Information Learning Technology 

Using ILT to Enhance Junior School Intervention Programmes

The SCOT programme provided a major challenge to our Junior School Academic Support team as their intervention programmes normally did not require any technology. During term time, students arrive early before school intervention programmes in Maths and Literacy. Extending Mathematical Understanding (EMU) and Levelled Literacy Intervention (LLI) are delivered in small groups and provide direct instruction to the boys. Up until COVID-19 closed the school, the support teachers only used technology to photograph the learning and video record any reflections at the end of a session.

When the Government closure of all schools meant we had to move to SCOT, the Junior School Academic Support team recognised that they needed to connect with boys at home to continue with their successful EMU and LLI programmes. The support teachers also knew that they could not ask the parents to run the programmes or understand the resources and support material to deliver the lessons. The solution was using technology to allow the academic support teachers to contact each child individually and ensure that the intervention programmes could continue successfully.

The support team utilised a number of apps to help them deliver the best at-home experience. Microsoft Teams was used so the teachers could see and hear the students read, ask their comprehension questions and then adjust for the next lesson the next day. Getting levelled readers out to boys seemed almost impossible, however, the library app Sora and the Epic reading app allowed the teachers to provide access to quality levelled literacy that would still allow the intervention programme to continue. The Seesaw app was used to capture progress and share resources.

Through this journey, the Academic Support team took on so much new learning about technology and have now actively included this in their current practice in the support classroom. The support teachers all use the Seesaw app in their repertoire of tools to share the successes and learning during the before school intervention programmes. Success stories like this one are why I love working with technology to help teachers develop solutions to provide the best learning experience for our boys.

Mrs Amanda Ritchie
ILT Integration Specialist