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With the release of JCQ’s updated Adjustments for candidates with disabilities and learning difficulties document for 2025/26, SENCos across the UK are revisiting their policies and practices to ensure compliance and effective support for learners.

The changes place greater emphasis on centre-based evidence, teacher feedback, and the normal way of working. These are all areas where DocsPlus can be a powerful ally.

Strengthening evidence for Part 1 of Form 8

JCQ now requires that Part 1 of Form 8 includes detailed teacher feedback and evidence of the candidate’s normal way of working before any assessment takes place. Skeleton entries are no longer acceptable.

How DocsPlus helps:

The Analytics tool in action for JCQ updates

Supporting evidence for 25% extra time applications

To justify 25% extra time, JCQ now requires:

DocsPlus in action:

A DocsPlus Document with a Voice Note

Transitioning from GCSE to GCE/Level 3 Qualifications

JCQ now mandates a new Form 8 or Form 9 when a candidate progresses to Level 3 qualifications, even if they remain at the same centre. Updated evidence must reflect current difficulties and continued need for arrangements.

DocsPlus supports continuity:

A WorkSpace being used for planning and revision

Enhancing collaboration between teachers and SENCos

JCQ’s guidance for teaching staff highlights the importance of early identification, consistent support, and clear communication with SENCos.

DocsPlus fosters collaboration:

Final thoughts

The 2025/26 JCQ updates mark a shift toward more rigorous, evidence-based access arrangements. For SENCos, this means more responsibility - but also an opportunity to enhance support for learners. DocsPlus is more than just a writing tool; it’s a compliance-friendly, student-centred platform that helps SENCos meet JCQ requirements while empowering students to succeed.

If you're revisiting your access arrangements policy, now is the time to explore how DocsPlus can become a core part of your strategy.

Looking for more advice on how to make sure your exam access arrangements are JCQ compliant?

Or for personalised advice on using for DocsPlus subscription in exams, book an exam support meeting.  

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From extra time to effective support

The JCQ now advises that 25% extra time may not always be the most appropriate arrangement. Instead, SENCos are encouraged to consider alternatives that better reflect real-world scenarios and workplace readiness. This includes:

DocsPlus fits perfectly into this shift. It offers features like speech feedback, word prediction, and customisable writing environments - tools that help students work independently and efficiently, without relying on extended time alone. The workplace will not provide readers and writers but absolutely will offer assistive technology to support additional needs in completing day-to-day tasks.

The DocsPlus Predictor

Evidence-based practice is now essential

JCQ’s new rules require Part 1 of Form 8 to include:

DocsPlus supports this by being a tool students can use daily in lessons, making it easy for schools to demonstrate that it’s part of a candidate’s normal way of working. This strengthens applications for access arrangements and ensures compliance with inspection requirements. Don’t forget, DocsPlus’ Analytics tool gives you a quick and easy way to both monitor and track progress without adding to teacher workload.

The Analytics tool in action

Reading support that promotes independence

For candidates who only need help with occasional words or phrases, JCQ recommends using an examination reading pen. DocsPlus offers a digital alternative with its speech feedback feature, allowing students to hear text read aloud while maintaining independence - especially useful for those who find traditional pens limiting or inaccessible.

Visual adjustments made simple

A DocsPlus Document with a pre-set high contrast option.

JCQ also notes that the use of coloured paper can be a logistical challenge, and states that alternative methods like overlays or coloured glasses should also be explored. DocsPlus allows students to customise their screen background and text colour, offering a flexible and digital solution that avoids the logistical and timely challenges of printing on coloured paper.

Whole-school responsibility

The new guidelines make it clear: SENCos can’t do this alone. Teaching staff and senior leaders must actively support the identification and implementation of access arrangements. DocsPlus is a tool that can be embedded across the curriculum, making it easier for staff to contribute to a consistent and joined-up approach; we offer unlimited training and bespoke packages that suit the needs of your staff and school.

Why DocsPlus is the right fit

As schools prepare for the next exam season, the JCQ’s 2025/26 updates signal a move toward more personalised, practical, and forward-thinking support. DocsPlus offers:

For schools looking to meet the new standards while genuinely supporting their learners, DocsPlus isn’t just a helpful tool - it’s a strategic solution.

Want to learn more about using DocsPlus in exams?

Read our blogs:

Or for personalised advice on using for DocsPlus subscription in exams, book an exam support meeting.


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How do you track your pupils’ knowledge journey?

When I was teaching KS2 pupils, I know I found it challenging to find an effective solution to track prior and gained knowledge. At times I found myself relying on successfully filing away hundreds of sticky notes, or I felt like I was endlessly modelling how to draw a spider diagram neatly and accurately…

Thankfully, Clicker Board is the perfect solution to this problem – but goes one step further by helping you to accurately record and track knowledge throughout an entire topic!

Collect pupils' prior knowledge

The initial benefit of using Clicker Board to collect pupils’ prior knowledge is that it can easily be a whole class activity, or an independent activity.

If it is an independent activity, using Clicker Board makes it accessible to all learners. Clicker Board provides built-in writing support with intuitive word prediction, spell checker and speech feedback, helping pupils to write down their ideas with growing independence. Pupils can also use Voice Notes and images, which gives less confident writers an alternative way to demonstrate their prior knowledge.

What’s more, you can easily print Clicker Boards to stick into topic/curriculum books if you wish! Creating a Clicker Board is a more accessible way for many children to demonstrate their knowledge accurately, and neatly, than the alternative of a hand-drawn spider diagram (or collecting lots of sticky notes!)

How to collect evidence of knowledge across a topic

Clicker Board allows you to have multiple boards collated in one place by utilising ‘tabs’. These make it incredibly straightforward for you to track pupils' knowledge every lesson. In the images below, you can see that I’ve created tabs for different sessions, from ‘Prior Knowledge’ through to ‘Lesson 3’.

It’s a great way for pupils to ‘collect as they go’ or you can use it as a plenary at the end of the lesson to check how much they can remember/what they have learnt.

One idea is to have a knowledge question in the middle of the Clicker Board that children aim to add their answers to throughout the lesson. This could even be two or three focused questions that the children can collect the answers to.

Again, pupils can choose whether they type or use Voice Notes to record their knowledge.

using-clicker-board-to-track-prior-and-gained-knowledge-2.png

Explore our pre-made Clicker Boards

Don’t forget, LearningGrids will often have pre-made Clicker Boards that you can use for your initial prior knowledge session, which you can simply add extra tabs to as the topic progresses!

