AI can be a genuinely useful tool for SEND differentiation, provided it's used to produce options that a SENCO or teacher then selects and tailors — never as a substitute for knowing the individual pupil's needs.

Practical uses

  • Simplifying task instructions to a lower reading age while keeping the same learning objective
  • Suggesting visual supports or symbol-based alternatives to a text-heavy task
  • Breaking a multi-step task into smaller, sequenced steps

What AI can't do

AI doesn't know a specific pupil's EHCP targets, sensory needs, or what's worked for them before. Use it to generate a range of options quickly, then apply your knowledge of the individual child to choose and adapt the right one — the same way you would with any resource bank.

A time-pressure reality check

SEND staff are often asked to differentiate for multiple pupils with very different needs across every subject, every day — a workload that's genuinely difficult to sustain manually at a high standard. AI's real value here isn't creativity, it's speed: producing three or four starting options in the time it used to take to produce one, so you spend your finite time on the judgement calls that actually need it rather than the mechanical rewriting.

Worth knowing: AskColin explicitly rules out using AI for SEND assessments or support plan content — but generating differentiated task materials and visual supports sits firmly within their safe-use guidance. Read the safe-use approach →

Key takeaways

  • Use AI to generate options quickly; apply your own knowledge to choose the right one.
  • Never use AI for EHCP targets or SEND assessment content directly.
  • The real win is speed, freeing time for the judgement calls that matter most.