Accessible computing and SEND in Primary and Secondary

This case study from Phoenix School - a special school in London for students from age 3 to 19 with a diagnosis of autism - details the methods in place to make computing accessible for all students.

Barriers to access

The main barrier in computing is around understanding both the basic ICT skills and the abstract concepts in computing. You have to break it down quite significantly for children to build up their skills and retain the knowledge, particularly for those working below age-expectations. There are also more general barriers such as coping with transitions and sensory issues, being able to socialise, and general comprehension. It can really vary, so we have three pathways in school – from children who are completely sensory and require one-to-one care to those where we’re aiming for them to get jobs after sixth form or college with support.

In terms of strengths, they really enjoy the variety you can get with computing, using different apps, websites and different devices. They’re very engaged in computing, as they find it fun.

Approaches for success

Having a differentiated curriculum and scheme of work is really important – without that stark differentiation, students can’t access the work and that means either they’re not interested or that the learning isn’t happening. So, we provide multiple opportunities for implementing or extending support for pupils.

We also teach a lot of computing through embedded lessons – as part of other subjects like maths, science, RE or even when they are doing something like horticulture. They have the opportunity to learn the skills in other subjects, and that frequency of exposure, allowing students to try the same skill over and over in different contexts really advances their learning.

We have a glossary as part of the curriculum and the teachers make sure they are using these key terms in conversations and with the expectation that the students use the vocabulary too if they’re at that level. So that means lots of conversations about what they are doing and interested in. For example, at the moment there is a lot of interest around AI and what that means.

Having practical hands-on, physical items that children can learn through is really important. The pupils are much more engaged when they can program this noisy, light-up bot compared to something on screen. For some learners it can be used as a form of cause-and-effect activity; pressing a button makes something happen. Others will be following simple algorithms to move around a map of a zoo, for example.

Teaching the key skills on devices such as a tablet or laptop is really important too, as it allows them to access lessons more easily and to complete tasks they weren’t able to before, so this is a priority, as well as teaching about online safety.