See our full collection of Clicker Boards

If you have any queries about utilising Clicker Board in your topic lessons, please contact us at info@cricksoft.com. Or you can:


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We know how important it is for teachers to keep track of their pupils’ progress throughout the learning journey. But assessment doesn’t have to be stressful or just about “final grades” - it can be a fun and informative part of the learning process.

With Clicker, teachers can easily incorporate both formative assessment and summative assessment into their teaching sequence, giving them the insights they need to tailor their content and help their pupils thrive.

In this post, we’ll explore how you can use Clicker to create engaging, effective assessments for your pupils across the curriculum.

Formative curriculum assessment

Formative assessment is a way of checking pupils' understanding during a lesson or learning process, rather than at the end. It helps teachers see how well pupils are grasping concepts and where they may need more help. This means they can adjust their teaching accordingly. The goal is to support learning and improve progress across the curriculum, rather than just measure it.

Common examples of formative assessment include:

Low-stakes assessment

Low-stakes assessment is the use of informal, fun, fast practice tests and ‘low-threat’ knowledge checks like multiple-choice quizzes, close activities, or even small group discussions – without the pressure of exams and formal assessment (and marking!).

This kind of regular retrieval exercise is a great learning (as well as assessment) tool. It provides valuable extra practice, helping children to reinforce memory and ascertain what they do (and don’t) know. It’s also great for pupils’ self-esteem and confidence – in this non-threatening situation, they get the chance to demonstrate and celebrate their learning and knowledge. And this, in turn, has a positive impact on struggling pupils who may be consolidating gaps in their own knowledge by learning from their peers.

With this in mind, here are some examples of how you might use Clicker to help.

Examples of low-stakes assessment using Clicker

Recalling information from a visual prompt

Clicker Books and Clicker Talk offer ways for pupils to engage with visual prompts whilst encouraging them to evidence their understanding in a method that suits them best. 

Pupils can use Clicker Books to record their understanding of a topic using the word processor (including support from Clicker’s built-in Predictor and Spell Check), or they can use the Record & Play button to talk about what they know. 

A Make your own Clicker Book - there is the food chain for a sparrow shown, from grass - snail - sparrow. There is a box to the right of the images where text can be added.
A Make your own Clicker Book - there is the food chain for a sparrow shown, from grass - snail - sparrow

Clicker Talk has fantastic resources for children to recall multiple pieces of information which they otherwise may have struggled to write down. This Talk Set encourages children to record up to six facts about a medieval village – which is also a handy way to collect speaking and listening evidence! 

A Talk Set with 6 recording opportunities for a picture of a medieval village.

Use Talk Sets in Clicker for children to orally demonstrate their knowledge. Research your topic for 10 minutes, then record an information podcast about 10 key points. Many of our Reading Books are linked to complementary Talk Sets so this is often an activity on LearningGrids ready to go!

A Talk Set that shows images of four different types of clouds.
A Clicker Book that has a page open explaining what Cirrus clouds are.

Interviews and hot seating

Interviews and hot seating are a great way to help pupils think from different viewpoints. As a result, you can assess how well pupils understand information by viewing it from the perspective of the historical figure or from a particular profession (archaeologist, scientist, musician, etc.). 

You can quickly create your own hot seat or interview by using the Custom Set Interview Me, which children can use to capture their thoughts about the subject and consider what they know about them.

An astronaut in the middle of the screen, surrounded by question marks, voice recording buttons and text buttons.

If you’d like to create an interview task where the pupils have the option to write or record their response, then a Clicker Document with Voice Notes is always a great option. 

A document with a picture of an astronaut, 2 voice recordings and 2 questions typed out.

Plenaries and recapping learning

Using plenary activities, teachers can reinforce understanding, identify any gaps in knowledge, and encourage pupils to consolidate their learning. This process also allows for self-assessment, boosting pupil confidence and engagement. Reviewing what’s been taught helps make sure the learning ‘sticks’ and gives a solid base for what comes next.

Examples of plenaries and recapping learning using Clicker

Key facts summary

Use a Clicker Board at the start or end of a lesson and/or topic to create a mind map to summarise knowledge and understanding – a great visual tool which can help with memory retention. We’ve been looking at medieval castles – what can we remember about their features?

A mind map in Clicker Board,. it has a castle in the middle and 7 boxes coming off it for children to write facts in.

Fill-the-blanks

Clicker Cloze enables you to create ‘fill-the-blank’ activities for checking knowledge and understanding. You can take text from anywhere on any topic – you could use corresponding Clicker resources like our Find Out and Write About sets on Ancient Egyptians. Simply paste your text into the Cloze Document and remove your chosen keywords in seconds! You can even find out at a glance how pupils have done by viewing the ‘Analytics’ tab.

For more on this, see Gemma’s fantastic tutorial video on making Cloze activities with Clicker.

A descriptive text about pyramids with a picture of a pyramid next to it.
A Cloze document with key words missing about pyramids.

You’ll find hundreds of these types of activities on LearningGrids (or of course, you can create your own) to help add to your low-stakes assessment library and get your pupils closing those gaps and showing off their learning!

Summative curriculum assessment

Summative assessment is a way of evaluating pupils' learning at the end of a lesson, unit, or course to measure their overall understanding and achievements. It is often used to assign grades or scores and is typically more formal than formative assessment. Unlike formative assessments, which help guide learning during the process, summative assessments focus on a quantifiable outcome. This is usually at the end of a learning sequence.

Examples of summative assessment include:

Topic assessments: vocabulary and key knowledge

Summative assessments in subjects like history or geography are important because they show if pupils really understand the key ideas, vocabulary, and skills they've learned during the topic unit.

For example, in history, pupils might be asked to explain terms like "empire" or sequence events in the right order to show how they connect. In geography, they might be tested on terms like "ecosystem" or how to apply what they've learned about the environment. These assessments help teachers see if pupils can make connections, use what they’ve learned, and show they’ve grasped the key topic content.

Examples of assessing vocabulary and key knowledge with Clicker

Assessing topic-specific vocabulary

A Cloze document about missing words where key words have been omitted.
A Word Bank containing the key words for writing about Egyptian mummies.

Cloze Documents and Word Banks work together brilliantly for vocabulary and key word checks. They are closed activities that offer teachers data that is easy to collate and quantify pupils’ understanding of topic-specific vocabulary.

For the first activity, pupils fill in the blanks of the Cloze Document with the correct words to show their understanding of the vocabulary or key events. Teachers can quickly see how the pupils performed with Cloze’s Analytics and correct any misconceptions. 

A Cloze document analysis - it shows how many words were entered correctly.

