Clicker is one of the most widely used reading and writing support tools for children with dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies.

There are lots of different tools within Clicker that address the specific challenges that children with dyslexia can face. In this blog, we’ll be exploring some of those tools in more detail and sharing how they are empowering dyslexic learners across the UK.

Resources to support phonological awareness

Phonological awareness is a common challenge for learners with dyslexia. This means that they find it hard to recognise and manipulate the sounds in words. Having trouble in this area can make spelling difficult, as children often use the similarities and differences they notice in word sounds as the basis for their spelling attempts.

There are a number of resources on LearningGrids that are specifically designed to help learners build up this skill.

The Alliteration section in the LearningGrids Sounds and Letters category has some great resources to help learners pick up on initial letter sounds.

For example, learners can use the Alliteration Sentences Connect Set to build alliterative sentences. Each tab in the set focuses on a different letter sound and learners click the cells to form the sentences.

You can also use resources in the Rhymes section to work on word endings. The Rhyming Sentences Connect Set is similar to the Alliteration version. However, there is an extra layer of challenge as pupils have to choose the words that rhyme from a selection.

When using any writing grid, learners can right-click a cell to have the word read aloud to them in a clear realistic child’s voice. This means learners have the extra support of being reminded what the word sounds like when they need it.

“By using a LearningGrids resource, our pupil was able to demonstrate that she was more knowledgeable about the topic than her peers! If she had been assessed through written outcomes or worksheets alone, then she would not have achieved the same success.” - Margaret O'Connell, Mclean Primary School.

Tools to manage spelling struggles

Spelling can be a challenge for many pupils, especially in a language like English where the words often don’t sound the way they are spelled.

Clicker has several tools to ensure that spelling difficulties don’t stop pupils from writing.

Firstly, users benefit from the Spell Check which instantly alerts them to a misspelt word with a red underline. Users can then select their desired word from a drop-down menu and listen to each option to be sure they have made the correct selection.

The Predictor is another great option for struggling spellers. As pupils type it offers context-appropriate and grammatically correct suggestions for the next word. The suggestions help keep writing momentum going as learners don’t have to stop and think about how to spell the word they’re thinking of.

“The Predictor is really useful for the children who struggle with their spelling and have dyslexic tendencies. Their reading is usually at a much higher level than their spelling, and with Clicker they can see the word they want to use and select it, rather than misspelling it. It means they can focus on what they want to write instead of having to spend time thinking about each word individually.” - Emma Gorton, SENDCo, Micklehurst All Saints Primary School

You can customise both of these tools to better support your learners with the help of the Word Pool. Clicker’s spelling tools are designed to recognise phonetic spelling attempts such as ‘alefent’ for elephant. But if your learner has any particular misspellings that are not being picked up, you can add them to the Word Pool. Once added, the Predictor and Spell Check will offer the correct word.

Picture support to make connections

“Adding pictures to support her writing was particularly effective. She started making connections between words and images, which helped with spelling and vocabulary development.” - Staff member in an Aberdeenshire school supporting a pupil with dyslexia

The Picturize function is available throughout Clicker. Learners can choose to have images added to each word as they type. They can also have images appear next to the suggestions in the Spell Check and Predictor for extra confirmation that they have chosen the word they were looking for. Pictures can also be added to writing grid cells, helping learners access and select vocabulary more independently.

You can choose from images from the CrickPix library, a library of over 10,000 Widgit Symbols. You can also create and use your own images / photos.

Planning that doesn’t rely on spelling and writing

Planning is an important stage for longer pieces of writing. But making written plans or extended notes can be more overwhelming than helpful for learners with dyslexia. Many learners find planning much easier with the help of Clicker Board, a built-in visual planning tool.

This tool is especially helpful for learners with dyslexia, who often lean towards visual thinking and learning. With a Clicker Board, learners can organise their thoughts in a layout that makes sense to them.

Learners can create custom Clicker Boards from scratch or use topic-relevant templates from LearningGrids. All of Clicker’s writing support tools are still available when working with a Clicker Board, including the Spell Check, Predictor, and speech feedback. This takes away writing pressure and gives learners space to think about their ideas.

“Before using Clicker, children would attempt to make plans on paper, and sometimes their writing would be illegible, or they would lose track of their ideas as they couldn’t make sense of what they had written. However, with Clicker, the children now enjoy planning their work on mind maps using Clicker Board.” - Jacqui Rodger, Forehill Primary School

Learners can also plan using Voice Notes. They can be added to a Clicker Board as part of a wider planning process or used in a Document to rehearse and plan sentences before they write them. In both cases, Voice Notes give learners the opportunity to capture ideas without worrying about spelling.

These tools are just some of the ways that Clicker can support pupils with dyslexia. To learn more, take a look at the helpful articles and real-life examples here:

• Clicker: Inclusive classroom support for dyslexic learners
  
  
• 'Clicker empowers our pupils to reach their full potential' - Riverside Primary's success story
  
  
• 5 top tips for using Clicker to support pupils in writing lessons

When learners struggle with literacy at secondary school, they take those challenges with them into every subject they study. For these students to reach their full academic potential, they need supports that can be adapted to each area of study.

