Personalisation is the key to facilitating learning for all, but it requires delivering a tailored curriculum at scale. To my mind, there is only one lever that can support educators to make this change at the speed desperately required without staff burnout: The edtech sector.
Technology is already helping educators to adapt quickly and sustainably.
Blended learning is here to stay and, as we’re finding now with the rising costs of essential services, it gives providers more options in difficult circumstances to ensure access to education. Of course, access to online learning must be as carefully considered as classroom learning. Any adaptations and reasonable adjustments must consider the support needs and individual circumstances of learners.
However, this responsibility poses a challenge of its own that often leaves providers to fend for themselves:
“There is too much inconsistency across the SEND system in how and where needs are assessed and met,” reads the SEND Review.
Separating SEND provision from the core of delivery is one of the greatest mistakes a provider can make and could easily explain why there is still so much inconsistency in learner support processes.
Thinking that SEND learners make up only a small minority within a cohort means that providers will likely be overlooking learners with hidden needs. It also dismisses the reality that everyone has different needs and ways of learning.
Let’s build a boat to weather the storms ahead and make sure no learner is left behind
I’m talking about a future of education that automatically adjusts to a learner’s way of thinking and natural information-processing abilities. A system that provides early identification and support for learners who do not have an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) yet still require support. Most importantly, a future that enables educators with the right information, in the right place, at the right time to provide evidence-based support and maximise each learner’s experience.
The SEND Review and the government’s Levelling Up agenda both rely heavily on our education system to ensure that people of all ages and abilities have the best opportunities to thrive. Add to that, all the work to plug the gaps of a generation affected by the pandemic, and educators find themselves grappling with a huge societal responsibility – albeit not an entirely new one.
Software companies around the world, like my own, are focused on empowering educators and learners alike. There is such a huge opportunity to make impactful change at a scale not previously possible and transform the way we approach learning itself.
At Cognassist, we’re helping providers to identify learning needs through initial assessment and using AI to predict which learners are at greater risk of dropping out, so early support interventions can be implemented. Data and technology can provide a level of accuracy and consistency that may be missing across the sector, but these innovations are also shaped by educators themselves.
Organisations slow to realise and adapt to change will be the hardest hit, and our ongoing recovery relies on us supporting each other. It makes me think of the popularised pandemic sentiment, “we are in the same storm, but not in the same boat.”
So, let’s build a boat to weather the storms ahead and make sure no learner is left behind.