Alternatively, teachers can reverse the process by offering the vocabulary as a Word Bank which pupils can use to write definitions, put into sentences, or both!

The document contains facts that have been written using the key vocabulary from the Word Bank at the bottom of the screen.

Talk Sets are a fantastic resource to offer an alternative way for pupils to evidence their learning by verbally recording their responses.

Assessing key knowledge with Clicker

Connect Sets can be a great way to create resources that test pupils' understanding of key knowledge such as the sequencing of events. For example, teachers can design interactive activities where pupils match events with corresponding dates, descriptions, or outcomes. Here’s how Connect Sets could be used to test pupils’ understanding of a topic:

Sequencing events: Teachers can create a Connect Set where pupils match events with their correct positions in a timeline. For example, in history, pupils might match events like "the Viking age" with the date "AD700-1100" or "Vikings sailed across the North Sea to conquer land" with “AD865”.

Document with a Connect Set at the bottom. They include events and dates that need to be matched.

Cause and effect: Teachers can design Connect Sets where pupils pair events with their causes or consequences. For example, in science they could match event "rubbing your hands together" with "your hands become warm" to explain friction.

Event to description matching: Teachers can create a set where pupils match brief event descriptions to the correct historical event. For example, a pupil might match the description "bombs fell on British cities" with the event "The Blitz”.

These activities can be applied to a range of subjects to assess pupils’ understanding of key events, processes and information.

Summary

Using both formative and summative assessments is a great way to support your pupils’ learning and help them grow. With Clicker, you have easy-to-use tools that let you check in on their progress and adjust your teaching as needed. Whether you’re using quick, low-pressure activities to reinforce learning and build confidence or more formal assessments to see how well they’ve grasped the big ideas, you can use Clicker. Tools like Matching Sets, Talk Sets, and Cloze Documents make it simple to create fun, interactive assessments that give you valuable insights into your pupils’ understanding. These tools help you celebrate their successes and guide them to the next step in their learning journey.

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Recent JCQ updates have new guidelines for students using assistive technology (like DocsPlus) for exam access arrangements, including students with English as an Additional Language (EAL) and those sitting Functional Skills English qualifications. If your school or exam centre uses (or would like to use) DocsPlus, here's what these changes mean and what you need to know to support your students effectively. 

English as an Additional Language (EAL) updates 

The updated JCQ guidelines now state that students with EAL, and as a result have lower reading levels, can access a computer reader for exam arrangements.  

Using a computer reader enables students to independently engage with exam materials, even in sections testing reading skills. This is particularly beneficial for EAL students who require reading aid when decoding words, without gaining an unfair advantage of understanding the text through the intonation/inflexion of a human reader.  

If you have students with EAL who frequently require reading support in lessons, you can now look at supporting them in lessons and exams with a computer reader. Here are some factors that you should keep in mind: 

  1. Application process: Schools must apply for a student’s access to a computer reader in exams through the "Access arrangements online" system. As part of this process, it is essential to show that the student genuinely needs a computer reader due to poor reading skills. 
  2. Verification and training: The school's SENCo must confirm the student’s need for a computer reader, and the student must be trained to use the technology effectively.   

EAL exam access arrangements - using DocsPlus 

A computer reader includes tools like DocsPlus, which allow students to listen to exam content without interpreting or altering the material. The aim is to help students demonstrate understanding, not to give them an unfair advantage. DocsPlus can be used in day-to-day learning and support EAL students access their lessons – this also ensures the student is comfortable with the tool before the exam day. 

By using DocsPlus, EAL students can independently access exam content, providing a fair, technology-based alternative to a human reader, and helping them overcome language barriers while maintaining academic integrity. 

Functional Skills English updates 

For students taking Functional Skills English qualifications, the latest JCQ updates states that students who require support with reading can now access a computer reader in the exam.

Is a computer reader allowed in papers testing reading?

For Functional Skills English qualifications, they have made an important distinction between using a computer reader and a human reader: 

Functional Skills English exam access arrangements - using DocsPlus 

DocsPlus allows students to fulfil the requirement for independent reading comprehension because the software provides auditory support and no additional support for comprehending the text. This is particularly valuable for students who may have difficulty decoding but enables them to independently show they understand the written content. 

Since DocsPlus reads aloud without interpreting the text, students can independently fulfil the reading standards required for these exams.  

As with all exam access arrangements, training is key here—students must be proficient in using DocsPlus to ensure they can use it confidently during the assessment and as their normal way of working.  

What is “normal way of working”? 

JCQ’s guidelines are very clear that any support provided during exams must reflect the student’s "normal way of working." This means that the tools and strategies students use in exams should match what they regularly use in the classroom. 

What could "normal way of working" look like with DocsPlus? 

If a student typically uses DocsPlus for tasks like reading aloud texts or decoding complex information, this should be considered their normal way of working. Therefore, following the application process and verification from the school’s SENCo, DocsPlus would also be available during their exams. 

Schools should ensure that students get regular practice with DocsPlus in their daily learning environments. This not only boosts familiarity with the software but also ensures compliance with exam regulations. 

Why DocsPlus is a great option for exam access arrangements 

DocsPlus offers significant advantages for students needing access arrangements. By enabling independent engagement with exam texts, DocsPlus ensures that students can demonstrate their true abilities while remaining within the JCQ guidelines. 

“Our students used DocsPlus as a computer reader and this will have a positive impact on their results. They liked that it was discreet and no-one else knew that they were accessing support.”

– St Mary’s Catholic College

Additionally, DocsPlus helps schools save time, money, and avoid logistical challenges. It’s often a more cost-effective solution than providing human readers or scribes, and it reduces the complexity of organising separate rooms or additional staff for exams. Since DocsPlus allows students to work independently, it minimises the financial and administrative burden typically associated with organising human scribes and readers.  

“We used DocsPlus for the first time this year for over 70 students instead of a human reader. Due to the number of students with access requirements it would be expensive and a logistic nightmare to have enough readers for our students at GCSE time [without DocsPlus]. 

“The benefits for our college have been reduced costs for external invigilators and a reduction in the number of smaller venues needed to accommodate students accessing readers. We are pleased with the benefits DocsPlus offers.”

– Bitterne Park School 

Training and integration into daily classroom activities are essential to ensure that DocsPlus becomes the student’s normal way of working, leading to a smooth and efficient exam experience.  

“I have just started at a new school and I have brought DocsPlus in to support not just our year 11s but also our lower years. This is something I am developing and embedding into our everyday use, so that students are familiar with this during assessments.”

