NEWS
£800,000 to develop the UK’s first smart special educational needs school
The Pace Centre in Aylesbury is aiming to become
the UK’s first ‘Smart’ special educational needs
(SEN) school.
The £800,000 plan includes a significant
enhancement of their integrated curriculum, as
well as new infrastructure and training for staff and
parents. A £150,000 grant has been made for the
first year of the project, which includes the installation
of a new smart classroom to serve as a flagship for
further classroom overhauls.
Infrastructure changes include environmentallycontrolled
fittings such as doors, windows,
cupboards, sinks, work surfaces and blinds and
more accessible climate and audio-visual systems.
Other changes include the use of drones, robotics
and computer programming, and more specialist
equipment in design and technology.
While new equipment is important, curriculum
enhancements are vital in ensuring there use is of optimal benefit to
the students, families and staff.
Luke Thompson, the occupational therapist leading the work,
said: ‘The aim is to provide an inclusive assistive technology
(AT) rich environment in which our students can advance their
independence and learn new skills by using AT to leverage their
learning at every opportunity, from entering the classroom to leaving
school at the end of the day.
‘It is important that the Smart school further empowers and
motivates the students to achieve their individual goals. For
example, a student with diplegia whom we want to encourage their
mobility skills, will still be expected to cross a classroom to turn on/
off a light switch, but a child who doesn’t have independent mobility
and uses Eyegaze will also, through the Smart classroom, be able
to turn the lights on/off.
‘We need to empower students not just for today’s world, but
for tomorrow’s too. AT offers children and students with motor
disorders amazing opportunities to gain employment, record their
work, become productive, socialise, engage in leisure activities and
so much more.
‘Take for example the rise of careers like social influencers were
people can make a living at home on their phone. We need to afford
and prepare our students the skills to safely use things like social
media and technology, so whether they want to be a radio DJ or a
blogger they will be safe and develop the skills to do so.’
An ethics board, including students, parents, teaching staff and
other key stakeholders, is being set up at the school to review
the use of technologies such as smart speakers and artificial
intelligence-based systems which collects and manages data.
‘There is always a risk with new technology, so we need to
ensure students and families are at the centre of our decision
making and decisions are ethical and in everyone’s best interest,’ he
says. ‘We aim to be proactive, rather than reactive and our ethics
board will aid us to be forward thinking and future ready.’
A child uses VR in a self-propelling standing frame to learn
A mobile assistive technology lab will also be available to help
parents understand how AT can be used in the home.
Luke is also working with companies, including IBM, to find
more accessible technology solutions for the pupils, while also
encouraging suppliers to make such solutions more mainstream.
He says: ’Ten years ago you could build a smart home with high
tech environmental controls that would cost in excess of £20,000;
nowadays people can get an Amazon Alexa or Google Home and
control their lights and kettles for very little money.’
Separately, Luke has worked with a volunteer developer, Andrew
Lewis, and launched a free web app called My Way to help children
with SEN to express themselves by allowing family, friends or
carers to record voice and sounds. The app is intended to offer an
alternative to robotic or inflexible voices on communication devices.
Access the app at: www.thepacecentre.org/my-way-app.
£150,000
to develop the first
classroom in the UK’s first
smart SEN school
8 OTnews July 2020