In this blog, we’ll explore some of the specific challenges that come with Geography lessons and assessments, and how DocsPlus can be used to help learners overcome them.

Acquiring new topic vocabulary

Acquiring new vocabulary is a common challenge for learners at secondary school. According to recent reports, almost half of all secondary teachers feel their students lack confidence in using general academic vocabulary.

This process can be especially difficult in a subject like Geography that uses lots of tricky Tier 3 words that students are unlikely to encounter outside of the lesson.

So how can we encourage students to start using words like migration, supercontinent, and photochemical in lessons?

Our Customer Experience Consultant, Katy, recently hosted a webinar: DocsPlus & academic language. Here are some of the key takeaways, and how they can apply to Geography.

Make reading accessible

Coming across an unfamiliar word when reading classroom texts can be quite intimidating for learners who have trouble with reading and writing. So, it’s important to make reading materials accessible and give students a chance to decode at their own pace.

You can upload any texts saved as a PDF or DOCX file into the DocReader. This enables students to have the words read aloud to them in a clear, realistic voice. Your learners can go back to any words or passages they want to hear again, as many times as needed. This gives them a chance to process the meaning of the text, at their own pace.

Collect vocabulary

Another important step is to give students a way to collect the subject-specific vocabulary they need to help solidify their understanding. This is where WorkSpaces can be particularly effective.

WorkSpace is a customisable visual planning tool. Before introducing a new topic or starting a writing task, learners can gather the words they will need to know into a WorkSpace. You can use this either as a solo activity or as a whole-class activity to embed the words and ensure that students can refer to them later.

You can find plenty of pre-made options on LearningGrids, our bank of curriculum resources. Plus, they are easy to edit as needed, and you can create your own WorkSpace from scratch if you need something more specific.

For example, this WorkSpace helps learners solidify their understanding of different types of drought.

And you can adapt this glossary resource to whichever topic you're working on by simply editing the text in the cells on the left.

Prompt learners to use topic vocabulary

In addition to helping students acquire vocabulary, DocsPlus can also support them by providing prompts and reminders to use these words in their written work.

Once a student has collected vocabulary in their WorkSpace, they can send it as an image to their Document as a visual reminder to use the words they gathered. They can also convert their WorkSpace into a Wordbar to further support their writing.

Wordbars give learners point-and-click access to subject-specific vocabulary and allow them to easily add tricky words into their tasks, without spelling or memory challenges getting in the way.

The Predictor is another great tool to prompt learners to use important vocabulary. The tool predicts the next word in the sentence based on what the student is writing. This can be especially helpful for topics like Geography with lots of subject-specific vocabulary, as it will prioritise any words in open Wordbars. Your learners will receive subject-specific suggestions, which will give them an opportunity to think critically about their word choices as they assess which option is most appropriate for their writing.

Reducing demands on cognitive load

When studying Geography, students have to process lots of complex information and concepts. From understanding the process of coastal erosion, to memorising facts and figures about population change, the subject can be quite cognitively demanding.

Cognitive load theory is the idea that our working or short-term memory can only deal with a limited amount of information at any one time. Too much and the result, according to educational psychologist John Sweller, is “cognitive overload”.

A key strategy to manage cognitive load when learning new things is to activate prior knowledge before starting work on new learning, encouraging students to pull what they have previously learned (from their long-term memory) into their working (short-term) memory.

DocsPlus provides some quick and simple retrieval activities that are designed to do just that.

Cloze activities

Cloze activities are simple ‘fill in the gap’ exercises that you can use to test understanding of any topic you're working on. They are simple to make and give students an opportunity to practise retrieval of key concepts.

For example, if you have taught a concept such as the Clark Fisher model of economic development, you can assign a Cloze activity on the topic to check understanding and identify any gaps, before moving on to applying the model to different countries you may be focussing on in the term.

WorkSpace

You can also use WorkSpaces as retrieval exercises. In the example below, the activity challenges the learner to remember each stage of glacier formation, as well as the correct order.

Writing and structuring extended responses

Another challenge students encounter with a subject like Geography is showing what they know in extended responses.

Our Customer Experience Consultant, Melissa, recently covered this topic in her webinar: Writing and structuring extended pieces of writing for Geography.

The session outlines the ways that the range of support tools in DocsPlus can break down the task of writing extended responses and allow students to work effectively.

Here are some of her insights:

Support the transition from planning to writing

Much like the process of collecting key words, students can also plan their responses in a WorkSpace and add it into the Document as an image or convert it into a custom Wordbar to help them remember all the ideas they want to include.

Since WorkSpaces are customisable, learners can arrange their plans in whatever way helps them the most. If they are writing an answer that requires them to make arguments for or against a proposition, for instance, they can separate their ideas into ‘for’ and ‘against’ tabs, or they can designate a tab for each paragraph they plan to write. When they convert their plan into a Wordbar, they can select ‘use all tabs’ to ensure that it follows the same format.

