By Samuel Holderness, Head of Multi-Academy Trusts, Academy21

An increasing number of academies and local authority schools are investing in novel digital solutions to pursue inclusive practice. 

The headwinds are well known. Staff recruitment and retention, coupled with growing student needs, are contributing to a pressured system. Thankfully, the increased dialogue calling for systemic change is now being acknowledged nationally. Solutions that bring change will be required for every layer, from the top to the ground.  
Whilst policy and funding can take time to change, trust, school, and local authority leads are implementing a range of novel inclusion approaches to improve pupil and staff outcomes. 

Post-pandemic, we have seen a marked increase in settings exploring and launching internal alternative provisions (IAP). This term captures many other names: nurture room, bridge, cocoon, hub, and reset space. These are often fundamentally a provision within a mainstream setting, set alongside classrooms, to support students with additional needs to thrive in mainstream settings.

Against this backdrop, innovative solutions are being incorporated to make these provisions effective. This may be integrating digital learning tools for accessibility to utilising live, DfE-accredited, online teaching to supplement and enhance available provision. The aim is often to incorporate research advice for effectively using tech or implementing digital tools meaningfully. Integrating these approaches is not about replacing the traditional physical school element; rather, enhancing it, allowing human resources to be deployed more effectively and sustainably.

‘Invest to Save’: early upstream intervention 
As Gary Aubin, SEND consultant and panel member of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, recently wrote, one acknowledges any novel intervention requires investment. However, the focus should be on effective spending, early intervention spending, and spending that supports the big-picture strategy of the school’s community. 

While initial investment is required, incorporating digital services often results in long-term savings. Like any strategy, remote education and digital solutions may not work as effectively for every child. However, remote teaching and learning can complement and broaden existing in-person provision. 

Most notably, this initial investment of time, thought, and leadership can benefit trusts and schools by enabling them to have in place resources that can be instantly scaled up or down depending on demand at a cost-effective rate compared to staff costs.

Harnessing the power of digital solutions
Digital education can present a viable, immediate solution that can significantly alleviate pressures – and importantly, the benefits are significant. 

AI study platforms provide a flexible approach to learning, catering to different needs and levels of understanding. Students can access tailored content anytime, facilitating frequent revision and practice to reinforce skills.

Feedback from trust leaders across the country is that remote teaching is valuable when it delivers a personalised timetable, with enhanced support by design that complements the other interventions they have in place ‘on-site’. Indeed, the flexibility of online live teaching is prized because it creates space for other interventions. 

On a practical level, by side-stepping physical barriers, remote teaching can expand the available learning environment and subject offering and provide pupils with equitable access to qualified teachers. Where done well, it is portable quality education that can be delivered anywhere in a school or offsite if a pupil requires it temporarily. 

One such example is the advent of full online proctored examinations. To date, hundreds of young people have taken IGCSE qualifications online, who would not otherwise have been able to due to health or personal reasons. However, there are significant practical considerations to work through. As a window to the future, these pupils were enabled by the assistive technology of remote invigilation to achieve something unique that would not have been possible otherwise.

Indeed, the DfE recognises the value accredited online teaching can add for students who wouldn't otherwise be able to access education. Schools that conscientiously utilise this pathway in a judicious and targeted way act in the child's best interests. Moreover, we see that a more fundamental look at digital solutions is underway, not least from schemes like the Online Education Accreditation Scheme that formalises the standard expected of providers and shares good practices across the sector, for example, in this tips and insights blog from Ofsted.

Support, not sanction 
By adding digital tools to your inclusion strategy, schools can offer bespoke learning experiences crafted to individual needs. By tracking and responding to pupil data, we can more easily adapt learning pathways to each student's pace and level of understanding, providing targeted support in critical areas.

The Education Endowment Foundation's (EEF) recent study plan explores a range of inclusion aspects related to IAP, including embedded (over parallel) approaches, defined by a commitment to integrated, extensive, ongoing, and tailored support led by a senior leader. All of us working in education are motivated by using assistive tools and services to provide an educational ecosystem that, by design, provides equity for all pupils regardless of their abilities. 
 
Implementing digital solutions for positive change 
As we navigate these complex challenges, leveraging digital education innovation is not just an option but a growing necessity. Softening the impact of traditional barriers ensures that educational provision remains inclusive and fair for learners requiring additional support.

Implementing these solutions requires careful planning and execution; the watch out is that it can easily be done poorly. Leaders should consider implementation through a lens of clear pupil-centred outcomes and good quality change management.

By embracing such technology, leaders can align their staff around a vision of inclusive education and significantly boost their capacity to serve all students effectively. How readily we can embrace these digital advancements will help dictate every learner's chance of succeeding in a rapidly evolving educational landscape.
Academy21 is an ASCL Premier Partner and the first DfE-accredited online alternative provision under the Department for Education’s Online Education Accreditation Scheme (OEAS), serving pupils across 70 LA frameworks and 500 academy trusts.