SEEN: Screening Early for Educational Needs

Context and Challenge The special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England is in crisis. Evidence-based solutions are required to ensure that children’s SEND needs are identified early so that they can receive timely support and improve their educational outcomes (Curran,2020). Early SEND identification and support can also provide much-needed, long-term cost savings. This is because children can receive the support they need from an early age before issues become well-entrenched and more difficult to address as they get older (Carneiro et al.,2024). Universal screening measures, which assess children’s cognition, language, socio-emotional, and physical development, play an important role in the early identification of SEND (Miles et al.,2018). This is because effective universal screening measures can efficiently identify which children may need additional follow-up assessments, interventions, and support (APPG,2023). While statutory measures, such as the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile (EYFS-P), are implemented with all young children in England, there is little evidence evaluating how effective some of these universal screening measures are for identifying children’s future SEND needs (Atkinson et al.,2022;Snowling et al.,2011; Wood et al.,2024). Aims and Objectives Our study proposes to conduct the first national-scale evaluation of two universal screening measures in early childhood for identifying later SEND. The two measures are: The EYFS-P, which is a statutory observational assessment completed by teachers with all 4-5-year-olds in England at the end of Year Reception. An adapted version of the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale, which is a questionnaire completed by parents when children are 3 years old in ‘Understanding Society’, a nationally representative dataset. We will address three core objectives. First, our study will evaluate the extent to which children’s performance on the EYFS-P at age 4-5 can predict their later SEND needs up till age 15-16, including for children from different ethnic, socio-economic status, and English as an Additional Language groups. Second, our study will estimate, of the children who were aged 0-4 years during the Covid-19 pandemic, what proportion are at a heightened risk of later SEND needs based on their EYFS-P performance. Our study will also estimate how much additional educational funding is required to support these children, which will inform future DfE spending reviews. Third, our study will evaluate the extent to which even earlier indicators of child development at age 3 (i.e., the adapted Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale) can predict later SEND needs. Our study will also make comparisons between the two universal screening measures, which will inform evidence-based guidelines for educational policymakers and practitioners. We will answer these questions by conducting quantitative analyses of administrative (the National Pupil Database) and large, nationally representative survey (Understanding Society) datasets. Potential Applications and Benefits Our new evidence will be used to advise educational policymakers and practitioners across England about how children’s SEND needs can be identified from an early age. Recommendations will also be made regarding the funding required to support the educational needs of children who experienced much of their early childhood during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our interdisciplinary research team have world-leading expertise in early years education, SEND, and secondary data analysis. We will work with our extensive networks in the DfE and Ofsted, as well as other non-government organisations and early years practitioners, to ensure our findings are used to address the SEND crisis and make a tangible difference for young children.