Writing frames and planners

If your learners need prompting to follow a specific structure, there are dedicated resources available on LearningGrids that can help. 

This includes open-ended resources in the Writing Frames & Planners category that can be used for any topic a learner needs to write about.

For example, the Essay Planner WorkSpace prompts learners to follow a clear and effective structure when forming their answers.

You can also find Geography-specific writing frames and planners in the Geographical Enquiry category.

If, for example, students need to write an extended response that compares two countries, they can use the Comparing Countries WorkSpace, alongside the matching Wordbar to remind them to cover each key element, and to use language that makes it clear they are hitting assessment objectives.

To learn more about how DocsPlus can be used to support specific subjects, explore these blog posts:

• Writing frames and planners for History: DocsPlus resources
  
  
• Using DocsPlus in English Language: Creative writing
  
  
• How to use DocsPlus in a model lesson: English Literature

When we speak to teachers and school leaders about what they need from educational tools, one theme comes up again and again: “We need digital tools that make it easy to adapt learning for every child.”

Printed resources simply aren’t sustainable or accessible enough. Teachers often tell us they don’t have enough time to create multiple versions of every worksheet or scaffold. Plus, learners don’t like being singled out as the one who needs something ‘different'.

That’s where inclusive digital tools like Clicker can be a game changer. 

Every pupil works in the same environment, but with the level of support that they need to succeed.

Let’s explore how Clicker can help you meet the varied needs of your cohort within the same lesson.

A universal, inclusive word processor

Often, when a child is identified as having a writing challenge, they are given a specialised tool. But everyone else in their class uses a standard word processor.

However, this approach can create an unnecessary divide. It also means that many children who don’t meet the threshold for targeted support miss out on beneficial tools.

The recent SEND white paper highlights the importance of an inclusive universal offer. Clicker supports this by enabling all learners to access scaffolds at the level they need, without waiting for formal intervention.

Here are some examples of the writing support tools available in Clicker, and how they can benefit learners at different stages of writing development.

The Predictor

The Predictor suggests words that are likely to come next in a sentence. The suggestions are based on both what a pupil has already written and the letters they are typing. It recognises phonetic spelling attempts, and learners can confirm their word choice using an audio or picture prompt.

This tool can be particularly beneficial for learners with significant spelling struggles or a diagnosis of dyslexia. It reduces the pressure associated with getting every word correct and supports connections between words and concepts. With the Predictor, learners can attempt more challenging spellings independently, knowing that support will kick in when needed.

At the same time, it can give more confident writers a meaningful boost by:

• Helping them overcome the blank page barrier at the start of a task.
  
  
• Maintaining writing momentum by removing the need to pause for spelling or word recall.
  
  
• Prompting learners to think more carefully about their word choices as they review suggestions and determine which is most appropriate.

Since every learner is different, you can adjust the Predictor settings to offer more or less support where needed. 

Speech feedback

In Clicker, each time a sentence is completed, it is automatically read aloud in a clear child’s voice.

Hearing written work read back is a great way to proofread and review work independently.

We know that learners who struggle with writing often find it difficult to check their own work. Hearing it read back means they can identify errors such as misspelt words or missing punctuation, without relying on reading and spelling skills they’re still developing (or asking an adult for help). If a learner needs more support they can listen to each word or even each letter read aloud as they type, for instant feedback.

And of course, even your most confident writers will benefit from this level of support. Often, when we read back text we have written ourselves, we fill in the gaps or mentally correct errors whilst reading because we know what we meant to say. Listening to the text read out exactly as written is an excellent tool for precise and accurate proofreading and can help take written work from good to excellent.

Voice Notes

Pupils can add up to six colour-coded Voice Notes into a Clicker Document. If a learner isn’t confident writing a sentence, they can rehearse it verbally first. This way they can capture their ideas in the moment without the mechanics of writing distracting them.

Teachers can also use Voice Notes to record model sentences or helpful prompts for learners to follow as they write.

Across all stages of writing development, learners can get a helpful boost from the supportive features of an inclusive word processor like Clicker.

Additionally, many of these tools can be switched off if a learner would benefit from increased independence.

One lesson, multiple levels of support

How can teachers ensure that every learner can access the same core topic information at a level that is accessible to them?

That’s exactly the problem that LearningGrids, our extensive library of curriculum-focused resources, is designed to solve.

As digital resources, they are easy to edit and adjust as needed, and adaptability is baked into the creation process.

Let’s take a look at how an adaptive teaching lesson might work with the topic of pollution.

Three-level books

Many of the topics we cover on LearningGrids include our three-level book collection. Three-level books are designed to enable learners at different stages of reading development to learn about the same key topic at the right level for them.

Here is how they could function in our example lesson:

Pollution and Our Planet - Read It Yourself: In this Clicker Book, children read a simple text about the causes and impacts of air, water, and land pollution. There is one sentence per page, making this level ideal for any of your learners who are just starting to read independently and need to practise decoding and basic comprehension.

