MEI is delighted to have been part of the EdTech R&D Programme, which is part of the EdTech Innovation Partnership between Nesta and the DfE. The programme aims to support schools, colleges and remote learning EdTech providers to understand the needs of their learners in a remote context. Schools, colleges and EdTech providers have been supported to develop innovative new ways to meet the needs of learners facing a variety of disadvantages, from socioeconomic to special educational needs.

Over the spring and summer terms of 2021, we have worked with selected partner schools to improve the mobile device functionality of Integral, our online teaching and learning environment, to better support the remote learning of socioeconomically disadvantaged students who may only able to access Integral using a mobile phone.

We have improved offline access by introducing an app version of Integral. We have also produced a new set of interactive resources to support A level Mathematics, specifically designed to be accessible from mobile phones and to use minimal mobile data. To encourage teachers and students to make more extensive use of Integral, including these new features, we have also improved our onboarding processes.

The work funded by the programme is drawing to a close, but as it is has proved to be an effective means of improving the accessibility of Integral, we intend to extend it, drawing on our reserves.