Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities continue to fall behind their peers, study finds

Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are continuing to fall behind their peers with the gap widening despite the introduction of SEND legislation.

This is according to a new study by Durham University which analyzed data on 2.5 million Year 6 pupils across four school years from 2014–2019.

The research suggests there is a need to re-evaluate the policies for SEND provision and how pupils with SEND are supported in schools.

It calls for more investment to support SEND pupils and for increased professional development for teachers and teaching assistants.

Using data from the National Pupil Database for England, the researcher’s analysis focused on reading, mathematics and writing achievements, looking at variations by the type of special educational need and disability.

Across four cohorts of Year 6 pupils, students with SEND performed well below their typically developing peers in reading, writing, and math skills, with the gap widening for most SEND categories.

This is despite ongoing efforts and the introduction of the Children and Families Act in 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice in 2015 which set out a legal framework for how children with SEND should be supported.

The study is published in the European Journal of Special Needs Education.

Study author, Dr. Johny Daniel, from the School of Education at Durham University, said, “It is worrying to see that the attainment gap between pupils with SEND and their peers is widening. This shows that the current support mechanisms are not working.

“It is crucial that we invest more in the support for pupils with SEND and equip teaching staff through regular high-quality professional development. That way, we can have a more inclusive and equitable education system that meets the needs of all learners.”

Pupils with specific learning difficulties, like dyslexia, and those with speech, language, and communication needs are falling behind their peers by one-and-a-half to two years. For these pupils, the gap in math is getting wider with each successive cohort, while the gap in writing, though still the biggest, has stayed about the same over time.

This trend means that a significant number of students are starting secondary school with gaps in the skills they need to fully engage with more complex topics.

Students with autism spectrum disorders perform, on average, one year behind their typical peers in all three academic domains. Moreover, this achievement gap appears to be slightly widening with each successive cohort in the study.

Children with intellectual disabilities, including limited language, social and self-care skills, consistently show the largest achievement gap for reading, writing and math, and the gap is increasing. For example, in math, children with intellectual disabilities often face challenges that result in them being, on average, around three academic years behind their typical peers.

Previous studies have shown that teaching assistants who work with pupils with SEND do not always receive adequate training to implement the most effective support, with a lack of funding being one contributing factor.

Dr. Daniel added, “We have a real opportunity to turn these trends around by investing in targeted support and ensuring that all teaching staff have the tools and training they need to meet the diverse needs of their students with additional needs.”