What is Load2Learn?
Load2Learn is a free service led by Dyslexia Action and RNIB. The development of the service has been funded by Department for Education (DfE).
Load2Learn provides accessible curriculum resources to support learners who cannot use standard print materials, particularly those with dyslexia or who are blind or partially sighted. Allowing them to read the same books, at the same time as their classmates, giving them the same educational opportunities.
What does Load2Learn offer?
A fully accessible website: designed with dyslexic, blind and partially sighted users in mind.
Advanced search engine: even if you miss-spell or spell words phonetically it will find what you are looking for. For example 'roamn' and 'frends' will find all the resources related to 'Roman' and 'friends'.
Books: available in one or more of the following formats - structured and unstructured Word, PDF, EPUB and audio. New titles are being added regularly. Listen to audio clips before downloading books, particularly useful if there are two audio files available with different narrators.
Images: accessible images as PDF or CorelDraw files. Within each image pack you download you get a large print image and the black and white artwork for SEB and UEB editions to produce tactile versions. The images are editable, for example, you could take the image of the cross section of the heart and remove the labels and provide it as a test diagram.
Sharing community: stop efforts being duplicated and upload your resources for others to use with their print-impaired learners. Or send them to us and we will upload them on your behalf.
Training and guidance: free training days, along with videos and written guides showing how you can get the best out of resources on Load2Learn, providing information on accessible formats, software and equipment. Also, you can download the Load2Learn template that we use for our structured Word documents.
Which books and images are available?
There are over 2000 book titles on Load2Learn; 70 percent primary (Key Stages 1 and 2), 26 percent secondary (Key Stages 3 and 4). There is a small amount of Further Education titles however there are plans to extend this offering. The collection contains textbooks, reading schemes, books for reluctant readers and fiction. There are over 100 Key Stage 3 and 4 textbooks in production and new titles are added to the site regularly.
The collection of over 1200 accessible images includes ones for curriculum subjects such as Science, Geography, Maths, History, Physical Education and Psychology as well as images for nature, home and garden, life skills and hobbies.
How does Load2Learn benefit schools?
Load2Learn offers schools an extremely flexible way to support learners who struggle to read standard print:
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students who may be living with dyslexia, partially sighted or blind. The resource can be used by any member of staff supporting a student who has identified issues accessing text (i.e. is on the SEN register or equivalent)
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this may potentially be up to 10% of the school
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providing that the text/book has already been bought by the school.
An example:
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An English GCSE course, in a Year group of 120, there may be 12 young people who will need support, perhaps through DAISY players or text to speech versions of their four Year 11 key texts, plus the anthology, plus revision notes and exam papers - a total of 96 documents (minimum), then multiply that number of documents through the curriculum!
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For 'high literacy' subjects (History, Geography, Drama) and some of those with key texts such as Science, Technologies, the cost per document falls dramatically.
Load2Learn helps learners to access text more easily, helping them acheive more:
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they understand more and are engaged in lessons
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they are able to work more independently, improving self-confidence
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teachers and teaching assistants are freed up from time-consuming preparation, enabling them to better support learners in the class - they can work with the pupil, not for the pupil
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helps schools to meet the requirements around Equality Act (2010) and provide access to the curriculum for a significant group of learners.
Free membership and benefits
Membership of Load2Learn is free and is available to education professionals supporting print-impaired learners and allows you to download curriculum resources, including textbooks.
One membership group per school or organisation will be created on one staff member's account. That staff member is then responsible for managing the group and inviting other to join the group in order to give them download rights.
As a Load2Learn member you receive a range of great benefits including discounts on RNIB online courses and products, as well as access to free content from Curriculum Bitesize magazine. Discover the Load2Learn member benefits.
Frequently asked questions
Load2Learn frequently asked questions can be found on the Load2Learn website.
Contact details
Telephone (Freephone): 0300 303 8313
Email: info@load2learn.org.uk
Website: load2learn