SENCOs are bombarded with apps, platforms and promises. Every supplier claims evidence. Every teacher has a favourite. Here's a framework we've developed with SENCOs across fifty schools to cut through the noise and choose tools that actually get used.
the three-minute test
If a tool takes longer than three minutes to get a child reading, it's too slow for a classroom. The best assistive tech has no login, no setup, no class code. The child opens it and points. If your trial starts with 'create an account, verify your email, invite your class,' you've already lost most of the children who need it most.
what to look for
- Works on the book the class is already reading, not a limited library of titles. If the tool only covers levelled readers, the child is locked out of the mainstream curriculum.
- No internet dependency for core use. Schools have patchy wifi. The tool should work offline for reading, even if it needs a connection to sync.
- Adjustable visual settings: font, colour tint, line spacing, contrast. One size fits nobody.
- Privacy by default: no accounts, no tracking, no data leaving the device unless the school explicitly opts in.
- Training that takes under ten minutes. If a tool needs a half-day INSET, it will sit on the shelf.
what to avoid
- Gamification layered on reading. Streaks, points and leaderboards sound motivating but often trigger anxiety and gaming behaviour, not deeper reading.
- Tools that separate the child from the class. If the assistive tech puts the pupil on a screen in the corner while everyone else shares a book, it deepens the stigma.
- Annual contracts with no trial. If a company won't let you try it with three children for a month, they don't trust their own product.
how to trial fairly
Pick three children with different profiles: one reluctant, one decoding slowly but keen, one with visual stress. Give each tool two weeks, not an hour. Measure engagement, not reading-age gain; the latter takes months. Ask the child directly: would you use this if nobody told you to? Their answer is the only one that matters.