At Bright Futures School in Oldham (UK), familiar activities help one pupil settle into his school day. We visited Learning Mentor Jessica Adshead to see how Games & Activities supports his regulation, choices and growing independence.
At Bright Futures, staff adapt teaching around each learner’s individual needs. For this pupil, that sometimes means allowing time to regulate before moving on to planned learning. On the morning of our visit, staff offered Games & Activities as a familiar starting point. Choosing familiar activities gave him time to settle at his own pace. Staff could respond to what he needed that morning and help him prepare for the rest of his day.
During our visit, we watched him recognise the HelpKidzLearn icon, open the software and scroll through the activities to find his favourites, with very little adult support. Jessica smiled as she told us: "He probably knows it better than I do." He also sometimes chooses something different. For Jessica, these moments are encouraging signs of his confidence in exploring and making decisions for himself. "I've seen a massive change. He now navigates it and it’s him that is pressing the icons and choosing the activity”. His choices extended beyond which activity to play. When he wanted a short break, he walked away from the screen, then returned a few moments later to continue independently. Staff followed his lead, giving him space to decide how and when to take part.
Jessica explained that he particularly enjoys activities with black backgrounds and bright, high-contrast colours. We saw him engage with favourites including Ready Steady Go, Splat Splodge and Balloon Blast. In Ready Steady Go, he watched the runners, anticipated the countdown and celebrated the finish with his own cheer as the confetti appeared. During Splat Splodge, he carefully watched the colourful bottles fill and waited before activating the next response. Balloon Blast brought another moment of anticipation as he waited for each balloon to burst. Throughout the session, he appeared settled and engaged. He moved between activities at his own pace, returning to familiar interactions he knew and enjoyed. For other educators, this offers a useful starting point: notice which visuals, sounds and interactions a learner responds to, then give them opportunities to choose.
Jessica also described how the Social Stories within Games & Activities help him explore everyday routines, such as brushing his hair. He can move through each page using a familiar interaction, allowing staff to introduce daily experiences through software he already knows. At Bright Futures, this provides another way to support understanding and preparation for everyday life, alongside the school’s individual teaching and support.
Even with careful planning, staff sometimes need to adjust a session around how a learner is feeling or responding. Jessica values having a familiar resource she can return to: “HelpKidzLearn is a brilliant resource to go back to because there’s always something on there that relates to what you’re doing”. Staff use Games & Activities at different points in the day, whether helping a learner settle, reinforcing learning or exploring curriculum topics. This flexibility helps them adapt their approach while keeping familiar activities available.
What stood out during our visit was the space staff gave this pupil to lead. He chose activities, took breaks and returned to the screen when he was ready. For him, Games & Activities is part of a familiar routine that supports both participation and independence. For staff, it provides opportunities to observe his preferences, respond to his needs and build on the choices he makes. Bright Futures shows how familiar digital activities can become a purposeful part of the school day, shaped around the individual learner.
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