Pollution and Our Planet - Read in Steps: In this book, there are multiple sentences per page. Children are still working with simple text about the causes and impacts of air, water, and land pollution, but with slightly more detail and context. There are multiple sentences on each page.You can assign this version to any learners who need to practise breaking down complex information at their own pace.

Pollution and Our Planet - Read a Book: This level offers the most complex text and is tailored for your more confident readers. The book explores three main types of pollution in greater depth and challenges learners to use their comprehension skills to understand and interpret the extended information.

Additionally, you can use the speech feedback function to make the most in-depth resource accessible to everyone. Using this tool means that the whole class can work on the same resource with the same level of detail.

All three levels provide the same core content, thoughtfully adapted to different reading abilities. In one classroom, each pupil can work on the version that best suits their needs alongside their peers.

There’s no need to go searching online for alternative texts or to spend valuable time creating different scaffolded versions of topic materials.

Writing grids

Once pupils have obtained the core knowledge from the Clicker Books, our writing grids provide distinct levels of support for when it’s time for learners to summarise their knowledge in written work.

In our example topic of pollution, learners who are building an understanding of the concept of a sentence can work with the Pollution and Our Planet Sentence Set. Sentence Sets provide a high level of scaffolding for writing. As seen in the example below, each grid contains all of the words needed to create a simple sentence about the topic.

If you have learners who are beginning to experiment with word choices within sentences, they can write with the Pollution and Our Planet - Definitions Connect Set. This resource offers a lighter scaffold whilst still providing all of the necessary words to build accurate sentences.

In this example, it can also act as a quick assessment, as pupils can demonstrate that they have understood the topic by selecting the correct words to follow the sentence starter at the top of the grid.

Finally, you can encourage your most confident writers to use more complex vocabulary by having them use a Word Bank. Word Banks provide point-and-click access to topic keywords. In our example lesson, a learner can confidently use words like ‘microplastics’ or ‘environment’ that they might otherwise have avoided because of anxiety around spelling.

An adaptive writing lesson is achieved without printing, cutting, and creating new resources for every child. Additionally, if you feel that a task is too easy or too difficult, you can swap to a better-suited activity or a different level of the topic book in the moment.

Behind the writing: data that shapes next steps

Collecting data and evidence on what support learners need, and if the support is working, can be very time-consuming in a large class. This is especially true if you’re working primarily with paper assignments. With Clicker, you can gather this data quickly and easily.

The Clicker Analytics tool provides insights into how a child has put together a piece of writing. It will show if they used the Spell Check and Predictor, added words from Clicker Sets, or wrote words themselves. You can see their original spelling attempts and data on how long they spent writing and how much they wrote.

Reviewing this data after a writing session can inform decisions about writing support. For example, if a child frequently misspells certain words, you can provide them with a Word Bank to target them. Or if a child had a Word Bank open, but didn’t use it, you can see that they may be ready to write independently.

You can also review this data to assess writing progress long-term, by comparing metrics from different points in the school year.

With Clicker, every learner can work in the same tool and still receive the support they need.

The digital resources and data collection make it quick and simple to adapt to learning and collect evidence that the adaptations are working.

When every pupil has the right tools in place, you can uphold high academic standards, with the knowledge that every learner has the support they need to meet them.

If you would like to learn more about inclusive and adaptive learning with Clicker, you can read these blog posts:

• SEND white paper: How Clicker supports an inclusive approach
  
  
• Clicker and Widgit Symbols
  
  
• So, what is assistive technology?

Implementing new software like DocsPlus across a whole school can take time. It involves training staff, coordinating approaches, and understanding your goals.

Luckily, there are lots of simple things you can do with DocsPlus to quickly have a positive impact on your students’ writing.

No matter what stage of implementation your school is in, these simple tips can help students write more, write with fewer errors, and give you valuable insights into their understanding of lessons and subject content.

Each tip requires minimal setup, but of course if you ever have any questions about any DocsPlus feature, our experts are on hand to help!

Instantly find classroom activities on LearningGrids

Making worksheets and assignments can be very time consuming for teachers. One way you can quickly take advantage of DocsPlus is by exploring the extensive collection of ready-made curriculum content on LearningGrids. You can search for a specific topic or browse the categories and subjects to find what you need.

The selection includes hundreds of WorkSpaces, which are a great tool to help learners consolidate knowledge. A WorkSpace is a visual mind mapping or planning tool that helps learners to capture and organise their ideas.

For instance, if your class has been reading a specific text in English lessons you can assign a WorkSpace to help them think about themes, plot, and characters. You can also use a WorkSpace to help learners build their understanding of scientific processes, historical events, and political systems.

Provide key vocabulary with Wordbars

If there is important subject-specific vocabulary that your students need to use, you can give them instant access to it with a Wordbar.

When using a Wordbar, a student has a bank of words at the bottom of their Document, and they can simply click the desired word to add it into their writing. They can also listen to the words read aloud to them to confirm they are choosing the correct one and reinforce the connection between the spelling of the word and how it sounds.

This is a great solution for students who may avoid using more complex words because of anxiety around spelling. It also reminds learners of the key words for the topic and prompts them to use the words more frequently in their writing.

