The Medium Term Impact of the Pandemic on Pupils with SEND

Asma Benhenda ()
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Asma Benhenda: UCL Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities

No 25-04, CEPEO Working Paper Series from UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities

Abstract: This report examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected students in England with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), particularly those with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Drawing on national and local authority-level data from 2015–2022, it highlights three key findings and offers policy-focused insights, focussing on widening gaps in absence and achievement, geographical inequities (the `SEND lottery') and the role of pre-pandemic funding. These findings underscore the urgency of sustained, targeted policy responses and funding allocations that support the most vulnerable learners and mitigate long-term disruptions to their education. Specifically, they suggest the importance of: increasing baseline SEND funding in underfunded areas and align resources with local needs; provide enhanced tutoring, mental health support, and specialised training to address the significant rise in both absence and achievement gaps between pupils with EHCPs and their peers; and, since pupils eligible for free school meals also displayed hightened vultnerability, prioritise initiatives such as free digital tools, nutrition programmmes, and community-based academic support to reduce economic barriers.

Keywords: Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND); funding; inequalities; COVID-19. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 42 pages
Date: 2025-04, Revised 2025-04
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https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeowp25-04.pdf Initial version, 2025 (application/pdf)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucl:cepeow:25-04

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