Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are some of the most educationally disadvantaged in the English state school system. Our previous research has found that four in ten children are identified as SEND at some point between the ages of 5 and 16. In our analysis we distinguish between pupils who receive support in school (SEN support) and those with more complex needs set out in an education, health and care plan (EHCP), and we compare both groups to their peers with no identified needs.
SEN support is extra help given to children and young people in mainstream school or college specifically to help with their special educational needs. It is additional to (or different from) the support generally given to other children of the same age. Those children (and adults up to age 25) who need more support than is available through SEN support can apply to their local authority for an EHCP, which provides higher levels of support (and funding) than is available through SEN support.
In recent years there have been changes in the types of need identified for both children receiving SEN support and with an EHCP. These changes are detailed below.
Changes in the types of need identified in children with SEND
In recent years there have been notable changes in the types of need associated with pupils with SEND. Since 2016 there have been decreases in the proportion of pupils aged 2-19 with SEND who were identified as having moderate or severe learning difficulties, by 11 and 1 percentage points (ppts) respectively. Over the same period there have been increases in the proportion identified with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (+7ppts), Speech, Language and Communications needs (+5 ppts), or Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (+5ppts). It is plausible that these compositional changes may be affecting recent attainment gap trends. However, we do not yet know enough to assess the contribution of these compositional changes to these trends.
Figure S1: Since 2016 children with SEND are more likely to be identified with Autism or Speech, Language and communication needs, whilst they are less likely to have moderate or specific learning difficulties
SEN support
By the end of reception year, 10 per cent of pupils were receiving SEN support in 2024. These children were over a year (12. 6 months) behind children with no identified SEN, slightly larger than in 2023 (12. 5 months) and marking the largest gap since our time-series began in 2013. For several years now, we have raised concerns that attainment gaps for children starting school with SEND have widened since the pandemic, with our most recent gap report confirming that this finding holds even when we account for pupils’ other demographic characteristics.
The SEN support gap at the end of primary and secondary phases has narrowed by 0.3 months since 2023. The attainment gap between pupils receiving SEN support and those with no identified SEND is now 16.8 months, and 21.8 months for primary and secondary, respectively. This reflects the ongoing downward trend in the gap first recorded in 2011, which started at 21.1 for primary, and 28.6 months for secondary.
Figure S2: Attainment gaps for pupils who received SEN support at the end of key stage 2 and 4 remain sizeable though have been on a downward trend since 2011, whilst the for pupils in reception year continued to increase in 2024 to its highest on record[1]
In the 16-19 phase, we report gaps based on students’ SEND status recorded at the end of key stage 4.
As in key stage 2 and key stage 4, the SEND support gap in 16-19 education has been decreasing in recent years. In 2024, students with SEND support were 3.5 grades behind students with no identified SEND, but this was the lowest gap observed since our time series began in 2017.
Figure S3: Gaps for students in 16-19 education who received SEN support in key stage 4 are substantial, but this gap has been closing over the last 7 years
Education Health and Care Plans
Attainment gaps are wider still for pupils with more complex needs. Just over 3 per cent of pupils in reception year had an EHCP in 2024, a proportion that was rising gradually pre-pandemic and has accelerated since 2019. The attainment gap for these children was 20.1 months in 2024, up from 19.9 months in 2023 and a long-term increase since 2013 to its largest on record.
The EHCP gap for pupils at the end of primary school fell by 0.3 months in 2024, to 27.2 months. This continues the narrowing trend seen in recent years, falling by 2.6 months since 2011. By the end of secondary school, the EHCP gap stood at 39.6 months, almost 5 months smaller than in 2011.
Figure S4: The EHCP gap among pupils in reception year increased further in 2024 to its highest on record whilst the gap stabilised at key stage 4 and continued to fall at key stages 2 to its lowest on record
The EHCP gap was the widest gap of any group observed in our analysis of 16-19 education. Students that had an EHCP at the end of key stage 4 were almost 7 grades behind students with no identified SEND by the end of 16-19 study, across their best three qualifications. Although this gap was large in 2024, the gap has been closing since 2017, and remained at a similar level to 2023
Figure S5: The 16-19 EHCP gap has decreased by 0.9 grades over students’ best three qualifications since 2017
[1] CAGs and TAGs refer to alternative grading approaches used during the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2019/20 and 2020/21 (respectively) when exams were cancelled and grades were based on centre and teacher assessments.
Foreword & EXECUTIVE SUMMARYDisadvantage
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