You can choose from hundreds of ready-made curriculum focused Wordbars on LearningGrids, or you can easily create your own to meet any specific requirements you have.

Boost writing productivity with the Predictor

If you have students who face blank-page syndrome at the start of a writing task or have low writing stamina, you can boost their writing output by turning on the Predictor.

The Predictor suggests the next word in a sentence based on what the student is writing. The suggestions are grammatically correct and context-appropriate. Plus, if the student is using a topic-based Wordbar, it will prioritise words from this set to help them use the most relevant vocabulary in their work.

Having the next word suggested keeps writing momentum going as students don’t have to stop and think of what they want to say next.

Easily assess knowledge using a Cloze activity

When students have trouble with writing, it can be difficult to assess how well they are understanding lessons. A Cloze Document is a great way to quickly measure comprehension without writing or spelling issues clouding the results.

Cloze Documents are fill-in-the-blank activities, which are equipped with text-to-speech for extra support if necessary. This ensures that all students, regardless of reading level, can access the activities.  

Creating a Cloze Document is quick and simple. Click the ‘New Document’ button and select ‘New Cloze Document’ from the drop-down menu. Then copy and paste the text you wish to use into the text box. You can then select ‘Express Remove’ to instantly remove a random selection of words or highlight the words you wish to remove and click ‘Remove Selected’.

Once you have removed the words, click ‘Go’, and students can instantly start working on the activity.

Provide access to curriculum content via the DocReader

If you have students who struggle with reading, you can make lesson content accessible to them using the DocReader.

The DocReader reads lesson content aloud in a clear, realistic voice. Learners can have the whole document read to them or select specific sections or words they need to hear again. This means they can work at their own pace and take extra time to understand texts when needed.

To add a document into the DocReader, select the plus icon in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Then select the ‘DocReader’ tab and upload the PDF or DOCX file. You can upload content from your device, a shared drive, or from folders in DocsPlus.

This simple feature takes students from being confused by complex texts, to understanding and engaging with them.

If you’d like to learn more about using DocsPlus to support your learners, you can read these blogs:

• Using DocsPlus in English Language: Creative writing
  
  
• How DocsPlus helps students tackle revision and exam stress
  
  
• Coursework confidence: Tools for students, reassurance for teachers

Do you have pupils who have lots of ideas but struggle to get them down on paper?

They may be great listeners who are eager to answer questions and contribute insightfully to classroom discussions, but written tasks don’t capture what they know and want to share.

This is a common issue for learners who struggle with writing. It’s not that they don’t understand the lessons or lack ideas, it’s simply that the mechanics of writing make it hard for them to express themselves.

Clicker supports struggling writers by removing some of the cognitive load of writing, enabling them to focus on what they want to say.

Here are some of the tools you and your learners can use to transfer their ideas from brain to page.

Voice Notes to capture ideas in the moment

When a learner is talking enthusiastically about a topic, they can capture those ideas in the moment with a Voice Note.  It’s easy to record a Voice Note by simply clicking the microphone icon in the Clicker Document ribbon. Once the recording is finished, a speech bubble icon is added to the Document.

Recording ideas like this helps learners to hold on to their thinking. They can listen to the recording as many times as they need to while writing, reducing the pressure on memory. This also gives pupils the opportunity to rehearse their sentences before typing them. They can think about what they want to say first, and then focus on spelling, punctuation, and capital letters once they have decided what they want to convey.

Up to six colour-coded Voice Notes can be added to a Document, which can guide learners through longer pieces of writing. Teachers can also record Voice Notes for learners to remind them of ideas they discussed previously, or key things they need to remember as they build their piece of writing.

Organise ideas with Clicker Board

Your learner may have lots of ideas about a topic but not know how to put them together into a coherent structure.

If a learner is working on a complex piece of writing, or needs to follow a specific format, they can organise their ideas using a Clicker Board.

Clicker Board is a visual planning tool to help pupils prepare for writing. Pupils can create their own Clicker Boards and arrange them in a way that makes sense to them or use a pre-made writing planner from LearningGrids to help them stick to a specific outline.

The Writing Frames & Planners category for instance, is full of Clicker Boards that are specifically designed to help learners structure writing for specific purposes such as advertisements, persuasion, and reports.

This way of planning means learners can record their ideas in whatever order they have them in and then move them around into a logical order later. Voice Notes and images can also be added to a Clicker Board, making it even easier to capture and arrange ideas.

Once a learner is ready to move from planning to writing, they can access their Clicker Board in the Document as a diagram, an outline, or convert it into a supportive Word Bank.

Keep writing momentum going with the Predictor

Once your learner has captured their ideas and organised them into a logical structure, it’s time to start writing.

Having ideas recorded and a plan to follow may give learners an initial boost, but it’s still common for them to get stuck during the task. How can we encourage them to move forwards independently, rather than immediately asking an adult to help?

The Predictor is an excellent tool that helps learners carry on writing when they start to feel unsure.

As a learner types, it offers suggestions for the next word in the sentence, meaning they don’t have to pause to try and think of what to say next.

