ECHILD findings on the early detection of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

‍A working paper published as part of the Centre for Education Policy & Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO) series provides new insight into the early detection of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), a key policy priority in England. UCL researchers Laura Outhwaite, Claire Crawford and Jo Van Herwegen conducted the first large-scale evaluation of using the ‘Good Level of Development’ (GLD) measure as a predictor of later SEND identification.

Recorded by practitioners at the end of Reception at ages 4-5, the GLD measure reflects the statutory assessment of five main areas of learning: Communication and Language, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Literacy and Mathematics. It is one of the earliest measures of learning systematically collected at a national scale. The GLD scores, both overall and component-level, are found in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile. In the ECHILD database, these pupil records can be linked to their later records capturing SEND status.

The research team followed a cohort of 580,523 children from Reception (2012-13) to Year 6 (2018-19). Using logistic regression analyses, they show that GLD significantly predicts later SEND identification, whether using the standalone overall score (reached/not reached), overall score accounting for the number of unreached areas of learning or the linear score summed across all areas of learning. Furthermore, each of the five areas of learning made unique contributions to predicting SEND identification, with distinct profiles emerging across SEND types.

An important caveat is that there are still notable differences between pupil groups based on how well GLD can predict later SEND status. Specifically, girls, children from ethnic minority backgrounds, children with English as an Additional Language, children not eligible for free school meals and those without a chronic health condition are less likely to be identified as having SEND than their peers, despite equivalent GLD scores.

The study concludes that the GLD Overall measure (reached/not reached) commonly used in educational practice is a valid and practical screening measure for early SEND identification. However, structural inequalities in SEND identification must be addressed to ensure that all children have equitable access to support.

📄 Read the full report

https://repec-cepeo.ucl.ac.uk/cepeow/cepeowp26-05.pdf

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