- Oasis Academy Oldham

Want to know more? 

Ensuring all students have a fair shot during exams is no easy task. With diverse learning needs in every classroom, it can feel overwhelming to provide the right kind of support, especially when exam time rolls around.  

The great news is, if a student qualifies for additional access arrangements in exams, they can use DocsPlus. 

DocsPlus is not just any word processor—it’s an award-winning solution that helps struggling readers and writers access the curriculum. It is a fantastic tool for learning support in classrooms and frequently used as students’ normal way of working in exams. 

Schools have shared their successful use of DocsPlus in the recent summer exams, and it’s clear: DocsPlus is making a big difference to their exam access arrangements.  

So, what exactly are the benefits?  

Here are the top five reasons why schools are loving DocsPlus for exam access arrangements. 

1. Students find it easy to use and prefer working independently 

DocReader is a tool in DocsPlus that reads aloud test and exam papers. This makes it suitable for supporting pupils who qualify for a reader as part of their exam access arrangements.  

Students benefit from using DocReader because it is simple, discreet, and allows them to work independently without needing human assistance. DocReader enables students to read their exam paper at their own pace, re-reading questions whenever they need. This helps build their confidence and positively impacts their results. 

2. Using DocsPlus reduces costs compared to external invigilators

Using DocsPlus as an alternative to human readers has significantly reduced costs and logistical challenges for schools, particularly during exam periods where a high number of students need to access support.  

3. It’s easy to set up DocsPlus for staff and students 

DocsPlus allows for quick customisation of student profiles and access arrangements, making it easier to accommodate students during exams whilst providing a straight-forward set up for exam staff.   

4. DocsPlus’ split screen streamlines the process of using a word processor to complete an exam paper

The split-screen feature of DocsPlus simplifies using technology to complete an exam by allowing students to use both the reader and word processor on one laptop. This reduces the need for IT support and improves exam navigation and completion for students.  

5. DocsPlus can be used by everyone and promotes great outcomes

DocsPlus is versatile and supports students across all year levels, reducing anxiety and improving performance by enabling them to type and manage their work independently during exams. It has been particularly effective for students who struggle with traditional exam formats or find working with human scribes or readers creates additional pressure.  

Want to find out more? 

The feedback from schools using DocsPlus for exam arrangements has been incredibly positive. It’s not just about having the right tools; it’s about creating an environment where every student feels supported, confident, and ready to succeed. 

If you’re looking to enhance your school’s exam access arrangements, DocsPlus could be just what you need. It’s more than a word processor; it’s a tool for levelling the playing field, giving every student the opportunity to excel. 

For more information: 

Assessing writing can be a difficult process.

For many teachers, balancing the progress across different aspects of writing, like handwriting or spelling, to judge a pupil’s overall progress can sometimes feel unfairly subjective. I know writing moderation often includes multiple teachers for exactly this reason – having been on many moderating panels during my years in SLT. So, for those who are looking for a more data-driven approach to assessing pupils’ writing, Clicker Analytics might be your new favourite tool for the classroom!

I am focusing on KS2 pupils for this data collection as it includes measuring spelling accuracy. As phonetically plausible spellings are acceptable in KS1, they add a layer of complexity to tracking this metric (though it is possible) in a time-efficient way.

So, here’s how Clicker Analytics can be used to collect valuable writing data to help you to measure your KS2 pupils’ writing fluency and accuracy:

1. Pick your assessment window

Do you want to collect your data every week, half-term, term or to compare the start to the end of the year? With Clicker Analytics, any of these assessment windows are a viable option without creating a huge workload, but half-termly is a great place to start if this is the first time you’re collating quantitative writing data.

2. Complete a baseline assessment

You need to have a starting point for your data – so a baseline assessment is a must. The important thing to remember here is that the work is completed independently and is completed in a set amount of time.

A great baseline assessment that I often used was descriptive writing for 20 minutes. I’d provide my class with a range of visual prompts (landscapes, animals, characters etc.) to help spark ideas and give them the best opportunity to write confidently.

3. Start collecting the data

There are only two pieces of data that are going to be tracked:

  1. Total number of words
  2. Words spelled correctly (to measure the accuracy of writing)

At first glance, this data could be very time-consuming and tedious to collect. But, if the work is completed on Clicker, Clicker Analytics does all the counting for you.

Before your pupils complete their writing task on Clicker, turn off spell check to make sure the data is accurate.

Then, once the writing has been completed, you can instantly see your quantitative writing data when you open Clicker Analytics, starting with the total number of words.

And by clicking on Spell Check and choosing ‘Uncorrected Words’ from the drop-down menu, you can see how many words have been spelled incorrectly.

To find your number of correctly spelled words complete this equation:

Total number of words – words spelled incorrectly = words spelled correctly

(For the example above, 27 – 4 = 23)

And there you have your two pieces of trackable writing data!

If you’d like to create a standardised score to track the accuracy of your pupils’ writing, you need to divide the total number of words by the words spelled correctly.

For the example above, this would be 27 divided by 23 which equals 1.17*
*A perfect score is 1 – so the larger the number is, the higher the levels of inaccuracy.

Here’s a simple example of how you can collate the data:


4. Repeat!

You can now collect your data as frequently as you would like – and over a range of writing genres and topics to get a quantitative understanding of how your pupils’ writing is progressing to help shape your overall impression of their writing development.

What next?

For those of you who already have a Clicker subscription, here are some other resources you might find helpful:

Or if you are new to Clicker and would like to find out more, you can:

Vanessa Simons has extensive experience using Clicker to support her son, Oliver, who is minimally verbal. Over the years, she has witnessed remarkable progress in Oliver's verbal communication skills, including a 60% increase in his verbal utterances since using Clicker. 

Recently, Vanessa shared a glowing update about Oliver’s progress and the impact Clicker has had on his learning journey: 

“I wanted to reach out to express my gratitude for your product Clicker and share how it has significantly impacted my son’s learning journey. Today, my son can effortlessly and independently type his work using Clicker. The Sentence Sets feature, along with auditory support, has been instrumental in helping him become independent with his typing. Recently, my son has started transcribing moments from his life using Clicker. His ability to chronologically express his experiences has been remarkable. This newfound communication skill has given me invaluable insights into how he processes information. His increased verbal utterances allow him to express his daily needs and negotiate alternatives effectively.”

We always love hearing how Clicker is making a difference in children’s learning and opening up the world of communication for them. Hearing from Vanessa was absolutely fantastic! 

