The Educator Magazine U.K. May-August issue - Magazine - Page 36
A trust-wide approach to
adaptive teaching with
Widgit Online
Westcountry Schools Trust (WeST) is one of the many
How did you implement Widgit Online across your
trusts in the UK committed to championing inclusive
trust?
learning environments across its many settings.
Recognising the importance of dual coding in
Many schools already had individual subscriptions. We
education, the trust sought an effective tool to support
shared the benefits with the other schools so that they
adaptive teaching, ensure consistency, and improve
could understand why it was such an effective tool.
accessibility for both pupils and teaching staff of all
The price reduction for MAT subscriptions was also an
abilities.
effective persuasion tool!
Specialist Inclusion Teacher Gemma Tully and Inclusion
Lead Practitioner Caroline Kearney spoke to Widgit
about their experience using Widgit Online, and how it
became WeST’s trusted solution – transforming their
In what ways are schools within your trust using
approach to inclusive and adaptive learning.
Widgit Online in the classroom and beyond?
How did your trust first hear about Widgit Online, and
We are proud to say that all schools in our trust now
what initially prompted you to adopt it?
use Widgit, and this includes nursery settings all the
way to post-16 settings.
Many of our schools had previously used InPrint, so
moving to Widgit Online was a natural progression. When
We use Widgit in a variety of ways, but all with the
we established a central inclusion team as part of the
similar intent to ensure teaching is accessible to
WeST School Improvement Team, we quickly identified
pupils. Adaptive teaching scaffolds are just one way
Widgit as our preferred dual-coding tool. We then
we use the software, ranging from sentence stems and
supported schools that had not yet adopted it to
key vocab boards to flashcards, ensuring Widgit is
understand the benefits. Widgit Online was our top
used across all our teaching slides.
choice due to its extensive range of symbols, user-friendly
format, adaptable templates, dual-language features,
We also use Widgit to support specific pupils in highly
and ease of use.
individualised ways. This may be through personalised
timetables, social stories or communication tools.
What are the biggest benefits of Widgit Online for
your trust?
Ease of use: Any staff member can quickly create
high-quality, accessible resources.
Consistency across schools: A unified approach to
accessibility ensures that all pupils receive the
same level of support.
What were the primary challenges you aimed to
Bespoke learning support: It allows us to create
address with Widgit Online? How has it helped?
bespoke learning scaffolds without needing to
change the outcome or expectations we have for
those pupils.
We wanted to use Widgit to support our adaptive
teaching across the trust and ensure consistency for our
Enhanced communication support: Widgit aids
pupils. Widgit helped us improve our universal offer for
communication for students who require
our pupils by ensuring all classrooms have some basics in
additional assistance.
place to reduce cognitive load and improve accessibility.
These basics include visual timetables, dual coding,
By integrating Widgit Online across all schools, WeST
accessible displays, consistent labelling and
has successfully enhanced its inclusive teaching
communication tools.
approach. The trust’s commitment to accessibility and
consistency has provided students with the support
We also wanted to ensure that our targeted offer for
they need to thrive, making learning more engaging
pupils who require further support is robust and
and effective for all.
impactful. Widgit has helped us create bespoke
communication tools through the Core Board templates
and flashcards, whilst giving us ideas through pre-made
packs, such as the Autism Support Pack.
www.widgit.com
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