The Educator Magazine U.K. Sept-Dec 2026 issue - Magazine - Page 58
The SEND
shift:
how edtech can widen
participation and access
By Zareen Poonen Levien, Principal Educator at Padlet
More than one in five children in England – nearly two million
students – now receive support for special educational needs and
disabilities (SEND), an increase of 91,400, or 5.2%, on the previous
year.
For schools, that means meeting a growing range of needs and
challenges within the same classroom, to ensure every student
can participate in the learning. The government has already
recognised the scale of the challenge, committing to spending
£4bn over the next three years to help mainstream schools
become more inclusive for children with SEND.
The investment is helpful, but schools also need practical ways
to help teachers adapt learning without further increasing their
workload.
Across England, nearly a third of children with SEND are
persistently absent from education. The reasons behind absence
are complex and not only a result of classroom experience.
However, it makes it even more important to make sure that when
students are present in the classroom, we are maximising their
participation, peer connections and sense of belonging.
Expanding ways to participate
For teachers, this raises a familiar challenge: how do we
differentiate instruction for a wide range of students? Inclusion
doesn’t have to mean a separate individualised plan for each
student. When we make learning separate, it can sometimes be
more isolating than productive. Instead, we can offer more ways
to access and contribute to a shared experience.
From my years teaching elementary school in the US and later
as a digital learning and project-based learning coach, I’ve seen
first-hand how technology can help reach students who aren’t
always engaged by traditional classroom methods. I started to
notice how students on the fringes, those who were frequently
disruptive or rarely spoke up in class, often benefited the most
from intentional and creative technology use. Suddenly they
would be excited to participate and share.
Technology can make classroom participation more inclusive by
broadening the ways students can participate. One child might
prefer to write a response and post it to a shared digital space,
rather than having to speak in front of the class. Another might
record themselves speaking because they struggle to write.
Someone else might draw an idea or share an image. Visual and
collaborative tools can bring these different forms of participation
together.
Shared digital spaces can create flexibility without requiring
teachers to prepare a different activity for every student.
They can also give quieter students an easier entry point.
And as we have learned from Universal Design for Learning
methodologies,everyone benefits when we have flexible ways
for students to express themselves and we get to hear more
perspectives from all of our classmates.
For example, if students were reflecting on a book, they submit
their written responses privately to the teacher and the learning
ends there. In a shared space, students can see each other’s ideas,
learn from each other, connect over common experiences and
continue to deepen their learning and sense of belonging.
Moving beyond screen time debates
The same principle should apply to the wider debate about
technology in schools. It doesn’t need to be a binary discussion of
whether all screen time is good or bad.
It’s more productive to discuss how students are using technology
to assess its value for learning. There is a significant difference
between passively consuming content and using technology to
create, share an idea, or collaborate with classmates.
That does not mean more technology is always the answer.
During my time coaching teachers, one of my guiding principles
was simple: if we didn’t know why we were using technology for a
task, we shouldn’t use it. Every new platform can bring additional
cognitive load and potential distraction, so being selective and
finding simple, powerful platforms that truly enhance learning
and connection is important.
Keeping students as the priority
As teachers respond to a wider and more complex range of
needs, there’s no simple answer for all classrooms. However,
giving teachers simple and powerful tools and the flexibility to
use these tools when appropriate can make a big difference in
student learning and motivation. In a world where technology is
becoming more and more pervasive, we need to be even more
intentional and selective about when and why we are using it in
the classroom.
It’s easy to underestimate the ability for technology to help
students connect and truly feel part of the classroom. This sense
of belonging is a necessary foundation for all learning. For schools
considering the role of edtech for more inclusive education, that
should be the test. If it helps students truly feel part of the
classroom community and allows them to participate in more
meaningful ways, then it is serving a purpose that truly matters.