Vanessa also discussed with us her recent blog post, which explores combining Bloom’s Taxonomy – a framework designed to encourage higher-order thinking – with the supportive features in Clicker to scaffold her son’s learning. Vanessa has found that this approach can provide valuable insights into instructional planning and support for neurodiverse learners. 

How Vanessa uses Clicker following Bloom’s Taxonomy: 

  1. Remembering (Knowledge): Clicker provides levelled reading passages and matching exercises to help children recall facts through visual and audio cues. 
  2. Understanding: Clicker’s Connect Sets and Word Banks help children combine pictures and words to form sentences, reinforcing understanding through scaffolded learning. 
  3. Applying: For minimally verbal children, this might involve using communication tools like picture cards to express needs. Clicker aids in expanding vocabulary and applying it in different contexts, enhancing communication skills. 
  4. Analysing: Clicker Sets help children recall and sequence stories and answering ‘WH questions’ (who, where, what, why, when etc.) to develop comprehension. 
  5. Evaluating: Although complex evaluations may be challenging for some minimally verbal children, they can still express preferences and make choices. Clicker Boards can be used to evaluate characters by describing them or sorting character traits to show their understanding of a character’s motives. 
  6. Creating: Clicker’s Talk Sets and Clicker Boards encourage creative writing and storytelling, helping children combine ideas and produce original work.  
    Read Vanessa’s blog post in full

    Find out how Clicker can help your pupils

    Vanessa’s personal experience using Clicker with her son continues to show brilliant development. Oliver has progressed from no typing skills to independently typing and creating structured narratives using Clicker. If you’d like to explore using Clicker in your setting, here are some useful links to get you started: 

    Or you can always talk to a member of our friendly team by emailing info@cricksoft.com or calling 01604 671691.

    We’re thrilled to announce that Clicker has won the '2024 Primary Resource or Equipment – ICT' award at the Education Resources Awards! 

    The ERA is an annual celebration of excellence for suppliers and teaching professionals in the education sector, and its awards are widely acknowledged as a benchmark of excellence.  

    It’s fantastic that Clicker continues to be recognised as an award-winning resource for primary schools – the judges said that Clicker is: 

    "A very impactful resource which can be applied across the curriculum. Good for differentiating and scaffolding written tasks and supporting speech and language as well as writing. [It] has been around for a long time but keeps getting better and better!” 

    If you would like to see Clicker in action, don’t hesitate to book a free staff demo for your school. 

    If you follow our social channels, you’ll know that we love sharing schools’ Clicker successes. What’s so brilliant about our most recent examples is how varied they are.

    Clicker’s writing support comes in different shapes and sizes. From word prediction to sentence structure support and everything in between, pupils are great at using the tools that suit their learning best!

    We love this idea – drawing pictures and writing matching sentences is a great way to get pupils to engage with their writing. Clicker also has a bank of images that pupils can insert into their documents in the CrickPix library if they’d prefer.

    Using Clicker’s Connect Sets is a brilliant way to build pupils’ understanding of sentence structure – but you can also use colourful semantics within Clicker, too! We did a fantastic free webinar about it with Tom McDonald where he demonstrated how to build colourful semantics activities in Clicker. It’s still available on our website for you to watch today!

    And lastly, using our wider curriculum resources from LearningGrids, this school have had fantastic fun writing and following their instructions for making paper aeroplanes!  

    If your school uses Clicker, please share your lessons and writing with us – we absolutely love to see what your pupils have been learning about.

    Or, if you’ve seen something that’s inspired you to find out more about getting Clicker into your school, you can:

    We’ve thoroughly enjoyed fundraising for KidsAid over the last two years and seeing the amazing difference the money has made. Our donations have mainly been used to refurnish and supply resources for their therapy rooms, which are a crucial part of the support they offer local children and their families.

    We are thrilled to share that the final figure from our fundraising is a whopping £6,398.30!

    Here’s a little look back at some of the fundraising efforts our team made and the brilliant transformation of KidsAid’s therapy rooms:

    BEFORE

    AFTER

    It’s been wonderful watching the transformation of their therapy rooms and learning about the brilliant support they provide for families and young people within Northamptonshire. If you’d like to find out more about their fantastic work, you can visit their website.

    We have a fantastic new success story to share with you from the Pupil and School Support service at Birmingham City Council and Montgomery Primary School.

    They worked together on a project to evaluate the impact Clicker had on pupils’ progress against the Birmingham SEN Toolkit Writing Bands. 

    “A small group of pupils were identified that would benefit most from the project. They were a group of boys who were reluctant writers and their toolkit data showed that they needed additional targeted support to progress their writing. They needed support to compose simple sentences to express their ideas and in addition, further support with their spelling skills. They were finding challenge in combining all the skills needed to translate their ideas onto paper and as a result of this were becoming reluctant writers.”

    The project found that using Clicker boosted the children’s writing progress, engagement, and attitude:

    “The children went from not writing, or hardly writing at all, to producing full pieces of work! The children loved it and based on the toolkit data they all made good progress, particularly in relation to their previous rates of progress. Typically, you would aim for two to three bands of progress a year, but some of the group had already achieved that in the second term of using Clicker! Seeing such good results so quickly with Clicker was very positive.

    The project was a real win for the children involved because they had previously disengaged with writing, and now we could see that their whole attitude to writing had improved and changed with the use of Clicker. They began to see themselves as writers.”

    Want to know more?

    At the start of every year, we take a company-wide vote to decide which of the many worthy organisations in our local area will be the Crick Software ‘charity of the year.’ We then spend the next 12 months undertaking all manner of fundraising to make as much money for them as we can!

    This year, the team’s clear winner was The Lowdown – a mental health charity supporting young people in Northamptonshire.

    Why The Lowdown?

    The Lowdown provides free and confidential support services for 11- 25-year-olds in Northamptonshire and believes that no young person should ever experience mental health issues alone. They offer a caring environment where young people are always supported on their journey towards positive emotional health and wellbeing.

    Their work

    The Lowdown works with young people to provide accessible, safe, welcoming, confidential and non-judgemental services including:

    Last year, over 2000 young people were supported by the charity!

    [trp_language language="en_GB"]

    The Lowdown’s work is vital to thousands of young people in Northamptonshire, so the team felt strongly that they should receive our support as Crick Software’s charity of the year 2024.

    [/trp_language]

    Where we come in

    We have lots of fun activities planned to ensure that 2024 is our most successful fundraising year ever, including bake sales and sponsored challenges. As ever, we’ll keep you posted via our Facebook and X channels.

    If you’d like to find out more about The Lowdown or support the vital work that they do, you can visit their website here.

