Clicker/DocsPlus updates and opportunities for extended trials
There have been significant new updates to the Clicker software (and its secondary school equivalent, DocsPlus) that will be a fantastic boost for many of our students.
Full Widget Symbols Integration
The biggest news, especially for our borough, is that Clicker now comes bundled with Widget Symbols for free. This was previously available as a third party add-on, but at £99 per machine it was too expensive for most settings.
Tower Hamlets already provides Widget Online to all our borough schools. Clicker now includes the Widget symbol set embedded into the word predictor, spell-check, Clicker Sets, Word Sets and the document itself.
Google Classroom / Microsoft Teams Intergration
This long-awaited feature makes saving and sharing work directly to your school’s learning platforms (like Google Classroom, MS Teams, etc.) much easier and more streamlined than was previously possible. This has always been an obstacle when embedding the software within schools – particularly on iPads and especially within Secondary settings, where work is increasingly uploaded to Google Classrooms or Microsoft Teams.
Already have Clicker or DocsPlus?
If you are already using Clicker in your school, make sure you’ve updated to the latest version to access these new features!
You’ll find the Widget Symbol set in the “options” tab, under Pictures – Picturize:
Evaluation Trials
We understand that school budgets are under pressure. As educators, we all know that we often have to trial several approaches to overcome barriers to learning before we find one that works for each student. Crick offer a one month trial with all their products, but sometimes that’s not enough time to evaluate a new learning tool. With this in mind, the Learning Advisory Service has a small number of licenses for extended one term trials. If you have a students you feel may benefit from Clicker or DocsPlus get in touch.
As always, we’re happy to support with training and support around making effective use of assistive technology to support inclusion within Tower Hamlets Schools. This may include exploring new tools, or simply ensuring that your making best use of the tools that you already have in place.
Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss how we may be able to support you.
I’m excited to share a new tool I’ve created using Gemini to help parents and professionals working with children with Special Educational Needs (SEN). This “Social Story Generator” is designed to help you quickly create personalised social stories tailored to a child’s specific situation.
Social stories can be a powerful way to help a child understand a new situation, prepare for a transition, or navigate social interactions. This tool makes the process of creating them much faster and easier.
Simply describe the situation, and the generator will provide a well-structured social story you can use. You can then edit and adapt it to fit the child’s individual needs.
Get in touch if you’d like to know how to employ AI tools to support inclusion and learning in your setting.
Using Everyday Technology to Remove Learning Barriers
This guide has been adapted from a presentation to Tower Hamlets’ seconded SENCOs. It outlines practical strategies for embedding assistive technology (AT) into classroom practice — not as an add-on, but as part of everyday, inclusive teaching.
AT is no longer optional. It’s a priority area for the Department for Education, aligned with wider reforms in digital inclusion and SEND support. The tools themselves — speech-to-text, immersive readers, guided access, and more — are already built into the devices and platforms we use daily, and are developing fast thanks to advances in AI.
At the same time, schools are under huge financial pressure. The effective use of assistive technology isn’t just good for learners — it’s good for budgets, workload, and whole-school strategy.
Done well, it can:
Empower students to work more independently
Free up support staff to focus on interaction, not transcription
Help teachers focus on relationships, wellbeing, and learning — the reasons most of us came into education in the first place
What does it include:
Built-in accessibility tools in Microsoft, Google, and Apple ecosystems
Strategies for supporting literacy, focus, and access needs
Setup checklists for devices and learning platforms
Training tips for students and staff
Advice on adapting tools over time
Common barriers — and how to overcome them
AI-powered supports for differentiation and planning
This isn’t about buying new kit. It’s about using what we already have, better — to reduce barriers, improve outcomes, and create classrooms where all learners can thrive.
If you’re based in Tower Hamlets and would like help implementing any of this, refer via the online form, or contact me at ben.annett@towerhamlets.gov.uk. Or if you share an interest in technology, inclusion or education reach out on Linkedin.
Looking for the next chapter in your teaching career?
Interested in training to become a qualified dyslexia specialist?
Join the UCL for a free online event on Wednesday 12 February at 5pm where you can learn more about our Masters in Specific Learning Difficulties (dyslexia) programme.
