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Special needs

How does Espresso support children with special educational needs?

General issues

• Many learners are attracted to computers - the use of video, colour, pictures, animations, sound and humour all add to the chances of engaging children.
• Espresso will appeal to a number of learning styles with information presented through video, text, graphics and sound.
• Espresso can be used as a focus for social interaction, stimulating and motivating discussion and through that providing opportunities to develop language skills and learn from one another.
• Many activities have been designed to provide instant, value-free feedback, often in a non-text based format.
  

Differentiation

• Espresso produces material for the whole primary age range. We aim to facilitate the task of providing work that offers an appropriate level of challenge without threatening a child's self-esteem by avoiding explicit references to age groups within the children's materials.
• When activities are offered at different levels of difficulty the children are encouraged to set the level of challenge for themselves.

Language difficulties

• Many activities support the text on screen with optional sound files.
• Spoken English often accompanies by video.
• Curriculum materials provide opportunities for pupils to extend their vocabulary across all curriculum areas.
• Espresso offers a large variety of fiction and non-fiction texts and activities, for practise and consolidation of literacy skills. Summary articles that make less demands on language appear for all the Telegraph articles that have been posted on the site since October 2002.
• A number of interactive games enable pupils to explore language.

Espresso uses icons and symbols consistently throughout the site. e.g.

This is further enhanced by providing standardised symbols alongside any textual labels in the navigation of the site.

Using Espresso with specialised SEN software

Espresso Resources can be copied into Clicker, Textease, Writing with Symbols and similar SEN software.

Using Espresso with IEPs

Espresso resources present information and ideas in a variety of ways that may help provide a breakthrough where other media have proved unsuccessful. Resources for specific learning targets can be accessed through both the search engine and the links to the objectives of the literacy and numeracy frameworks and QCA schemes of work.