Raising educational outcomes for pupils with SEN and disabilities

The number of pupils identified as having Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) has been steadily rising. In 2020/21, national statistics showed that 12% of pupils in mainstream classrooms had SEND. These students have been found to have lower educational outcomes compared to their peers and many receive additional support.

This project sought to enhance evidence-based practice by exploring the different interventions used to support the learning of pupils with SEND, and identify which interventions work best for different needs, contexts and phases of education.

Methodology

A systematic review and meta-analysis of over 400 studies from around the world looked at how well target teaching approaches helped students with SEND and their effects on reading, writing, mathematics, science and general attainment outcomes for children with any type of SEND. In-depth interviews were also conducted with educational professionals to identify what practices were being implemented in schools and to explore any barriers in implementing the most effective practices. A toolkit was also co-produced with practitioners summarising these findings.

Key Findings

Targeted teaching approaches lead to significant progress for students with SEND. Students with reading difficulties made strong gains in reading (five months progress), while those with maths difficulties showed even greater improvement (six months progress). Evidence for improving writing was less clear, possibly because writing difficulties are harder to identify.

Improvements were seen across different types of SEND, suggesting that support tailored to a student’s specific learning need rather than based on a diagnosis can be effective. Maths support worked best at primary school age, while writing support showed more impact in secondary and post-18 students. Progress in reading was consistent across age groups.

Students made similar progress whether they were taught individually or in small groups, and whether the support was delivered by teachers or researchers. Interventions in mainstream schools were more effective for maths than interventions delivered in special schools.

Policy Implications and Recommendations

• Build a balanced evidence base: Increase research on students with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities, conduct more studies on secondary and post-18 education, and focus more on science and general attainment outcomes. Also prioritise UK-based studies to better reflect local needs.

• Create a national SEND intervention database: Collect and share reliable data from larger samples on longer-term intervention outcomes across diverse schools to improve understanding of what works and support better decision-making.

• Strengthen researcher-practitioner collaboration: Encourage closer partnerships between researchers and educators to ensure evidence-based approaches are relevant and accessible for teachers in the classroom.

• Provide training for teachers on evidence use: Equip teachers with skills to understand, evaluate, and apply research findings effectively, so they can choose the best support for students with SEND.