Children with special needs failed if lessons are not learnt from the first lockdown

New research shows children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) experienced profound disruption to their education, well-being and family life during the first national lockdown.

The Nuffield-funded study carried out by ASK Research, paints a concerning picture of teachers and professionals struggling to support pupils and their families during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Lessons must be learnt from the first lockdown if pupils with SEND and families are not to be put at further risk. The report highlights that it is unrealistic for all pupils to attend special schools and colleges in a lockdown situation – as the current (early 2021) government guidance suggests.

Key findings

In-school provision

• During the first national lockdown, special school and college leaders were only able to offer places to around a third of pupils due to the many challenges they faced, including reduced staffing levels and unclear guidance.
• The nature of the support special schools and colleges needed to provide was in conflict with safety guidance and available space. Almost all (98%) providers surveyed said they had pupils who would find it hard to keep to social distancing and safe practice. Three quarters of providers had pupils who require personal care which involves close contact with others.
• Places that were offered in school were often part-time and services crucial to helping pupils into school, such as home-school transport, were badly disrupted.

Support available from health, care and social services

• Health and social care services, which many of these children and families depend on, were severely reduced or stopped altogether during the first national lockdown, with education staff left to try and ‘plug the gaps’ where they could.
  • 83% of pupils at home, and 65% of pupils attending school or college, got either no or only a small amount of healthcare support through lockdown.
  • 77% of pupils at home and 57% of pupils attending school or college got either no or only a small amount of social care and support (including respite care and home help) through lockdown.

Support provided at home

• For those pupils unable to attend their special school or college in person, the report finds that remote learning and support was extremely difficult to provide.
  • Approximately one in every three of these families had limited IT access, and the additional needs of pupils with SEND reportedly hindered their ability to engage with online learning.
  • Many pupils needed all of their home learning materials individually produced to meet their specific needs, and parents needed guidance and equipment to help their child learn at home. This meant supporting home schooling for these pupils was incredibly resource intensive.

Experiences of families and their children

• Many families struggled to support their children at home full time. They reported increased stress, anxiety and mental health issues, affecting their ability to manage their child with special needs and relationships within the family.
• They reported that the first national lockdown led to a loss of skills and abilities (such as communication and mobility) in their children and increased behavioural and mental health issues, likely to impact on their future life chances.
  • School and college leaders had concerns about the longer-term effects of restricted support for pupils and families and what this would mean for how special education could be delivered in the future.

The research took place between June and August last year, hearing from 200 special school and college leaders and 500 parents whose children usually attend these settings.

The report sets out ten recommendations detailing what action must now be taken to get more pupils back into their school or college safely, to better support those who are at home and to help their families.

Amy Skipp, Director of ASK Research who led the project, said: “This research shows a worrying situation that has not been well-managed by Government. The national policy has shown little understanding or regard for pupils with SEND and their families. Lessons desperately need to be learnt, and fast, or we are in danger of failing these potentially vulnerable families. Policy-makers need to pay urgent attention to our recommendations.”

“The current policy for this lockdown is that all pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) should be in school. Firstly, it is not clear if this is safe for staff, pupils and their families. Secondly, it is impossible for most special schools and colleges to provide without extra trained staff, space and resources. Given that not all these pupils can be in school full-time – including those who are medically vulnerable – special schools and colleges need extra help to support these children at home as well as their families.”

Eleanor Ireland, Education Programme Head at the Nuffield Foundation said: “Special schools and colleges are being asked to provide the impossible – to keep all their pupils in school or college while complying with safety guidance that does not recognise how their needs differ to those in mainstream schools. This is detrimental not only to the education of pupils with SEND, but in many cases also to the development of more fundamental skills such as mobility and communication. The government needs to listen to the experience of school leaders and parents and to provide more tailored and comprehensive guidance and support.”

Quotes from research interviews

“It is impossible to educate a child with SEND who requires one-to-one and also work full-time especially with another child who also requires attention and education. There is a reason he needs specialist teaching and a one-ton-one. Also, I am not a therapist either. He needs the therapy.” Comment from a parent.

“These children need 24/7 care. With the changes to school, social distancing and shielding that have been in place the days have been long and unimaginable at times. The responsibility for providing all the care, medical and other support has placed a huge burden on tired parents.” Comment from a special college Headteacher.

“Throughout I’ve had to weigh up the possibility of a virus that may spread in children, and may or may not make some school members very poorly, with the certainty that lots of our pupils will find this massive change really hard and that this will be very difficult for many families to manage.” Comment from a special school Headteacher.

“Within all of the outputs special provision was not just an afterthought, they made it quite clear, yet again, that they have no understanding of how we operate and so we were completely forgotten about”. Comment from a special college Headteacher.