Special educational needs and disabilities

DOI: https://doi.org/10.58248/HS122

Overview

A child or young person has special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) if they have a learning difficulty and/or a disability that means that they need health, education or social care support that is different or extra to that usually provided.[1] Examples include speech, language and communication needs, and autism.

The Equality Act 2010 defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a “substantial and long-term adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.”[2]

As education is devolved, this article focuses on education in England unless otherwise specified.

In England, the number of children identified as having (SEND) has risen year-on-year since 2016. Data from the Department for Education (DfE) identified over 1.67 million children with SEND in 2024, equivalent to 18.4% of all school pupils and an increase of 101,000 (6%) from 2023.[3]

SEND support may include progress checks, a health visitor, written assessment, and reasonable adjustments. Education, health and care plans (EHCPs) provide dedicated support to identify education, health and social needs for young people up to age 25, who are identified as needing support that cannot be offered by schools directly.[4] Parents and others have a statutory right to request a local authority assessment of whether a child or young person requires more support than is available through SEN support.[5] In 2024, 74% of children with SEND received dedicated SEN support at their schools and colleges, and 26% received additional support through an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). The number of pupils with an EHCP has increased by 83.4% since 2016.[3]

The Children and Families Act 2014 established the current SEND system in England by introducing EHCPs and extending support to age 25. The Act also emphasised family involvement, local service coordination, and greater personal choice.[4] In 2019, the government announced the SEND Review, scrutinising the 2014 Act’s SEND reforms.[6] The SEND Review consultation took place in 2022, which generated the DfE’s SEND and Alternate Provision Development Plan in March 2023.[4]  This plan included a £2.6 billion investment to reform a national system with consistent standards, enhance transitions into employment and adulthood, and support a skilled workforce to provide SEND support in schools.

For details on government funding plans and future policies for SEND, including changes to private school VAT, please see the House of Lords Library Briefing on Special educational needs and disabilities: Government support.

Challenges and opportunities

Academic attainment for many children with SEND lags far behind their peers (Table 1). [4][7][8][9] According to a 2024 Education Policy Institute Report, pupils with SEND had some of the widest attainment gaps compared to other demographic groups.[10]

For students aged 16-19, those with an EHCP were 7.1 grades behind their peers, while those receiving SEN support were 3.7 grades behind.

Research shows that children with SEND are up to five times more likely to be excluded from school.[11] They are also more likely to report lower wellbeing. For example, in 2023 the Children’s Commissioner found that 36% of children with SEND reported feeling lonely, compared to 23% of their peers.[12]

Inequities for children with SEND continue across the lifespan across education, employment and health. NHS England 2018-19 data shows that the life expectancy for people with a learning disability is 14-17 years lower compared to the general population.[13]

Research shows that families of children with SEND struggle to access the support they are entitled to in a timely manner, which leads to frustration and impacts family wellbeing.[15] For example, only 6% of councils were reported in 2023 to have sufficient childcare for children with disabilities, and many children under 5 with SEND do not receive dedicated support until primary school.[14][15][16]

In December 2024, the House of Commons Education Committee launched an inquiry on “Solving the SEND crisis”, with a focus on how to achieve both short term stability and long-term sustainability for the SEND system to improve experiences and outcomes for children and young people.[17]

Issues related to SEND have also been scrutinised by previous Education Committees. In their 2019 inquiry report, the previous Education Committee agreed with the government’s ambitions for SEND support reform, although they raised concerns around timescales, funding, implementation and access.[18] They stated “We have a system of unmet need and strain. This unmet need is creating poor broader experiences, for children, young people and their families, schools, colleges and local authorities”.[18]

In 2023, the Chair of the previous Education Committee wrote an open letter welcoming proposals to standardise and digitise EHCPs in the SEND Review and Improvement Plan.[19]  However, timescales were again criticised, with the measures not expected to be fully implemented until 2025.

Researchers have recommended the practice of Flexible and Inclusive Teaching, based on reducing barriers to learning, access and participation, and tailoring approaches based on individual students’ needs, abilities, preferences, and motivations.[20][21] Academic contributors highlighted that, as well as participation, approaches should also aim to improve empowerment, representation, opportunities and a sense of belonging in children and young people with SEND.[22][23][24]

Vocational learning can present benefits and opportunities for young people with SEND.[25] The SEND and AP Improvement Plan committed to double the capacity of the Supported Internships Programme, which helps young adults with SEND transition to the workplace through placements, job coaches and qualifications.[26][27] In 2023, the government confirmed that Supported Internships would be piloted for all children on SEN Support.[28] This may help to address disability employment gaps and SEND career guidance gaps, where people with SEND are less likely to be in employment or receive advice/training compared with their peers.[29][30][31]

Modern technology and digitalisation of education can present opportunities for children with SEND, such as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) guidelines, a framework to optimise teaching and learning for people based on human learning insights.[32] The evidence for UDL guidelines is limited and still developing.[33] Academic contributors also highlighted that UDL effectiveness also depends on teacher delivery and ability to adapt.

