CYP Now - Young children with SEND face ‘widest attainment gap on record’

Disadvantaged reception-aged children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are academically further behind their non-disadvantaged peers than at any other time on record, according to a new report.

Children aged five, 11 and 19 have fallen further behind their peers, experts say. Picture: Monkey Business/Adobe Stock

The Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) latest annual report on the state of education in England focusses on the attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers from the early years to 16-19 education.

It finds that while attainment gaps have narrowed since 2019 for older pupils with SEND, the gap has widened among reception-aged pupils to its widest on record for both children accessing SEN support and those with education health and care plans (EHCPs).

The report states that among reception-aged pupils, those with an EHCP were 19.9 months behind their peers, marking a small increase since 2019.

Pupils receiving SEN support were 12.5 months behind, an increase of 0.7 months since 2019.

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