Families whose children have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have faced unique challenges during the coronavirus pandemic. This study by the Nuffield Foundation explored how education provision over this time has changed for children and young people with SEND who attend special schools.
It found that pupils at special schools in England have been “forgotten about” in the rush to restart full-time education, with 20,000 children with special needs unlikely to return to school because of safety concerns.
Parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) said they were concerned about sending their children back to school in September because their children were medically vulnerable or because their child’s needs mean they cannot adhere to social distancing and safe practice.
Headteachers at more than 200 schools and colleges in England said the government’s guidance had been unclear and showed a lack of understanding of how special schools work, the types of pupils they support, and how much they rely on other key services including healthcare and local charities.
Main Findings:
- Parental concerns about safety are likely to result in reduced attendance levels from September. Leaders identified several key concerns that they felt could result in parents deciding to keep their child at home. These included:
- Safety - almost two-thirds of leaders (64%) felt parents would not send their children back to school because of safety concerns.
- Medical vulnerability – over half of leaders (55%) thought some parents would not send their child back in September because their household had been shielding. The parents of children who had been shielding, or had other significant health issues, were particularly concerned that their child may be more susceptible to contracting or being adversely affected by the infection.
- Needs and behaviours of pupils – a third of leaders (33%) felt that parental concerns about pupils’ inability to adhere to safe practice and social distancing would result in parents not sending children back in September.
- Leaders anticipate making significant changes to special education provision from September. To comply with the Department for Education (DfE) guidance on how to safely manage full reopening, leaders will need to offer:
- reduced and altered contact hours.
- fewer activities (such as the use of sensory rooms and hydrotherapy pools; and activities which require leaving the school premises or coming into contact with the community, such as running cafés and shops).
- less curriculum input (as they focus on addressing additional emotional and mental health needs as a result of the pandemic).
- different routines (such as being in bubbles with set groups of pupils and staff, staying in certain parts of the school, and adhering to safety guidance).
- stronger behaviour management policies (penalising pupil actions now considered to pose increased risk).
- lower levels or different methods of therapeutic input.
- Unclear messaging, limited capacity and resources, increased pupil needs and how external agencies adapt will all affect what special education looks like in future. These changes were considered necessary due to perceived lack of clarity in DfE guidance, insufficient staff capacity, limited space, limited funding, and how other agencies and partners adapt.