The challenge

South Hampshire College Group (SHCG), delivering online vocational and skills-based courses to adult learners, faced a core challenge: supporting busy adults juggling work, households, and learning. Many learners saw additional support as simply more work rather than meaningful help. “The challenge is they see it as a piece of work that has to be done,” shared Clair Sparkes, ALS Coordinator. The college recognised the need for a platform that could genuinely support learners in ways that fit their everyday lives. SHCG introduced Cognassist to their online adult learner programmes to provide accessible cognitive assessment and personalised support strategies. Clair and her team proactively explained the value of Cognassist to learners, aiming to embed it as a practical support tool rather than another task to complete. “It’s support, it’s skills, it’s like a study buddy. It provides ways for them to help themselves when we’re not around,” Clair explained. Engagement began with those learners declaring a learning difference, difficulty, or disability, thanks to funding requirements. Tutors played a key role identifying learners who could benefit and guiding them through assessments and feedback sessions. Cognassist is enabling South Hampshire College Group to nurture confidence, autonomy, and practical life skills among adult learners, while empowering tutors to focus on meaningful support rather than admin. The platform has supported inclusion and compliance efforts, helping SHCG align with external requirements and fostering a culture of accessibility. “I would absolutely recommend it, not just for learning but for life as well,” said Clair. The college looks forward to deepening its use of Cognassist, continuing to inspire and empower more learners on their education journeys.

  • Adult learners viewed additional support as extra work rather than meaningful help.
  • Tutors struggled to provide practical, consistent strategies that fitted learners’ busy lives.
  • Limited evidence and structured processes for identifying needs and arranging appropriate learning support.

The solution

Adoption of Cognassist led to profound positive outcomes for both learners and tutors. Learners who engaged gained new confidence and self-awareness: “She’s changed her mindset, her motivation, and her self-awareness has really changed as a result of using the platform,” Clair recounted about one standout learner. For many, the strategies learned through modules led to immediate practical benefits, both in education and daily life. One learner used Cognassist strategies to confidently request reasonable adjustments at work, improving not only her experience but also prompting wider inclusion by her employer: “Her employer started to do things differently for other employees as well… to make the whole environment more inclusive.” Tutors also benefited from reduced administrative workload and easier exam arrangements. The robust evidence from Cognassist assessments allowed for smoother, better-documented support: “When learners do an assessment, we can use that evidence to allow for extra time in exams,” Clair noted. The platform’s range of presentation styles—text, audio, and visual—appealed to diverse learning preferences, and the modules provided clear, manageable resources: “The four modules… give you a time frame of how long it’s likely to take, and you’ve got the combination of how it’s presented to you—text, audio, and visual are all available. I think that appeals to learners.” Cognassist is enabling South Hampshire College Group to nurture confidence, autonomy, and practical life skills among adult learners, while empowering tutors to focus on meaningful support rather than admin. The platform has supported inclusion and compliance efforts, helping SHCG align with external requirements and fostering a culture of accessibility. “I would absolutely recommend it, not just for learning but for life as well,” said Clair. The college looks forward to deepening its use of Cognassist, continuing to inspire and empower more learners on their education journeys.