This month’s Focus on SEND in mainstream education aligns with a new Sutton Trust report and coverage in Schools Week. Both point to a pattern many teachers already recognise. Pupils with SEND from lower income families are more likely to need support, yet less likely to secure an EHCP or access a special school place. (Schools Week)
The Sutton Trust’s Double Disadvantage? research brief sets out the scale and texture of the issue. Nationally, 25.7% of pupils are eligible for Free School Meals, but this rises to 39.3% for pupils on SEND Support and 43.8% for those with an EHCP. Within this cohort, more affluent families are more likely to obtain EHCPs, appeal rejections, and secure special school places. Outcomes reflect that imbalance. Only 7.5% of pupils eligible for FSM with an EHCP achieved grade 4 or above in both English and Maths, compared to 17.3% of non FSM peers with an EHCP.
The report also shows how process and price shape access. A majority of working class parents spent nothing on EHCP applications, while a notable minority of middle class parents spent more than £5,000 and were more likely to use tribunals. Families with resources navigate the paperwork and waiting lists more easily.
What the Sutton Trust recommends
The report draws out implications for reform that will resonate with classroom practitioners and leaders:
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Simplify access to support, so complexity does not act as a rationing system that favours families with time, money, or specialist knowledge.
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Reduce diagnosis backlogs and waiting times, and keep supporting on the basis of need while labels are pending.
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Increase consistency of identification within and between schools and LAs, to curb the postcode lottery.
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Strengthen support for pupils on SEND Support, not only those with EHCPs, since experiences and outcomes are often weakest here.
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Build mainstream capacity through partnerships and models such as SEND Hubs, so more pupils can be well supported in their local school.
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Invest in early years identification and workforce training to intervene earlier and more fairly.
You can read the Sutton Trust overview and press material here for additional context. (Sutton Trust)
What this could look like in practice, this term
1) Join up Pupil Premium and SEND leadership
Create a standing item where the Pupil Premium Lead and SENDCo review overlap data, starting with: attendance, suspensions, missed homework, and STEM attainment for pupils who are both FSM eligible and on the SEND register. Agree two shared priorities and one quick win per half term. Use a simple dashboard to track progress.
2) Make the process easier for families
Map the parent journey from “I am worried” to “support in place.” Replace long forms with plain language checklists, offer drop in help with paperwork, and provide translations where needed. Publish one page “how to get help” guides for mainstream and post 16. The aim is to remove knowledge penalties that hit lower income families hardest.
3) Support on the basis of need while waiting
Set a school level expectation that pupils receive reasonable adjustments and targeted support as soon as a need is evidenced, not only once a diagnosis lands. Examples for STEM: scaffolded practicals, dual coded instructions, vocabulary mats, and low tech access tools. Review impact at four week intervals.
4) Tighten identification and staff confidence
Run short CPD bites for teaching staff on early indicators across the four broad areas of need, and how to raise concerns. Share a one page referral pathway. Use moderation style conversations between departments to reduce variation in who gets flagged.
5) Build mainstream capacity with partners
Pilot a mini “SEND Hub” approach by timetabling joint clinics with EPs, SALT, Inclusion leads, or local outreach teams. Use these clinics to triage pupils, coach teachers, and agree classroom strategies that are realistic within STEM labs. Capture one page case studies to spread practice across departments.
6) Focus on attendance, belonging, and behaviour
The data links disadvantage, SEND, absence, and suspensions. Make belonging visible in STEM spaces. For example: predictable routines for practicals, pre flight checklists, visual lab rules, and calm re entry plans after dysregulation. Track whether these steps close gaps in persistent absence and removals for FSM pupils with SEND.
7) Keep an eye on outcomes that matter
Use “attainment gap within the gap” reviews. Compare GCSE science and maths outcomes for pupils who are both FSM eligible and SEND with the rest of the cohort, then agree two targeted curriculum or assessment changes per subject.
Why it matters
The Sutton Trust concludes that children with SEND from lower income families are less likely to secure an EHCP, a special school place, and satisfactory support, which compounds disadvantage. The direction of travel is toward more inclusive mainstream provision, but satisfaction and impact are currently higher in special settings. The task is to close that gap in mainstream classrooms.
Join the discussion here and share your strategies, techniques and top tips: https://community.stem.org.uk/discussion/focus-of-the-month-send-in-mainstream-education