Acorn Boosts Profile of Special Education

Announces programme of initiatives, events and special offers

20 April, 1995

Acorn Computers, the leading supplier of computers to UK schools, has announced a programme of activities to raise the profile of special education in the UK, including the creation of a national information service, the Acorn Special Education Network. The programme of activities will start with a series of three forums to be held at venues around the country aimed at stimulating debate and discussion of current issues in special education. The forums will also provide an opportunity for local teachers, parents and carers to contribute to the discussion and question a specialist panel of experts. These forums will culminate in a national Special Education Conference to be held in October.

Acorn has also established a telephone information service, the Acorn Special Education Helpline (tel: 01223 254444), to provide instant specialist help for anyone with special education queries. The line, launched on 5th April 1995, will be open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. The Acorn Special Education Network, an information update service, has also been launched, enabling those who register as members to be kept abreast of news and initiatives as they develop. Anyone wishing to join should call 01223 254294 and ask for the database administrator.

Teresa Downey, Special Education Marketing Manager at Acorn Computers, comments:

"Acorn has always worked with specialist partners to provide quality IT solutions for children with special educational needs. This year we are moving our efforts up a gear and developing initiatives which will raise the profile and understanding of special education in this country. We hope to help schools get to grips with what the new Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs really means, and to provide a central point of contact for teachers, carers, parents, and anyone else who needs to keep up with the latest developments and issues.
She continues:
"The regional forums will provide an arena to discuss the issues facing special education and to find ways in which IT can assist. The national conference, coinciding with Acorn World 95 at Wembley at the end of October, will draw together the findings of the forums and point the way forward for the development of special education in this country."
The details of the first phase of regional forums are as follows: 
Date                          Venue


Wednesday 26th April          Stakis Hotel 
1.00 pm to 7.00 pm            100 Watering Lane
                              Collingtree
                              Northampton
                              NN4 0XW  Tel:  01604 700666

Thursday 25th May             The Hilton National 
1.00 pm to 7.00 pm            Leeds City
                              Neville Street
                              Leeds
                              West Yorkshire
                              LS1 4BX  Tel:  0113 2442000

Wednesday 28th June           Stakis Hotel 
1.00 pm to 7.00 pm            Bearsted Road
                              Weavering
                              Maidstone
                              Kent
                              ME14 5AA  Tel:  01622 734322
Each forum will include a Question Time session from 5.00pm - 6.30pm for which spaces are available free to teachers, parents, carers and anyone with an interest in special education. Those interested in attending should phone 0181 812 0868 for further information.

In tandem with the programme of events, Acorn has also announced two special offers for special needs co-ordinators. When purchasing any Acorn computer before the end of July, teachers can buy a secondary site licence for the Special Needs Co-ordinator Software Package for 85.00 pounds (ex VAT). This definitive software package to assist with the Code of Practice has been specially developed for the Acorn platform by Hampshire Microtechnology Centre.

Additionally, in an offer tailored for special needs customers, purchasers of any A3020, A4000 or A4000S computer system before 30th June 1995 will get a free CD ROM drive.

Full details of these two special offers are available from Acorn Education dealers.

Founded in 1978, with 1994 revenues in excess of £50m, Acorn Computers is the premier supplier of IT solutions to UK education and was the first supplier of 32-bit RISC based personal computers in 1987. Acorn works closely with a strong community of industry partners, users and software developers to provide innovative technology solutions for the education, consumer, publishing and international markets.

Acorn Computer Group plc is the holding company for Acorn Computers Limited, Acorn Australia, Acorn New Zealand, Acorn GmbH and Online Media. Acorn Computer Group owns 43% of Advanced RISC Machines Ltd. Online Media, a division of the Acorn Computer Group, was launched in 1994 with the mission to design world class, interactive multimedia products.

© 1995 Acorn Computer Group plc.
Design: © 1995 Cave Rock Software Ltd.