What question did this study set out to answer?

March 22, 2026

Evaluation of special educational needs and disability provision in English primary schools using administrative health and education data in the ECHILD database.

Key Points

To evaluate the effectiveness of special educational needs and disability provision in English primary schools using health and education data.
Utilized the ECHILD database for analysis
Conducted causal analyses on the provision effects
Investigated the quality of measurements and outcomes
Identified weak evidence of benefits from SEND provision
Observed potential unmeasured confounding affecting results
Suggested improvements in measurement and evaluation methods

Abstract

Weak evidence of benefits of SEND provision in causal analyses likely reflects unmeasured confounding, lack of measures of provision received and insensitive outcomes in ECHILD data. SEND policies need robust evidence from analyses across jurisdictions using administrative data, enhanced with better measures, experimental methods and contextual evaluation.

Evaluation of special educational needs and disability provision in English primary schools using administrative health and education data in the ECHILD database.

Key Points

Abstract

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