Why device reliability matters more for SEND students
It’s Monday morning. A Year 9 student with dyslexia opens her laptop to begin an essay. The device starts instantly, her speech-to-text software loads without a hitch, and within seconds she's expressing ideas that would have taken hours to handwrite. She's keeping pace with her classmates and succeeding with confidence.
Same student, different scenario. Her laptop freezes. She restarts it. It crashes again. By the time it’s finally working, the class has moved on and the essay she could have written confidently now feels impossible.
For SEND learners, device reliability isn't about convenience. It’s about access, participation and self-belief.
Our research report, “Building Confidence, Enabling Success,” surveyed 800 teachers across the UK to understand how device dependability affects SEND student outcomes. The findings show that when technology consistently works, it doesn’t just help students complete tasks. It changes how they engage with learning and how they view their own abilities.
A growing reliance on technology
More than 1.7 million learners in England now receive some form of SEND support. That’s one in five pupils. Over 482,000 students have an Education, Health and Care Plan, double the number in 2016.
Teachers in our research work across a wide spectrum of needs. Dyslexia features in 64% of responses, ASC in 60%, SLCN in 59%, ADHD in 45%, MLD in 44% and anxiety disorders in 44%. For 65% of these learners, digital tools aren’t optional. They have moderate to high dependency on technology to assist their learning.
Word processors for students with dyslexia, digital planners for executive function difficulties, typed work for dyspraxia. These are now part of everyday classroom life. But the benefit of these tools depends entirely on whether they work when students need them.
What happens when devices work
The data shows a stark contrast between reliable and unreliable technology. When devices consistently perform, teachers observe real shifts in how SEND students approach learning. Students who previously struggled to produce written work complete assignments confidently. Learners who fell behind because handwriting was physically painful now keep pace using keyboards. Pupils who couldn't organise their thoughts use digital planning tools to structure work effectively.
The impact runs deeper than task completion. Teachers report that dependable technology changes how SEND students see themselves.
When a student with dysgraphia can type fluently instead of struggling with a pen, they stop thinking “I can’t write” and start thinking “I can express my ideas.” That shift from “I can’t” to “I can” matters. It’s the difference between students who avoid participation and those who volunteer answers. Between learners who give up quickly and those who persist.
What happens when they fail
When technology fails, SEND students aren't just inconvenienced. They’re disproportionately affected.
More than one in ten teachers say device failures disrupt SEND learning every single week. Over half report interruptions at least two to three times a month.
17% of teachers report that SEND pupils are much more negatively affected than mainstream students when technology fails, with some becoming unable to continue learning at all.
When a device crashes during a writing task, a mainstream student might be frustrated but can pick up a pen and continue. A student with severe dysgraphia cannot.
The research found that 55% of teachers report students experiencing frustration or anxiety after device failures. 52% see learning routines disrupted. 38% observe students losing confidence in their ability to complete tasks. 30% watch pupils fall behind lesson objectives.
Over time, repeated failures create avoidance. Two in five teachers have witnessed SEND pupils starting to shy away from tech-based tasks, with 13% reporting clear patterns of withdrawal. As homework, assessments and resources increasingly move online, this avoidance becomes a serious barrier.
What teachers say they need
When asked what matters most in technology for SEND education, 63% of teachers put consistent, reliable performance at the top of their list. For SEND learners, a device that might work isn’t good enough. It must work every time.
Other priorities include specialist accessibility software pre-installed (42%), ease of repair to minimise downtime (42%), and around a third emphasising training and rugged designs that survive rucksacks and busy corridors.
Just 13% choose lowest cost as their main factor.
Making the right choice
As SEND numbers continue rising, the question for schools is no longer whether to use technology to support inclusion. That decision has been made. The question is whether the technology you choose is reliable enough to deliver on that commitment.
When devices work, students participate more fully, complete work more independently and believe they can succeed. When devices fail repeatedly, the students who depend on them most are left furthest behind.
ASUS devices are designed with reliability at their core. Modular designs allow quick repairs. Extended battery life minimises interruptions. Robust builds survive the realities of school life.
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