Postcode lottery of support for children

Families seeking support for children with special educational needs are facing a "postcode lottery" as a result of Covid-19, a report suggests.

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) think tank say the pandemic is likely to have exacerbated existing problems with identifying children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), meaning some will have fallen through the cracks.

The report says increasing numbers of vulnerable pupils are likely to have missed out on special needs support as a result of months of remote education and growing delays in the system with some "deeply concerning" inconsistencies in how children with Send across England are identified and supported.

Children in the most disadvantaged areas of the country are less likely to be identified with Send than peers in more affluent areas, researchers found.

Children who move school, are frequently absent from class or have suffered abuse or neglect are less likely to be recognised as having Send than otherwise similar children.

Jo Hutchinson, director of social mobility and vulnerable learners at EPI, said the think tank had for the first time carried out data analysis which provided evidence to show there is "a lottery for support".

She said: "While access to Send support was already very unequal, the pandemic is very likely to have resulted in more children falling through the cracks or facing long waits for support.

"We need to significantly improve how we identify pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, so that we can deliver consistently for families and ensure that no child is denied the support that they need."