Unlike most predictors, Clicker’s Predictor offers ‘sounds-like’ suggestions. As seen in the example below, this means that learners receive relevant suggestions even if they don’t know the accurate opening spelling patterns of a word.

You can also increase the level of support from the Predictor with pictures and speech feedback.

If a learner has started writing, but isn’t sure what to add next, or if they’re about to start and feel intimidated by the empty page, the Predictor gives them the intuitive nudge they need to keep going.

Give point-and-click access to relevant vocabulary with Word Banks

Providing a Word Bank removes the pressure of trying to remember specific vocabulary or spell tricky words. It can also be a great tool to prompt thinking and spark ideas.

You can create custom Word Banks for specific topics or lesson objectives or explore the extensive collection of pre-made options on LearningGrids.

Proof and check work with speech feedback

Learners who have trouble with writing often find it difficult to check their own work.

In Clicker, learners can listen to their writing read aloud in a clear, realistic voice. This helps them identify errors such as misspelt words, missing punctuation, or sentences that are confusing or too long. This is a fantastic way to encourage learners to self-correct and proactively review how their writing is taking shape.  

Sometimes issues with written work can stem from not reviewing it throughout the writing process, so having support with proofing and checking is a great way to help learners improve their writing without relying on adult support. 

‘‘I can get all of the things that are inside of me out, I can write now, and I couldn’t before.”

This is what a pupil at Chapel Allerton Primary School had to say about her experience using Clicker.

With the right support in place, every child can be a writer.

If you would like to learn more about how Clicker helps learners achieve writing success, you can read these blog posts:

• Quick wins with Clicker’s writing support tools
  
  
• LearningGrids: Reading and writing resources for adaptive teaching
  
  
• A writing journey with Clicker’s writing grids

Or watch these webinars:

• Unlocking literacy for all: Adaptive teaching with Clicker
  
  
• Time-smart strategies for adapting the primary curriculum with Clicker
  
  
• Supporting struggling writers with Clicker Q&A

We recently sat down with Rachel Sullivan, Head of School at Lansdowne Primary School, to discuss the successful implementation of Clicker across the Stour Academy Trust.

The trust has been using Clicker for over three years now. During that time, they have expanded their usage across multiple schools, received praise from Ofsted for their use of the software for SEND provision, and seen dramatic improvements in writing.

In this blog, we will explore the key steps the trust took to ensure Clicker success at scale.

Identify the key problem you want to solve

Large-scale projects like implementing new software across a setting are more likely to succeed when their purpose is clearly defined. Having a specific goal in mind makes it easier to both stay on track and measure success.

For Rachel, the problem was clear. Her Year 6 class had a high level of writing need. But without a TA, she could not easily cater to each child to ensure their success.

Clicker’s ease of use and adaptability for different levels of writing skill made it an ideal solution. With Clicker, children can work independently on tasks that have just the right level of scaffold for their needs. Crucially, this is achieved without creating more demands on teacher time.

Start small and implement in stages

Any new software has a learning curve. Starting your implementation on a smaller scale will give you the time and space to build your understanding of the software. You can then troubleshoot any issues in a lower-stakes environment. This will make moving the project to a larger scale much smoother

Rachel started using Clicker first with a small group of children in her year group. She focused on training herself and one other teacher to deliver lessons with Clicker. These initial sessions gave her valuable insights into how the children responded to the software, which allowed her to adapt and improve her approach before moving on to use Clicker with larger groups.

Create structured plans for expanding and improving

Rachel used the evidence she gathered from her small groups to justify expanding Clicker usage across KS2. The evidence from KS2 was then used to justify expanding to the wider school, and eventually to multiple schools across the trust.

At each stage of expansion, a clear plan was put in place. There was buy-in from all key staff, including senior leaders, and a realistic timescale to allow for training, troubleshooting, and adapting and reviewing practice in response to new evidence.

Measure success across multiple metrics

It’s important to track the impact a new tool or piece of software is having on pupil progress. One of Rachel’s goals when implementing Clicker was to increase writing independence. This can be straightforward to witness in a class, but tricky to track at a whole or multi-school scale.

In addition to recording improvements in writing for individual students, the Stour Academy Trust was able to measure their progress through a variety of specific metrics such as Ofsted reports and assessments.

You can also track progress in specific areas like vocabulary, length of writing, and spelling within Clicker via the built-in analytics tool. Plus, you can use our pupil surveys to gather evidence about how pupils feel about Clicker’s writing support and the impact it’s having on their learning experience.

The results

“With Clicker, the children with the most need are able to be supported. It has enhanced engagement in the writing lessons, it addresses individual needs, and it builds the confidence of the children.”  - Rachel Sullivan

The Stour Academy Trust has achieved significant gains in writing and pupil independence since adopting Clicker. Their structured approach provided clear guidance for rolling out the tool, helping them build on its impact with each new phase. Following our conversation, they have extended Clicker into their EYFS classrooms and renewed their subscription to continue improving writing across the trust.

