How is technology being deployed in schools to support inclusion?
Join the Education Policy Institute on Wednesday 10th September for the second webinar in our series in partnership with Capita – How is technology being deployed in schools to support inclusion?
Reflecting on how to improve the experience of students with SEND in the education system is critical. For children on SEN support the attainment gap at age 16 was 22 months in 2023, while for those with an EHCP, the gap was 40 months. EPI research also shows that a child’s chances of being identified with SEND are not equal across the system: factors such as the fragmentation of the school system, delays in accessing services, prolonged school absences, language barriers and living in disadvantaged areas all make it difficult for pupils’ needs to be assessed consistently.
The government is working to improve inclusion in mainstream schools with the aim of identifying need and targeting interventions early, with programmes such as the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools and encouraging councils to create specialised provision in mainstream schools. Resulting in a more inclusive system, enabling more children to achieve and thrive at their local school.
As part of this work, it is worthwhile considering what role technology and data insights can play in supporting inclusion, with the potential to improve how schools identify and support pupils with SEND, through to facilitating early intervention and personalised learning.
EPI’s Effective School Groups Tool offers insights at a system level as to how inclusive a school group is, including how representative a school group is of its local pupil population and applicant pool. What can we learn from the school groups that score well on those metrics?
But what more can technology offer? How can we draw out examples of best practice and share them across the system? What role can business play in supporting schools to make the best use of available technologies? And how can we ensure that the benefits can be felt by all schools no matter their context?
This webinar will consider these questions, looking at how harnessing the benefits of data and technology can support inclusion. The webinar will open with a short presentation on the Effective School Groups Tool and EPI’s wider work on SEND followed by a panel discussion with audience Q&A. Panellists will discuss to what extent and how technology is currently supporting inclusion in mainstream education, particularly focusing on children with SEND and how technology and improved use of data could and should be used in future to improve inclusion across the school system.
The webinar will be held on Wednesday 10th September, from 10:30am to 12pm, online. To register your attendance, please follow the link here. Speakers will be confirmed shortly.
