Raising expectations and improving educational attainment are expected to be central planks in the government's forthcoming green paper on pupils with special needs. The paper is likely to focus on identifying children's needs earlier, developing fairer and more transparent funding arrangements and streamlining assessments to make life easier for parents and families.
A number of new software packages and tools are emerging which could help on these fronts, many being showcased at this year's Bett show (Olympia, London, 12–15 January 2011).
The Little Listener is an MP3 player with a host of listening activities which three-year-olds can operate on their own.
For slightly older learners, Purple Mash will light a creative spark and is very inclusive. It has high-visibility menus of light text on a black background, word banks and prompts for writing, clip art and photos for children who can't draw.
Children with profound and complex needs can now make music with the Skoog, a rugged, squeezy cube which responds to the lightest touch.
Older learners who need augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to give them a voice will love Proloquo2Go. Shortlisted for a 2011 BETT award, it can be downloaded to an iPhone or iPad and is cheaper than other AAC devices.
The Smart Table interactive learning centre is proving its worth with autistic pupils. Sarah Clark, deputy head at Isobel Mair school in Glasgow, thinks it has increased pupils' independence.
"We encourage children to take the lead and were delighted how quickly they learned how to sort, label and use art packages," she says. "They had not received formal instruction, yet immersed themselves in the technology and began completing the tasks together."
For maths, try MathBase's Get Busy With Numbers, which is targeted at all age pupils who struggle with even the basic numeracy.
Finally, Clicker Grids for Spanish, word grids which present vocabulary and phrases, may be really useful for pupils learning a foreign language.
Sally McKeown