You can watch the full webinar with Rachel to learn more about Stour Academy Trust’s journey with Clicker.

If you’re interested in how other schools have boosted writing attainment with Clicker, you can review our success stories.

The ability to work independently is a crucial skill for success at the secondary school level. But this can be tricky for students who have trouble with writing.

Understandably, a student’s first instinct when they become overwhelmed by a writing task is to raise their hand for help. While asking for help is expected, an overreliance on adult support can prevent learners from building the skills and confidence they need to write without that support in exams, coursework, or homework assignments.

In this blog, we’ll be exploring how DocsPlus can empower students to write independently by giving them the support that they would normally seek from an adult.

If your students often ask these questions, here’s how DocsPlus can answer them:

How do I structure this?

The secondary school curriculum requires learners to master lots of different styles of writing. They may need to write arguments for English Language tasks, craft answers to History exam questions that compare and contrast different time periods, or plan coursework that meets assessment objectives.

If your students have lots of questions about how to structure writing tasks, WorkSpaces are a great scaffold. WorkSpaces are visual mind-mapping tools, designed to help students organise their thoughts and plan for writing. When using a WorkSpace, students have a clear visual reminder of the structure they need to follow and the key elements they need to include in their writing.

You can assign students a pre-made WorkSpace from LearningGrids, such as the Persuasion Planner, or the Essay Planner. Or you can also create your own to suit your specific classroom needs.

If you have previously created a plan or structure guide for students to follow outside of DocsPlus, you can convert it into PDF format and upload it via the DocReader. Once you have uploaded your plan, your students can work with it in Dual View. This means they can still see it whilst typing in their Document. They can also have the plan read out to them.

Finally, for students who prefer audio cues, you can record Voice Notes to remind them how to structure their work. Once they have been recorded, students can listen back to them as many times as needed, so they don’t need to ask you to repeat your instructions.

Can you proofread my work?

Proofreading is an incredibly important skill for secondary school students to develop. But learners who struggle with writing can find it difficult to identify errors in their work.

With DocsPlus, students can use speech feedback as a tool for proofreading. Whenever a learner writes something in DocsPlus, they can have it read aloud to them in a clear, realistic voice of their choosing. Hearing their work back often helps students catch problems they would not have noticed through reading alone. For example, a sentence that sounds much too long when read aloud can prompt a student to add a comma or break it into two.

Students can also easily identify spelling errors with the help of Spell Check. Much like a standard word processor, misspelt words will be underlined in red, and students can click to select the correct spelling from a drop-down menu. However, unlike a standard word processor, the DocsPlus spell check recognises phonetic spelling attempts. Plus, any misspellings that are unique to a particular student can be added to the Word Pool, as can any uncommon words or phrases used in your class.

Finally, if you know your students will have trouble spelling certain topic-specific words, you can assign them a Wordbar so that they can add the correctly spelled word into their Document by clicking on it. Wordbars also help students remember to include important key words in their work.

What do I write next?

Sometimes, when students ask for help, it’s out of frustration, rather than needing help with a specific query.

Learners who struggle with writing often have lower stamina for the task and, therefore, are more likely to get stuck or struggle with how to continue a piece of work.

The Predictor is a great tool for helping learners overcome blank-page syndrome. As students write, the Predictor offers context-appropriate suggestions for the next word in the sentence, which they can click to add into their Document. This could be just the boost they need to keep writing!

The Predictor works alongside the WorkSpace, Wordbars, and Spell Check to remove barriers to writing. This support reduces the cognitive load of writing tasks, helping students think about what they want to convey in their writing without being overwhelmed by the writing process.

What if you can’t read my handwriting?

Handwriting can be a concern for many pupils. Whether it’s issues with legibility, speed of writing, or physical difficulties, DocsPlus can provide a solution without the need for a scribe.

A student can also take advantage of tools like the Predictor and Wordbars to reduce keystrokes.

Students also have the option of using our accessible on-screen keyboard to select letters instead of typing. The keyboard can also be customised with a different layout or with SuperKeys enabled.

DocsPlus can also be accessed with switches or Eye Gaze, meaning that every student has the opportunity to craft independent written work.

Conclusion

With the right scaffolding and support tools, learners gain the confidence they need to work independently and build the problem-solving skills necessary to improve their writing output.

If you would like to learn more about supporting writing with DocsPlus, you can read these blogs:

• Subject-specific vocabulary support for struggling readers and writers
  
  
• Supporting struggling readers to access the secondary curriculum
  
  
• How DocsPlus helps students tackle revision and exam stress
  

Or watch these webinars:

• Boosting independent writing across the secondary curriculum
  
  
• Supporting SEND learners in lessons and exams

We get a lot of questions about using Clicker for KS2 writing moderation. So, we wanted to share an example of how a real school successfully integrated Clicker into their moderation process.

Scott Salmond is the Deputy Head of Craneswater Junior School. He helped introduce Clicker into his setting as part of the “Portsmouth: The Digital City” Project. One of the barriers he faced was that teachers were concerned that Clicker’s support features would make pupils’ writing ineligible for moderation.

