The HOPE Study

Background

Around one-in-five school pupils currently have SEN, and around one-in-three will need SEN-related support at some point during their school career. SEN-related support varies widely and can be temporary (such as a few speech and language therapy sessions to help with communication) or long-term (e.g. for pupils with autism). Although SEN is extremely common, surprisingly little is known about how SEN-related support affects children and young people’s health and education outcomes. This summary includes information about work package 4 of the study, conducted at the University of Cambridge. 

Project Aims

The overarching aims of work package 4 were to establish: 

• How does SEN provision vary, and why?
• What is the impact of SEN identification, assessment and provision on health and education?  

Methodology

All our research activities were supported by advisory groups we recruited for The HOPE Study. We asked groups for their views about our research plans, and took their suggestions to make sure our research was relevant for people using SEN services (young people and families) and delivering SEN services (professionals from health, social care, schools/colleges and local authorities).

We carried out ten different studies using a range of methods to address our research aims. Our methods included online surveys, one-to-one interviews, focus group discussions, literature reviews and analyses of existing data from official websites and reports.

Key findings 

• Our findings indicate that the quality of SEN provision varies in many ways, including by local area, school, age, need type and how able a parent/carer is to “battle” through the SEN system. There are many reasons why. For example, there are different numbers of specialist professionals available in different local areas which affects waiting times for SEN assessments, and differing quality of information provided on Local Offer for SEND websites affecting people’s understanding of and engagement with local services. There is often variable understanding of teachers about SEN (particularly autism) which can affect how quickly and accurately needs are identified, as well as the extent pupils with SEN are accommodated in class. The social and economic status of families can also affect how promptly needs are identified, and whether a child receives appropriate provision that meets their needs.
• We found that when additional needs were identified early and holistically, and individually tailored support was provided promptly, consistently and with the involvement of children and families it helped improve educational outcomes and mental health. If SEN was identified late, partially or inaccurately, or if provision was delayed or inappropriate there were catastrophic long-term effects for some children’s education and mental health, as well as the mental health of parents/carers.

Impact

We are still in the process of publishing our studies, many of which include messages to policy makers at the Department for Education, and decision-makers currently considering how to reform the SEND system to work better for children and families. To date we have used evidence generated through work package 4 to contribute to the government’s SEND consultation (2022), and the government SEND enquiry ‘Solving the SEND crisis’ (2025). 

We have also received multiple enquires from local authorities about how to improve their Local Offer for SEND websites based on our published article: To what extent do England's local offer websites adhere to the statutory guidance as set out in the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice?

Who is involved?

Jennifer Saxton- PI, University of Cambridge

Tamsin Ford- University of Cambridge

Contact

Jennifer Saxton- jcs230@medschl.cam.ac.uk