The prevalence of online learning can mean greater access and inclusion in educational settings, however stakeholders note that it must have the functionality to be tailored for all potential students. For example, captioning video recordings increases access for those with hearing impairments but can be distracting for others.[34]

Devolution of SEND funding to local government results in a ‘postcode lottery’ of provision, which varies between different areas.[7][4][9][10]  In 2023, the DfE proposed that new national standards announced in the SEND and AP Improvement Plan will end the postcode lottery, however a 2025 report by the Public Accounts Committee identified ongoing disparities in support and funding provision across local authorities.[35][36]

Key uncertainties/unknowns

Stakeholders have raised questions over how the government will tackle rising costs of provision for SEND.[37] In October 2024, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) reported a 58% real-terms increase over the past decade for high-needs funding (for children with SEND that require additional resources, such as an ECHP). High-needs funding for 2024/25 is £10.7 billion.[38] The NAO stated that the costs of SEND provision were contributing to “growing cumulative deficits” within local authorities schools budgets, estimated to be £4.6 billion by March 2026. The NAO concluded that the current SEND system is “financially unsustainable”.[39]

Commentators have noted the disproportionate impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and young people with SEND, and since 2019-20 there has been a sharp rise in the number of school pupils receiving SEN support and EHCPs. [3][40] There are further questions about how to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on pre-existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, both in the short-term and longer-term.[41]

Teacher recruitment and retention challenges may also impact children with SEND, as these may affect the quality of adaptive teaching for varied needs in classrooms (HS 84).[42]

Key questions for Parliament

• What policies are needed to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND in education, health, independent living and employment?
• What is the role for support in early years settings to facilitate transitions to school and improve other outcomes for children and young people with SEND?
• What is needed to improve experience of support for children, young people and their families?
• What will the longer-term impacts of the pandemic be, both on children who were already diagnosed identified as having SEND, and the rising numbers of those receiving SEND-related support?
• What needs to be done in the areas of curriculum development, teacher professional development, school inspection and support for schools to ensure that children with SENDs experience fewer inequitable outcomes?

References

[1] Children and Families Act 2014, ss 20

[2] Equality Act 2010, ss 6

[3] Department for Education (2024). Special educational needs in England: Academic year 2023/24.

[4] Department for Education (2015). Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years.

[5] HM Government (2024). Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND): Extra help

[6] Department for Education (2019). Major review into support for children with special educational needs

[7] Azpitarte, F. and Holt, L. (2023) Failing children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in England: New evidence of poor outcomes and a postcode lottery at the Local Authority level at Key Stage 1. British Educational Research Journal, https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3930.

[8] Waugh, P. (2022) The North and Midlands need more power, but devolution may supercharge Britain’s postcode lottery. iNews

[9] Belgutay, J. (2017) ‘Postcode lottery’ created by devolution of SEND funding. TES.

[10] Education Policy Institute (2024). Annual Report 2024

[11] The Children’s Society (2022). Special educational needs and the risk of school exclusion

[12] The Children’s Commissioner (2023). Experiences of children with SEND

[13] NHS England (2020). Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities, Experimental Statistics: 2018 to 2019

[14] Starkie, Z. (2023). Parental experiences of accessing assessments for special educational needs. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12609.

[15] Commons Education Committee (2023) Support for childcare and early years, para 165

[16] Coram Family and Childcare (2023). Childcare Survey 2023

[17] Commons Education Committee (2024). Solving the SEND Crisis.

[18] Commons Education Committee (2019). Special educational needs and disabilities: First Report of Session 2019.

[19] Walker, R. (2023). Letter to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children, Families and Wellbeing from the Chair of the Education Committee on the SEND and alternative provision improvement plan.

[20] Whewell, E. & Tiplady, H. (2023). What neurodiverse learners told us they needed in order to thrive. WONKHE.

[21] Davis, A.J. (2022). Here’s what I learned when I made my teaching flexible and inclusive. AdvanceHE.

[22] Education Endowment Foundation (online). Supporting school attendance: Build a culture of community and belonging for pupils.

[23] Solomindes, M. (2022). SEND: Why we’re going beyond inclusion to belonging. Schools Week.

[24] Morgan, J. & O’Hara, M. (2023). Belonging, mattering and becoming: empowering education through connection. AdvanceHE.

[25] Bell, S. (2014). The inclusion of students with special educational needs in vocational education and training: a comparative study of the changing role of SEN teachers in the European context (Finland, England, The Czech Republic and Estonia).

[26] Department for Education (2023). Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan Right Support, Right Place, Right Time.

[27] Department for Education (2022). Supported internships.

[28] Department for Education (2023). How supported internships help young people with learning disabilities gain work experience.

[29] Commons Education Committee (2023). Committee report: Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance.

[30] Department for Work & Pensions (2023). Employment of disabled people 2022.

[31] Powell, A. (2024). Disabled people in employment. House of Commons Library.

[32] Cast (online). About Universal Design for Learning.

[33] Boysen, G. A. (2024). A critical analysis of the research evidence behind CAST’s universal design for learning guidelines. Policy Futures in Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/14782103241255428.

[34] Passey, D. (2021) International inclusive teaching and learning, In: Handbook of Digital Higher Education, pp 123-134.

[35] Department for Education (2023). SEND and alternative provision improvement plan.

[36] Public Accounts Committee (2025). SEND emergency: Unviable system will end in lost generation of children without reform.

[37] Education Policy Institute (2024). General Election 2024: An analysis of manifesto pledges for education.

[38] National Audit Office (2024). Support for children and young people with special educational needs.

[39] Goddard, J. (2024). Special educational needs and disabilities: Government support. House of Lords Library.

[40] Ofsted (2021). Children and young people with SEND disproportionately affected by pandemic.

[41] Paterson, J., McCarthy, M., Triantafyllopoulou, P. (2023) The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the lives of children and young people who have special educational needs and/or disabilities in the UK: A scoping review. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12608.

[42] National Foundation for Educational Research (2024). Teacher recruitment and retention crisis shows no signs of abating, new report reveals.

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