As a moderator himself, Scott was able to coordinate a clear, compliant approach so that teachers could confidently use Clicker without compromising the independence of pupils’ writing.

In this blog, we’ll explore the guidance the school followed and how they configured Clicker to meet key requirements.

What does the statutory guidance say?

The aim of writing moderation is to ensure that teachers can accurately assess whether their pupils’ writing meets age-related expectations. For that to happen, moderators need to examine work that pupils have completed independently.

According to the statutory guidance, writing is not independent if it has been “produced with the support of electronic aids that automatically provide correct spelling, synonyms, punctuation, or predictive text. If the electronic aid is turned off, for example, spell check in a word programme, this would be considered independent.”

Here is how Craneswater Junior School applied this guidance to the core Clicker features.

The Spell Check and Predictor

Spelling and vocabulary are crucial metrics in writing moderation. To ensure these areas could be assessed fairly, the school reviewed the guidance on independent writing. They also referred to the ‘pupil can’ statements, which are used to determine if pupils are working at or towards their age-related expectations.

Because spelling accuracy is directly assessed at KS2, the school turned off Spell Check so moderators could see how often pupils correctly spell words from the Year 3 - 6 spelling lists.

They also disabled the Predictor, as it enables pupils to use vocabulary they may not have thought of without the tool, meaning moderators would not be able to determine how effectively a pupil is able to use descriptive language or make appropriate word selections.

To turn off these features in the desktop version, navigate to the ‘Options' tab, select either the ‘Spell Check’ or ‘Predictor’ button, and untick the options in the pop-up dialog.

In Clicker Writer, you can turn these features off by clicking the ‘Settings’ button, navigating to the ‘Suggestions’ tab in the pop-up window, and unticking ‘Spell Check’ and ‘Predict Next Word’. You can also untick the Predictor in the ‘Tools & Controls’ tab.

Automatic capitalisation

The use of punctuation is another area that moderators assess. Using the full range of punctuation taught at KS2 is key to demonstrating that a pupil meets the expected standard. This includes using capital letters appropriately.

To account for this, the school simply turned off automatic capitalisation in Clicker. You can switch off this feature in Clicker by navigating to the ‘Options’ ribbon, selecting the ‘Spell Check’ button, and unticking both ‘Capitalise the first letter of sentences’ and ‘Capitalise names’ in the pop-up dialog.

In Clicker Writer, you can untick these options by clicking ‘Settings’ and selecting the ‘Suggestions’ tab.

Speech feedback and dictation

After consultation with their moderation manager, it was determined that the school could use speech feedback, but not dictation for moderated writing.

Whilst hearing text read aloud might help a learner notice a misspelt word, it does not provide them with the correct spelling. Therefore, the feature was treated like peer support, which is allowed under the guidance.

Dictation, on the other hand, was not allowed as it does not allow moderators to assess how pupils spell, structure writing, or punctuate sentences.

In Clicker Desktop, dictation uses the device’s built-in features, so there is no need to disable it. In Clicker Writer, you can disable dictation by clicking on the ‘Settings’ button, selecting the ‘Tools and Controls’ tab, and unticking the ‘Dictate’ option.

Clicker Grids

There are three different types of writing grids available in Clicker:

Sentence Sets are designed for pupils who are building an understanding of the concept of a sentence. Each grid contains all the words needed to create a sentence, providing a high level of scaffolding for the student.

Connect Sets are designed for pupils who are beginning to experiment with word choices within sentences. They offer a lighter scaffold than a Sentence Set but still provide all the words necessary to build accurate sentences.

Word Banks provide vocabulary support. They are designed to support pupils to use ambitious vocabulary in their writing.

The school determined that Sentence Sets and Connect Sets cannot be used in moderated writing as they provide too much support with key assessment criteria.

Word Banks, however, are permitted for moderated writing, but pupils must type or write the words independently. This meant that pupils could use a Word Bank as a reference if they did not click words to add them to their Document.

To account for this, you could print the Word Banks ahead of the writing session. Alternatively, you could allow pupils to use Word Banks in Clicker, but instruct them to type the words. You can then verify that all the words have been typed in manually with Clicker’s Analytics tool.

Analytics

The Analytics tool played a key role in the school’s approach to KS2 writing moderation. It provides a precise, printable summary of how each word was added to the Document (typed vs clicked), time spent writing, average sentence length, and other useful metrics. This allowed staff to evidence independence and demonstrate that pupils did not use any features they were not supposed to.

You can easily generate reports in Analytics by selecting the ‘Print’ button. You can then add a header and footer, and tick the elements you wish to include.

If you have any questions about using Clicker for KS2 writing moderation, we’re here to help.

If you’re already a Clicker subscriber, you can book a partnership meeting. Or, if you’re considering getting Clicker for your school, you can book a free discovery call.

Want to learn more about using Clicker to support learners throughout primary school? Take a look at these blogs:

• Clicker and Early Years - term by term
  
  
• Supporting the transition from Reception to Year 1 with Clicker
  
  
• Assessing pupils’ writing progress in KS2