Corley Academy, United Kingdom (Students aged 11 – 16)

Corley Academy, United Kingdom (Students aged 11 - 16)

Embracing VR/AR to enhance learning experiences for SEND students 

Corley Academy, based in Coventry, is a secondary school for autistic students with complex communication and interaction difficulties, and is passionate about developing the confidence and independence of its learners.

As a proud member of the Thrive Academy Trust, Corley Academy provides supportive learning environments in which SEND students from across Coventry, Warwickshire, and Solihull can reach their full potential.

As part of a wider strategy to provide education that empowers all learners, Thrive Academy Trust identified Corley Academy as the ideal site to pilot virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and establish a blueprint that could be adopted trust-wide to enhance the social and academic skills of young people with autism.

Less than a term into their ClassVR journey, teachers at Corley Academy have fully immersed themselves in exploring the use of VR/AR including its potential to create a more inclusive learning environment for all students.

How Corley Academy embraced virtual reality

Corley Academy is continuously seeking innovative ways to increase student engagement in curricular studies and enhance social skill development. While still in the early stages of their virtual reality journey, Corley Academy is more than impressed with the results so far.  

“Our main focus has been exploring what ClassVR can do. We’ve already found that it is truly cross-curricular,” Sarah Rose, Deputy Headteacher describes. “As we introduced ClassVR part-way through the school year, we’re encouraging teachers to experiment and consider where it could integrate into existing lesson plans. There are so many potential uses we haven’t even thought of yet, so it’s all very exciting!”  

Recognising that the success of the pilot would be determined by the confidence of teachers using the technology, Corley Academy appointed Dodi as the school ClassVR Champion. Dodi is the first port of call for any queries or suggestions and is working with ClassVR to increase the confidence and skills of fellow teachers using VR/AR. 

"The staff training from ClassVR was really clear and helpful,” explains Dodi. “It has enabled me to support everyone in the school, both students and teachers, particularly those who aren't so familiar with technology. The ClassVR support team has also been fantastic. They regularly check in with us to see how we're progressing, and if we need any further support.”  

How ClassVR transformed learning   

Although in the early days of their ClassVR pilot, Corley Academy has already found VR/AR to be hugely beneficial across a range of subjects. The immersive and interactive nature of virtual reality has enabled students to understand complex concepts more effectively, as they can visualise and explore a wide range of curriculum-aligned content. In science classes, students have utilised 3D models and explorable scenes to travel around the human body or venture into space and explore the solar system. In history lessons, learners can ‘go back in time’ and visit famous people, places, and events. 

“VR/AR is proving to be an invaluable tool for our students,” continues Sarah. “It’s clear they find ClassVR content much more engaging and relatable than other traditional resources.”  

“Instead of having to imagine things they can actually see it or be immersed in it, which is going to transform the way our students learn and grasp concepts,” Dodi adds. “VR/AR can help us to support the development of our students in so many ways, and it’s already starting to make a big difference.”  

Corley Academy has found that using VR/AR is beginning to significantly impact the executive functioning and central coherence skills of students, as they are learning to make links between their virtual experiences and what they learn about in the classroom.  

“Being able to make links between their own experiences and the topics they learn about makes the topic seem much more believable,” continues Dodi. “It is incredible for them, as understanding something they’ve never experienced is usually very difficult – but ClassVR is helping to change that.”  

There were two main aspects Corley Academy notices ClassVR had a positive impact towards its students

1. Emotional wellbeing

The pilot initiative has also confirmed ClassVR as an effective tool for autistic students, who often need their own space or a different environment to manage feelings of stress and anxiety.  

While the school has several "chill out" spaces, ClassVR can virtually transport students somewhere else, providing a calming experience that physically prepares them to return to learning.  

“If a student is having a particularly stressful day or finding things challenging, we can load up ClassVR with their place of interest, like outer space or a desert, to help restore a sense of calm,” says Sarah. “ClassVR comes with so many of those kinds of assets, so it’s proving to be a great tool to have.” 

Supporting the emotional well-being of SEND students enhances their development academically and socially and improves their access to education as more time is spent learning and engaging with the curriculum. Using this as a basis, Corley Academy has started to explore how to deploy ClassVR as a tool to improve the accessibility of work experience for its students.  

2. Experience mapping  

Work experience is an essential part of the curriculum, but SEND students often face challenges in securing and accessing placements. To help address this, Corley Academy has been using ClassVR content, such as supermarkets, cafes and leisure centres, for students to explore virtually from the safety of the classroom. Corley Academy is hoping this ‘experience mapping’ will help make placements more accessible, as students can use VR/AR to orientate a placement environment ahead of attending.  

Many Corley Academy students face social isolation due to limited access to community resources. Autistic students experience high levels of stress and anxiety, limiting their exposure to everyday situations, such as taking a bus or a train ride. This isolation can hinder their ability to connect classroom learnings to real-world context, which can make understanding topics very challenging.  

“We hope that giving students the ability to interact with new places and experiences virtually, at their own pace and in the safety of the school grounds, will help them to build their confidence enough to try these things in real life,” explains Dodi.  

Corley Academy has exciting plans to use ClassVR to help transition new students into their school community, by creating a virtual map of their own grounds.  

“We’d love to map out our school building,” explains Sarah. “Allowing transition students to explore our classrooms, hallways, lunch areas, and how they all connect before joining us would be invaluable to them.”   

“New students are often fearful of entering the building, as they are dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety,” Dodi adds. “We’re hoping that if we can provide them with the opportunity to virtually explore beforehand, we can reduce these fears and help students feel confident about joining our school.”  

Leading the way 

Corley Academy is still in the very early stages of its ClassVR journey, but the reaction from both students and teachers is paving the way for a bright future, inspiring the school to further explore how VR/AR can be used to support SEND students personally, academically, and socially.  

“The reaction to the pilot has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Dodi. “It's clear that our students already feel comfortable and confident using ClassVR, and it's great to be able to offer them a new and exciting way to learn.” 

“We’ve barely scratched the surface of its capabilities, and we’re excited at the prospect of what ClassVR can do for our current and future students,” reflects Sarah. “We’re excited to be leading the way for the trust, developing innovative new ways to make learning more inclusive, and using VR/AR experiences to deliver positive impacts in the real world.”