Keyboard and assistive technology
About us and what we do
Assessing and teaching assistive technology skills to SEND pupils, such as keyboard skills, speech to text technology, and magnification to aid access to the curriculum and promote inclusion.
Accessing our support
Referral for keyboard and assistive technology assessment and/or teaching is typically made by specialist teachers in the Vision Support Team for children with vision impairment / SEND.
Fab support from the ATfEST Keyboard and Assistive Technology Practitioner every fortnight working with the pupil, to develop his touch typing and confidence. Always happy to talk and share info and details about the sessions as well as being interested in what has been going on in school.
Person:Parent of a primary aged child
How we work
We deliver individual learning programmes for SEND pupils within an educational setting and devise appropriate strategies for effective support by school staff. We liaise closely with both STS professionals and those in an educational setting, attend pupil-centred reviews, and document pupil progress.
Provision includes:
- touch-typing – letters, numbers, punctuation, and character symbols – including those for languages, maths, and science
- word processing skills – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced eDCC certification
- screen navigation skills for use with electronic resources
- assistive technology skills for use with speech and magnification software
- five-finger typing tuition
- transition skills for high school – PowerPoint, email, and saving to an online platform
- Apple iPad with touch screen, Google docs, and Word applications
We offer:
- training and advice to both teachers and support staff as to what is required for a student to learn keyboard skills effectively if taken on to caseload following an initial assessment
- training for support staff through recommended attendance at lessons alongside the child or young person, to enable staff to continue to practise the lesson content with the child or young person
- opportunities for support staff to learn skills to aid for example, the production of resources whilst also sharing knowledge with the other Teaching Assistants who support
The pupil has learnt so much, it supports his story writing, spelling and dictation in classwork, English and maths, he can type them out and loves adding extra’s learnt in the lessons.
Person:Class teacher