In December 2024, the UK Parliament opened the inquiry, ‘Solving the SEND crisis’, with the view to stabilising the SEND system in order to improve outcomes and experiences for children and young people.
Our project has highlighted some important considerations around technology use for SEND students in mainstream secondary schools. Drawing on our ethnographic data, our submission to the parliamentary enquiry placed a focus on four key areas: the disparities in digital infrastructure between schools, the tension between digital inclusion and digital stigma, inadequate ‘personalisation’ of adaptive software, and the lack of evidence for schools to draw on when making decisions about EdTech.
Further, our submission called for acknowledgement of the disparities in school resources and digital infrastructures, interrogation of the underpinning logic and pedagogies of EdTech and their claims to ‘personalise’ learning for SEND students, and implementation of support for teachers and school leaders in developing the skills and knowledge they need to effectively support SEND students when using technologies.
Read our full submission here.
Photo by freepik.com.