    New this month, DocsPlus users can now join our DocsPlus Community Facebook Group.

    This group is for individuals, parents and professionals who use DocsPlus – our award-winning writing tool for secondary schools. In this group we will share regular DocsPlus updates, tips, resources, and useful information about the software. These will include:

    We also encourage group members to come together and ask questions, share any DocsPlus wins and learn from each other’s successes with the software!

    So, if you’re a DocsPlus user, it’s time to join our DocsPlus Community Facebook Group.

    We look forward to seeing you there!

    As 2023 draws to a close, it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on some of the Clicker successes we’ve celebrated this year. One of which came from Rebecca Hammonds, writing lead and year 5 class teacher at St Catherine’s Academy.

    St Catherine’s started their Clicker journey back in 2022 as part of a Laurel Trust funded project, looking at how Assistive Technology can support learners to record their ideas. The evidence they collected was overwhelmingly positive and as a result, Clicker was rolled out as a school-wide approach to learning support.

    Since its initial implementation at St Catherine’s Academy, Clicker continues to improve pupil confidence and enjoyment in writing across the whole school, for all pupil groups.

    Rebecca shared with us many examples of how Clicker has transformed the teaching and learning at St Catherine’s Academy, including:

    Offering flexible support

    “We love the flexibility Clicker offers our school in terms of pupil support… we have embedded Clicker in whole class teaching, as well as small groups and support for pupils with high needs. Our learning support and use of Clicker is travelling through word of mouth and our successes are inspiring other schools to come and see it for themselves…”

    Building resilience

    “The children are really resilient learners with Clicker. We’ve noticed that very quickly the children are becoming familiar with the software and know how the features help them when they write. As a result, we’re seeing a huge improvement in their independence as writers… Our year 4 teacher has noticed the improvement in the quality of writing that her class produce because they’re enjoying the writing process much more with Clicker and relying less on adult support…”

    Improving learning outcomes

    “In general, Clicker has improved the quantity of writing our children can produce in the given time frame. They feel supported for much more of the lesson because of Clicker’s support features, and the quality of what they write has improved too.”

    Optimising teacher time during class

    “The most noticeable benefit of Clicker is that it has given us so much more time within the classroom. Clicker gives us the flexibility of being able to support more children in one given session, as opposed to maybe the one or two children who require a lot more of your time and support. All the teachers that I’ve spoken to agree that Clicker improves pupils’ independence in lessons, and the direct impact of that is teachers gain ‘independence’ too as they aren’t sat beside the same children throughout an entire lesson…”

    Increasing pupil independence

    “We see far fewer children sitting there and not putting pen to paper for half a lesson or sat there with their hand up constantly. It makes perfect sense that by increasing pupil independence, the teachers benefit, too!”

    In Rebecca’s success story she provides detailed examples of each teaching and learning benefit Clicker has provided St Catherine’s Academy. 

    Read her success story to find out more, including how Clicker features such as Voice Notes, Sentence Sets, and Picturize have contributed to the Academy’s Clicker success!

    St Catherines Academy Success Story Screenshot 1

    To close this success story reflection, here are some words from the pupils themselves, who absolutely love using Clicker!

    “It’s really helpful and when I can’t always have my teacher, Clicker is like my teacher. I love that it reads my work back.”

    “I was struggling with writing, but Clicker makes my writing clearer. I can now read my work back so I can make the edits I need to.”

    We are delighted to announce that Clicker has won the 2023 Bett Award for ‘Primary – Digital Learning Product – Language and Literacy’.

    The Bett Awards are a celebration of the inspiring creativity and innovation that can be found throughout technology for education. Everyone at Crick is over the moon to win this award – the Bett Awards are the ‘Oscars’ of the EdTech industry, and winning one makes us so proud!

    It’s brilliant that Clicker is continuing to be recognised as the best digital support tool available to primary students. To win an award that celebrates Clicker’s ability to support Literacy and Language for pupils of all ages and abilities is fantastic.

    This is the first year that Bett have included the ‘Primary – Digital Learning Product – Language and Literacy’ so we are thrilled to have won – it also makes Clicker a ten-time Bett award winner!

    Here’s what the judges had to say about Clicker:

    "This well-loved product continues to innovate to retain its distinctive position. It has a wealth of resources for teachers to embed across the curriculum with a comprehensive package of language support that enriches the classroom as well as the home for developing writing, reading and vocabulary."

    Winning this award reflects the commitment of our incredibly talented team, and all the dedicated teachers who work with Clicker every day to build confidence and success for children of all abilities.

    If you would like to see Clicker in action, don’t hesitate to book a free staff demo for your school.

    If you’re using DocsPlus on iPads or Chromebooks, we have some excellent news for you!

    Previously, our intuitive planning tool WorkSpace was only available to Windows/Mac users, but now it is also built into our DocsPlus app.

    WorkSpace is an incredible tool that your students can now carry with them. They can create mind maps and storyboards with words, pictures and voice recordings for any subject, in any classroom!

    All of DocsPlus' support features are available within WorkSpace. Students can listen to their text with the speech tool, use the word Predictor to help find the right word and correct any spelling errors with the help of the talking spell checker.

    When your students are ready to write, they can send their WorkSpace mind map to a DocsPlus document in a format that suits their writing task and learning style. They can send it as a diagram, an essay outline, or even transform their mind map into a useful Wordbar!

    Free access for current subscribers

    WorkSpace is available now in our DocsPlus app for all our current DocsPlus subscribers – simply update DocsPlus on your device(s) and WorkSpace will be available for your students.

    If you require any further guidance, our support team will be happy to help.

    (For a quick recap on how to use WorkSpace, you can watch our handy video demonstration here.)

    Don’t have DocsPlus yet?

    If you would like to explore how DocsPlus can help your struggling students tackle secondary school writing tasks with confidence, we offer free 15-minute consultations where we’ll discuss your students’ specific learning challenges and how DocsPlus can support them.

    You can choose the date and time that works best for you here.

    We’ve also got lots more information about our DocsPlus app and the complete DocsPlus package on our website

    Earlier this year we were thrilled to welcome Rachel Lawson, Deputy Head at Lansdowne Primary School, to share her trust’s Clicker success story with us as the focus of a free webinar.

    Since we met with Rachel, the Stour Academy Trust has received some wonderful news! They have been nominated for 2 National MAT awards (including the Innovation Award for ‘outstanding use of technology and digital adoption/transformation’), and Lansdowne Primary has received a glowing Ofsted report in their recent inspection, where it was praised for its use of technology and its ‘significant and positive impact on pupils’ learning’. 

