s about always having a safety net.

And across your Trust, schools are facing different contexts, rising numbers of students needing support, and stretched teaching teams. Reading pens offer a practical, low-effort way to deliver meaningful support without adding to teacher burnout or requiring a full tech overhaul.

It’s built for the complexity of 2025 classrooms

🧠1 in 20 pupils now has an EHCP, and the number is rising year on year.

🧠School budgets have dropped in real terms, with 75% of primary schools and 92% of secondary schools reporting cuts this year alone.

🧠Reading needs are more varied than ever—EAL, SEN, pandemic-related literacy gaps, and confidence loss all play a role.

🧠That means support needs to be flexible, customisable, and student-specific.

🧠And it needs to work even when only a handful of teachers have the bandwidth to take on more.

Reading pens meet all of these challenges head-on. They’re simple to use, adaptable to different needs, and don’t require constant teacher oversight, meaning that staff can get back to focusing on whole-class activities.

It’s a no-risk way to test a proven solution

Every investment in reading support is a leap of faith. Whether it’s software, hardware, or human-led intervention, you’re betting on results—and the stakes are high if it doesn’t deliver.

That’s another #1 reason why MATs are choosing the Scanning Pens Pilot Program: it’s a no-cost, no-risk way to trial award-winning reading support across multiple schools. Teachers, students and MAT leaders get to see the impact first-hand, with no upfront investment, and budget controllers get a little bit of breathing room, knowing that the solutions they’re investing in are going to work, and not end up needing to be augmented or replaced at a higher cost a few months into term.

It’s simple, scalable, and (drumroll please)… screen-free!

Reading pens have been powering literacy gains for years. They support students with dyslexia, EAL learners, and those who’ve simply fallen behind. And they’re refreshingly straightforward: scan the text, listen through headphones, and understand.

In a world of digital overload, they offer a focused, distraction-free way to build reading confidence, and don’t contribute to the amount of screen time that modern learners experience, which in excess is widely agreed to be detrimental to their mental and physical health.

It’s designed for scalability

Are you a MAT with 5+ schools ready to make a change? This exclusive pilot is open to Multi Academy Trusts with five or more schools looking to transform literacy outcomes, and it’s ideal for creating a trust-wide model of reading support that focuses on results, supplements the teaching toolkit and truly financially allows MATs to put access to learning front and centre.

It’s multi-modal reading support that’s actually designed for the work kids do

Reading pens supplement printed text with fast, accurate audio—making reading multi-modal. And that boosts retention, speeds up skill growth, and breaks down confidence barriers, as well as supporting with the myriad other activities and tasks that students get up to throughout the school week.

And every pen in the pilot is designed by the experts at C-Pen, packed with features to support independent reading in any learning scenario:

✔️Built-in dictionary definitions

✔️Multiple language scanning

✔️Customisable playback speed and word pause

✔️Customisable accent

✔️Scan-to-file mode

✔️Voice recorder mode

Plus, JCQ-approved models are available for use in UK exams—so support doesn’t stop at the exam hall door, and carries on into where many students need it most.

So how do you get started on transforming literacy and learning in your MAT?

Step 1: Register your interest

We’ll schedule a discovery call to understand your Trust’s needs and recommend the best-fit solution.

Together we’ll identify:

• Your literacy and inclusion priorities

• The ideal reading solution for your schools

• A tailored implementation strategy

• A perfect start date for your pilot

Then we’ll ship your reading pens directly to you.

Step 2: Implementation training

Time to launch with confidence. By this stage, we’ve mapped out your pilot plan and we’ll begin delivering expert-led training sessions designed to set your team up for success.

But this isn’t just about learning how to use a pen—it’s about building lasting capacity across your Trust.

Together we’ll work on:

• Guided walkthroughs of reading pen features

• Strategies for embedding pens into literacy interventions

• Tips for engaging SEN and at-risk students

• Multi-school rollout guidance

• CPD-accredited training that supports your team’s professional growth. Which means:

✔️A 1-hour CPD session for all pilot MATs

✔️3-hour CPD sessions for schools that purchase

✔️And advanced CPD modules for SENCOs and literacy leads!

We make sure your team feels confident, equipped, and ready to see results. No one goes into this feeling unsure or unsupported. And because our CPD is accredited, it contributes meaningfully to your staff’s development goals—helping you retain talent, build expertise, and strengthen your literacy strategy across every school.

Question & Answer:

Why is CPD so important for MATs?

For Multi Academy Trusts, CPD isn’t just a ‘nice to have’: it’s how you build lasting impact, and ensure that aims are being delivered in a supportive and sustainable way without compromising the workload of your staff.

With teaching teams stretched and literacy needs growing more complex, professional development gives your staff the tools, confidence and consistency they need to deliver real results. It helps MATs embed best practice across every school, reduce reliance on external interventions, and make sure every learner gets the support they deserve. And because our CPD is accredited, it contributes meaningfully to your team’s growth—boosting morale, strengthening retention, and aligning your literacy strategy with your wider inclusion goals.

In short, CPD is how MATs turn good intentions into confident, capable delivery, and improve student outcomes at every step of the process. That’s why Scanning Pens bakes it into every pilot program: because we believe that teachers are amazing, but to do an amazing job at implementing reading support, they need the right support themselves to make sure they feel confident, secure and knowledgeable about the tech that’s about to revolutionise the foundation for learning in their classroom.

Step 3: Ongoing support, every step of the way

You’ll never be left to figure it out alone. Throughout your pilot, you’ll:

• Access our on-demand guidance

• Have mid-pilot check-ins

• Use classroom resources and student reflection tools

• And gather feedback and testimonials to evidence progress

Step 4: Final feedback, and continued support

At the end of your 60-day pilot, we’ll help you review outcomes and scale your success!

We’ll also support you with affordable options for wider implementation, including exclusive leasing plans, so you and your learners can go forward into the new term in absolute confidence. It’s all about getting the right tech into the right hands at the right time, when it’s got the potential to impact their learning outcomes in the most powerful way. Schools need funding and financing options to do that—and we’re always here to help.

Another reason why schools are choosing the MATs Pilot Program in 2025? It’s backed by real results.

Here’s what happened when learners at George Dixon Primary School explored learning with C-Pen Reader 2, our flagship reading aid that can be used anywhere, anytime, with no need for Wi-Fi!

Before:

• Struggles with decoding, comprehension, and fluency

• Low engagement in independent reading

• SEN learners lacked confidence a

After:

• +10 months in reading accuracy

• …and +7 months in reading rate!

It’s easy to get started

To find out more, visit the Scanning Pens MATs Pilot Program hub page and kickstart your 60-day pilot.

And if you’re looking for award-winning reading support without a big funding outlay, check out our leasing programme— where your MAT can access reading support from just 24p a day!

📧ukinfo@scanningpens.com ☎️+44 (0) 207 976 4910