You will find out:
How you can gain a Master’s degree from the world #1 university for Education as well as professional practice qualifications, AMBDA, APC and ATS/APS
How you can develop your knowledge and skills of dyslexia from leading experts and researchers through a combination of in-person and online teaching.
Everything you need to know about how to become qualified to teach and assess for dyslexia at Level 5 and Level 7.
In addition to a presentation from lecturers, you will also hear from past students who will tell you about their experiences of the course and the positive impact it has had on their career.
This one-hour webinar from the BDA is helpful for staff, parents, and pupils with dyslexia. It covers how to develop memory skills and positive metacognition. It gives practical examples for making revision fun, using games and teaching valuable techniques for tackling exam questions.
A ten minute from video from Darren Coxen demonstrating how you might use AI in three creative and interactive ways to explore a literacy text.
This is a very good example of how we can use AI creatively to bring the curriculum to life. We worry a lot about AI doing the students’ writing for them, but what about AI responding to the student’s work?
With a bit of imagination, we could make this work at the primary level by writing postcards to characters in our text. Or what about describing our characters using lots of lovely adjectives to create an image?
Worried about the cost? If you have Google Classrooms, you’ll likely already have access to Gemini, and there are plenty of other free or low-cost options.
Please get in touch if you want to explore ways to incorporate AI into your curriculum to motivate your reluctant writers.
Inspired by the inspiring Communication Matters AAC forum (which you should join also), I’ve set up a similar space for professionals interested in AAC, specifically for Tower Hamlets.
It’s a place for all professionals involved in AAC to ask questions (no question is too daft), share, learn, and work together to improve the provision and knowledge of low and high-tech AAC within the borough.
Essential reading for educators-‘This report presents five recommendations for mainstream primary and secondary schools seeking to improve their provision for pupils with SEND. Some of the recommendations included here will also be helpful for pupils in special schools.’ Recommendation 1 Create a positive and supportive environment for all pupils, without exception. Recommendation 2 Build an ongoing, holistic understanding of your pupils and their needs. Recommendation 3 Ensure all pupils have access to high quality teaching. Recommendation 4 Complement high quality teaching with carefully selected small-group and one-to-one interventions. Recommendation 5 Work effectively with teaching assistants.
Thursday November 23rd at the PDC Professional Development Centre (PDC): 229 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6AB
9:00-15:30 pm
Keynote Speaker: Dale Pickles
Dale, host of the SENDcast, works with schools all over the UK to help deliver best practice, reduce teacher workload and help schools move forward with assessment.
Topics on the agenda include Assessment and The Graduated Approach with Lindsey Kelly, The Tower Hamlets Dyslexia Pathway to assessment and support with the Language, Literacy and Communication Team and Behaviour and Attendance with BASS.
Conference Booking To book your place: https://www.ths4s.co.uk/Event/215122
For any further questions please contact: lindsey.kelly@towerhamlets.gov.uk linda.hall@towerhamlets.gov.uk
This is a summary of what schools can expect from the SLS during this extraordinary time . For more detail please contact the head of service Roland Ramanan: roland.ramanan@towerhamlets.gov.uk (020 73646458) or leave a message with Kathleen Duggan Kathleen.Duggan@towerhamlets.gov.uk
We continue to work in partnership with colleagues from Early Years, Early Help, Health, Social Care and across different agencies, so that children can best access some learning and stay safe. This often means working ‘behind the scenes’ with parents and professionals to join up services and systems. More information about the service can be found in the Local Offer.
(Please note – we cannot offer advice concerning the progress or processing Education Health and Care Plans or pupils with a diagnosis of Autism. For general advice about SEND, schools or EHCps please call SEND Information Advice and Support Service on 020 7364 6489 email TowerHamlets&City.SENDIASS@towerhamlets.gov.uk )
Remote support for parents of pupils with SEND
At the moment, our teams have been focussing on providing telephone and online support for parents on our case load, especially for the Sensory Support Team (see below for more details) and the Physical Disability/Complex medical advisory teachers.
We have a helpline for parents/carers to put in touch with a specialist teacher from the Spld or Language and Communication Team for advice about supporting their child.
Language and Literacy Helpline from the Support for Learning Service 020 7364 6444