    During Rachel’s webinar with us, she explained her instrumental role in implementing Clicker across the trust as part of their 1-1 iPad program. As a result, Rachel has seen a significant boost in writing attainment and confidence during this time. The Stour Academy’s success story is a brilliant example of how Clicker can be utilised across numerous schools to benefit pupils and staff.

    Why did Rachel choose Clicker?

    When Rachel first moved to Lansdowne Primary School, she recognised that her class displayed a vast range of abilities and barriers towards writing independently. The writing gap in upper KS2 was widening at a rapid pace and children were below their age-related expectations.

    “We put a range of strategies in place to try and improve writing, but nothing seemed to work. I had used Clicker in my previous school… I knew that Clicker could be differentiated easily and would increase the standard of independence in writing - I was excited to see the impact it would have!
    Over time, we saw huge, positive effects on the quality and independence of our struggling writers”

    What made the trust implement Clicker more widely?

    After seeing incredible results from implementing Clicker to support her Year 5 and 6 students, Rachel sought an objective opinion on how she was using Clicker in her lessons from local specialist teachers. It was a success! Consequently, the trust’s CEO implemented Clicker across every school in the trust…

    “We rolled Clicker out across our 8 schools!
    One of the biggest successes that the use of Clicker had evidenced was that it allowed teachers to see and capture moments of a child demonstrating their true ability, which often would be missed by the use of just pen and paper.”

    What impact has Clicker had on pupil progress?

    Rachel moderated the use of Clicker closely, including comparing lessons where Clicker was used, with those where it was not. She analysed data such as the amount of time taken for a child to complete a task, as well as their level of independence throughout. Rachel also reviewed examples of children’s work produced with and without Clicker…

    “Over the course of 4 months, we used Clicker to vary [a child’s literacy] support, and target his specific learning needs. As a result of this bespoke targeted support, we saw a drastic improvement in his writing (right picture). As the quality and independence improved, we were able to remove elements of support to further promote and extend his writing independence and confidence. Using Clicker progressed and accelerated his writing outcomes more than could have been possible with a class of 30.”

    What feedback has the trust received since using Clicker?

    The Stour Academy Trust‘s fantastic implementation of Clicker has led to wonderful results for their learners…

    “Since using Clicker, our pupils believe that they can succeed in writing – their overall outcomes and progress has accelerated, and we have had successful internal and district moderations whilst using the program. Our feedback from external professionals have reinforced that Clicker is an inclusive tool and one that has truly supported our children’s writing and overall independence.”

    Want to know more?

    We’ve got another exciting development to share with you this week…

    Previously, the Clicker Board feature was only available to Windows/Mac users, but now it is also available within our Clicker Writer app for iPad and Chromebook!

    Clicker Board is an incredible planning tool that helps pupils prepare for writing. Pupils can add text, images, and sounds to their planning whilst accessing all of Clicker’s support features including realistic speech feedback, word prediction and a talking spell checker.

    Clicker Board now provides Clicker Writer users with many intuitive features that make planning an accessible task for all pupils, including:

    Visual and audio support

    Clicker Board utilises text, image and sound to ensure that every learner can plan their work in the way that suits them best. Images can be chosen from over 4500 curriculum pictures in the CrickPix library, or users can create their own using the painting tools. For strong verbal communicators, Voice Notes can be added to Clicker Boards to ensure they can capture their ideas, too.

    Plans transform into structured writing support

    When your pupils have completed their board, they can transform it into a word or picture bank that will sit at the bottom of the document as they are writing, providing instant touch access to key words, phrases and/or images. The bank intuitively mimics the structure of their board – which helps pupils to organise their written paragraphs and transfer their ideas to the page in a logical order.

    Click here for a quick video demonstration!

    Clicker’s integrated support features

    All of Clicker’s support features are available while pupils create their Clicker Board. They can listen back to their text with the speech tool, use the predictor tool to help find the right word, and correct any spelling errors with the help of the talking spell checker.

    Free access for current subscribers

    Clicker Board is available now in Clicker Writer for all our current Clicker subscribers – simply update Clicker on your device(s) and Clicker Board will be ready to go!

    If you require any further guidance, our support team will be happy to help.

    Don’t have Clicker yet?

    If you would like to explore how Clicker can raise literacy attainment and enjoyment across your school, we offer free 15-minute consultations where we’ll discuss your pupils’ specific learning challenges and objectives, and how Clicker can help.

    You can choose the date and time that works best for you here.

    We’ve also got lots more information about Clicker Writer and the complete Clicker package on our website.

    It’s a new year and a new term, which means that most schools will have recently carried out end-of-term assessments for teachers to gain a summative insight into how the needs of their class have changed over the first term. Subsequently, many will have identified children who require extra support to keep them, or get them, on track.

    When looking at writing outcomes, teachers often consider the same questions to identify whether their pupils would benefit from attending writing intervention groups…

    Clicker’s intuitive word processor, including Spell Checker, Predictor, Voice Notes, Word Banks and Writing Grids, is an excellent tool that your pupils can use to transform their daily writing challenges into achievable targets.

    Here I’m going to break down how Clicker supports children as they develop these writing skills. I will provide detailed explanations and examples to show how Clicker is a fantastic resource for supporting intervention groups:

    Do they write sentences that ‘don’t make sense’ and read aloud work that is different from what they have written?

    This is where Clicker is an invaluable tool for pupils who struggle to check their work for sense. Its realistic speech feedback can be accessed at any time by pupils as they write, edit, or check their work. It is initiated by clicking a word, highlighting a phrase or sentence, and pressing the speaker icon, and every time a pupil inserts a period as they write.

    I have endlessly repeated in the classroom, “Check your work as you write… don’t wait until the end to check that your sentences make sense… I should be able to hear you reading your writing aloud… Use your finger to make sure you’ve written what you meant to write…”

    Alas... I could probably count on one hand the number of children who would actually do this every lesson, for every piece of writing.

    There are several reasons why my pupils struggled to follow my advice as closely as I’d hoped:

    1. They’d forget – it happens to the best of us!
    2. They were too embarrassed to read their work aloud
    3. They thought reading with their finger was for ‘younger children’
    4. They didn’t want to find a mistake as correcting it would have a knock-on effect with the layout/presentation of their writing

    Having access to Clicker removes all these hurdles.

