Why children with Send from low-income homes face double disadvantage'

"Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send) who are also from poorer homes face double the disadvantage, a charity has warned. Social mobility charity Sutton Trust said disadvantaged children with Send are being failed by a system beset with inconsistency and mind-boggling bureaucracy. A new poll found that children from lower-income backgrounds are more likely to have Send, but less likely than their more affluent peers to secure support through an education, health and care plan (EHCP)."

"Only 26 per cent of children qualify for free school meals, but those who qualify for free school meals account for 44 per cent of those with EHCPs, and 39 per cent of those receiving Send support without an EHCP, the polling found. Children with Send who received free school meals face worse outcomes than their more affluent peers with Send."

Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) from poorer homes experience double disadvantage and inconsistent support. Social mobility charity Sutton Trust reports that bureaucracy and inconsistency leave disadvantaged children with SEND underserved. Polling indicates children from lower-income backgrounds are more likely to have SEND but less likely to secure an education, health and care plan (EHCP). Only 26 percent of children qualify for free school meals, yet those children account for 44 percent of EHCP holders and 39 percent of those receiving SEND support without an EHCP. Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils with EHCPs are substantially worse in GCSE English and maths.

Read at www.independent.co.uk