Improved support for SEND pupils should be placed “at the heart of the battle” to break the link between poverty and educational underachievement.
This is the conclusion of new research into the educational experiences of pupils from low-income families who have SEND.
The study, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and carried out by think-tank LKMco, warns that pupils from low-income families are more than twice as likely to be identified as having SEND as compared to their better-off peers.
However, despite this, these poorer pupils are less likely to receive the support they need.
The report reveals that 29 per cent of free school meal (FSM) pupils are thought to have SEND – around 340,600 – compared to just 13 per cent of non-FSM pupils.
It also finds that as poorer pupils get older they are increasingly likely to be identified as having SEND and that low-income parents are less likely to be successful in seeking help for their SEND children.
Researchers also warn that pupils with SEND are more likely to be excluded from school or to become NEET. They also have poorer attendance and are more likely to go to prison than their peers.
For example, in England during 2013/14, 7.9 per cent of pupils on School Action Plus received a fixed-period exclusion – more than seven times as many as those without SEND – and seven out of every 10 children excluded in 2014 were identified with SEND.
The study has identified 10 key reasons why so many disadvantaged pupils with SEND are not achieving to their potential. These include problems with SEND identification, navigating the SEND system, funding, and learners being “pushed out” or excluded from school (see below).
Among its recommendations, the report says that SEND pupil achievement should be a whole-school priority and not the domain of specialist staff. Ministers should also give SEND the same level of priority as socio-economic forms of disadvantage.
Other recommendations include allowing schools to access additional funding before they exclude a pupil so they can “put interventions into place that stop them being pushed out”. Additional funding for SEND-specific careers services is also recommended.
Elsewhere, researchers are calling for a review of the school admissions situation to “assess whether all schools provide fair access for pupils with SEND”.
Bart Shaw, lead author of the research and an LKMco associate, said: “Our report reveals the powerful links between poverty SEND, and highlights the barriers faced by children with SEND from low-income families. I hope the report focuses attention on those barriers and helps push SEND children’s needs up the agenda.
“We have set out clear, concrete steps that policy-makers and practitioners could take to make a meaningful difference to these young people’s lives. Urgent action now needs to be taken to implement our recommendations.”
Helen Barnard, head of analysis at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, added: “Poverty can massively inhibit children’s life chances, and those with SEN can face even greater barriers to success. They are more likely to be excluded and leave school without the grades they need, holding them back further as they go onto the next stage of their lives.
“We have seen a really welcome focus from the government and schools on closing the attainment gap between richer and poorer children. This research shows that we need to match this with a commitment to ensure that those with SEND are able to achieve positive outcomes.”
The 10 barriers for poor SEND children
- Identification: Identification of SEND is inconsistent, leading to both over-identification and under-identification of need.
- Navigating the system: The system remains difficult to navigate. Parents find access to support/services varies geographically.
- Funding: Changes to how SEND funding is targeted have resulted in confusion for practitioners and parents.
- Access to quality schools: School admission processes mean poor children with SEND are less able to attend high-quality state schools than others. In particular, converter academies in England are less likely to admit children with SEND.
- Parental engagement: Schools and other educational settings must improve the way they communicate with parents of children with SEND so that they are better able to help their children learn at home.
- Quality of provision in school: Although some schools offer high-quality SEND provision/support, these examples are isolated. Work is needed to share good practice across the UK school system.
- Pushed-out learners: Children with SEND are more likely than others to be isolated at school or excluded from mainstream settings. Greater support is needed within schools, particularly around transitions from primary to secondary and from secondary to further education and adulthood.
- Special schools: Special schools face particular challenges in recruitment and accountability.
- Ethnicity, SEND and poverty: There is evidence that ethnicity plays a part in children’s likelihood of being identified as having SEND. Greater understanding of the links between ethnicity, SEND and poverty is needed.
- Early years: High-quality early years provision is key, but across the UK, the early years system is fragmented and underfunded.
- For more on the findings and to download the report, entitled Special Educational Needs and Their Links to Poverty, visit http://bit.ly/1UtGWXG