    1. Clicker’s speech feedback enables pupils to check each sentence as they write it, because this automatically occurs when they insert a period. They don’t need to remember to check!
    2. They don’t have to be embarrassed about reading their work aloud as it reads their work for them. It also encourages accurate punctuation, as if a child hasn’t ‘heard’ their sentences for a while, it means they haven’t been using full stops!
    3. Clicker highlights the text in red as it reads back, so children have the benefit of word-by-word reading, without having to use their finger to follow the text.
    4. Furthermore, allowing children to practise writing with a word processor makes editing and checking work an easier, more enjoyable process as it doesn’t have a knock-on effect to the layout of the rest of the work.

    Are they able to spot a mistake in their writing and know how to correct it?

    Here is a piece of writing from a child who was inspired by The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

    How does Clicker help a child spot their mistakes?

    Before using Clicker, a child may read this writing as they intend it to sound, and therefore miss spelling mistakes or missing words. When using Clicker, most spelling mistakes are indicated by the red line, whilst others are words that are spelt correctly, but used incorrectly. This is where Clicker’s speech feedback will be incredibly useful as it will pronounce the word that has been written, as opposed to the word that is intended.

    Working through the spellings, children can access Clicker’s Spell Check to help identify the correct spelling.

    By right clicking each word, the child can listen to the suggestions and see if their intended word is in the list.

    The words can be left clicked and chosen, automatically inserted in the sentence, and then the full sentence is read back to the child for a final check.

    If the word is not suggested in spell check, a child may be able to decipher part of the spelling error by listening to their word aloud. However, some children may listen to a word like ‘frighten’ and select it because it sounds very similar to their intended word. Clicker Analytics is perfect for moments like this because it highlights changed words and provides details into how the alternative word was chosen. We can see that the child initially put the ‘d’ sound on the end of their attempt ‘fritnd’ and chose a more accurate alternative spelling with ‘frighten’. However, this word is in the wrong tense. This identifies a next step for this child of listening for ‘ed’ sounds on the end of past tense verbs, but also encourages more accurate spelling with the correct trigraph for the ‘igh’ sound in ‘frightened’.

    For children who have habitual spelling mistakes, Clicker has an option for teachers to add this to their predictor’s word pool through the document’s options.

    By adding the ‘sumfing’ spelling and ‘something’ as the correction, this will now be part of the child’s spell check moving forwards!

    The final spelling corrections the child needs to identify is words that are spelt incorrectly for this context. For instance, the word ‘saw’ is spelt as ‘sow’. The child will be able to identify this by listening back to their sentence with Clicker’s realistic speech feedback and select the correct word with support from Clicker’s word predictor.

    The child may identify that the diagraph at the end of the word is producing the wrong sound and attempt to change the spelling with ‘sor’. In this instance, it would then provide a red line and the child can select ‘saw’ as the correct spelling after listening to the word with a right click.

    If the child does not make this phonetic connection, this could identify the need to revisit the ‘or’ and ‘ow’ sounds with some extra phonics practise! Using Clicker can highlight a misconception in a child’s phonetic understanding that handwritten work alone may not identify.

    The same tools and strategies can be applied to the second sentence until the child reaches the missing word ‘and’ between ‘wardrobe’ and ‘gasped’. This will be identified by the child hearing the sentence back and noticing the missing word. If they do not identify the missing word, it instead identifies a teaching point for this child.

    A brilliant tool to then implement would be a Cloze document that encourages this child to select the correct conjunction to join simple ideas. This could then be used for the next intervention session!

    Lastly, I have turned off the ‘automatic capitalisation after full stops’ setting to ensure that I could fully understand each child’s writing process. As pupils do require 1:1 teacher support at some point during intervention groups, this may be the perfect opportunity for teachers to focus on this misconception. The child can then listen back to their work, identify the full stops, and add the capital letter to the subsequent word.

    Are they struggling to write cohesive ideas or extend them beyond simple sentences?

    Clicker can help pupils develop their ability to write cohesive ideas through practice with Sentence Sets and Cloze activities.

    Sentence Sets are a brilliant tool because they can easily be pitched to meet the needs of the pupil.

    For instance, a child who needs support writing simple sentences with correct word order and sense would benefit from practising with a Sentence Set like:

    Including basic word classifications to encourage good sentence structure and understanding is a brilliant starting point for this type of writing intervention – and quickly builds confidence for the child.

    Sentence Sets can be presented to the pupil in 4 different forms:

    1. Alphabetical – words are listed in alphabetical order
    2. Random – words are listed in a random order
    3. Sentence Order – words are presented in the correct order
    4. Guided Order – words are presented in the correct order and are only available to select in the correct order

    Having the option to change the word order ensures that children can get the precise intervention they need for their current writing ability. Sentence Sets can also be made more complex by introducing other word categories like adjectives and adverbs to the sentences.

    When children are confidently writing Sentence Sets in the correct order, you can utilise Clicker’s Cloze activities. These are great for consolidating knowledge whilst allowing children to show some creativity.

    Is their spelling below age expected standard or is their vocabulary limited and impacting their progress?

    Spelling and vocabulary can be a challenge for pupils for many reasons. Luckily, Clicker’s built-in tools can help pupils feel successful with words and build their confidence.

    The first feature that would be great to utilise in a writing intervention group is Clicker’s Word Banks.

    Word Banks can be downloaded with ease from LearningGrids or can be made by teachers to provide customised vocabulary banks.

    Using Word Banks gives pupils the access to correctly spelt vocabulary, whilst reducing their cognitive load.

    It is typical for teachers to provide spellings, genre-specific word lists etc. during a writing task – but this still requires the pupils to copy them accurately (often having to look back at the word multiple times) and can be a demoralising task for pupils if they need to do it frequently. It also slows down their writing pace, which can interfere with their thought process and their intended sentence content.

    Intervention groups are as much about building confidence and helping children to feel successful in their writing as they are about filling gaps, correcting misconceptions and developing skills. Word Banks are a great way to introduce new vocabulary, or even for pupils to access age-expected vocabulary as they write.

    Clicker’s intuitive predictor and spell checker are fantastic tools to help pupils identify spelling mistakes with independence and gives them the opportunity to correct them before showing their work to their teacher.

    Using Clicker to provide these interventions helps the teacher track their progress too – particularly with elements like spelling and vocabulary selection. With pen and paper, it is difficult to identify ‘how’ a child chose that spelling – whether they had looked it up in a dictionary, a given prompt-sheet or if they know how to spell the word independently.

    Using Clicker Analytics enables teachers to understand how words were spelt/selected as it shows:

    If you have any questions about how else you can utilise Clicker to support your pupils’ writing progress, please get in touch at info@cricksoft.com.

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