CYP Now - Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: Special Report

Recent years have seen a significant rise in the proportion of pupils identified with special educational needs and disabilities, but during the pandemic many have faced long waits to access specialist support.

Better awareness among education professionals has helped improve identification of children whose learning needs would have previously gone unnoticed. Picture: Bramfield House School

The proportion of children identified with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has grown over the past six years, following introduction of reforms to the system that were meant to make it easier for parents to access joined-up support.

The proportion of the overall pupil population identified as having a SEND has grown from 14.4 per cent in 2015/16 to 15.9 per cent in 2020/21. The majority of the 1.4 million children with SEND are classified as in need of SEN support, which covers less severe impairments. The number of children in this group has grown 9.1 per cent over the past six years, more than twice the rate of growth of the overall headcount of pupils over that period.

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