National Star College
16-25 years (plus some older residents in supported living)
1-to-1 or groups of 4–8 students
Therapy sessions, classroom group activities, and leisure interaction
Varies between 10–30 minutes
Organisation’s bio: National Star is a specialist further education college for young people aged 16–25 with complex and multiple learning difficulties, physical disabilities, autism, and sensory impairments. Many students live on-site, while others attend as day students. Alongside bespoke educational programmes, learners have regular access to occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language therapy, and more.
Introducing Cosmo at National Star
The first Cosmo sets were introduced through a pilot initiative. Maizie, Assistant Technologist, created a shared calendar to let any therapist — OT, physio, or S< — book a slot and try it out. Staff left simple feedback forms after each use.
“I didn’t want to limit it to anybody. Everyone had access.
The feedback was just… overwhelmingly positive.”
Motivated by this, Maizie pitched the tool to the Head of Therapy. “I wrote a brief saying that every student could benefit from Cosmo in some way. And we’ve got 200 students.”
From there, adoption snowballed. “One of the latest sets came because a staff member saw it being used in a different session and came straight to me saying: ‘They looked great. Can we have some too?’”
Today, Cosmo is used by more than 30 therapists and 5+ education staff, spanning on-site and off-site teams. It has become part of the daily toolkit for engagement, assessment, and inclusion.
How do you use Cosmo at your organisation?
Therapists and educators at National Star have found many ways to embed Cosmo across daily practice — from 1:1 therapy interventions to small group class activities.
In occupational therapy, it’s used to support hand function, sensory regulation, and cause-and-effect understanding. In physio, it encourages movement and reaction-time improvements. In speech therapy, it supports routines like turn-taking and listening. And in the classroom, it brings learners together for energising starts and joyful closures to lessons.
“It gets students moving,it gets them excited.It brings everybody’s attention to the room.”
In one group activity using Cosmo’s Video Storytelling, six students — who typically wouldn’t interact — took turns using their switches to continue a song. “They were supporting each other to press the switch,” May recalls. “Because they wanted to hear the rest of the story.”
Therapists also use Cosmo to measure progress. “You can play an activity at the beginning of a six-week intervention, and review scores at the end to track improvement. That’s a huge benefit.”
Currently, over 30 students use Cosmo weekly in therapy. Group education sessions include 4–8 students at a time. Cosmo is now in use across six locations, including off-site residential homes for adults over 25.
The aim of the conducted activity
Cosmo is used primarily within therapy sessions to support individual targets around physical skills (e.g. hand function, reaction time), social development (e.g. turn-taking), and sensory engagement. It is also increasingly being used in group educational settings to foster interaction, motivation, and independence.
“It’s about progress. Start with an activity, and then try to improve over time — whether that’s a better score, using the other hand, or quicker response time.”
How did learners/clients/users respond?
Cosmo sessions consistently spark engagement, even among students who typically remain passive
“Students who usually only used one hand were trying to hit as many itches as possible.Some were even working in pairs.”
It’s also used as a motivational tool
“We’ll start with 10 minutes of Cosmo to get them excited. Then we do our work. And if we finish on time — they get 10 more minutes. It really works.”
What was challenging?
One limitation was the iPad’s screen size in group sessions, especially for learners with visual impairments. Projecting Cosmo to the classroom Smart Board solved this and made it easier to include more students simultaneously.
What worked the best?
Ease of Use: “No prep time. Just grab the switches, open the app, and go.”
Student-Centered Design: “You can change the sensitivity. Even students with very little movement can participate.”
Motivation & Joy: “Students who wouldn’t normally press a switch — they’re doing it. They’re even helping each other.”
Cosmo's reach at a glance
- Over 30 students use Cosmo weekly in therapy
- Cosmo is part of group education sessions with 4–8 students
- Used by 30+ therapists and 5+ education staff
- Present across six different locations, including residential homes
“It makes inclusion easy. It adapts to the learner — not the other way around.”
Therapists also use Cosmo to track progress:
“It’s being used as an assessment tool — not just to engage, but to measure
real growth.”