Targeted interventions can raise overall educational outcomes for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by an average of five months, compared to teaching-as-usual or standard interventions, finds a report by UCL researchers.
Students with SEND, such as dyslexia, often have lower educational outcomes compared to their peers and require additional support, either in mainstream classrooms or schools that cater for special educational needs. On average, students with SEND are at least two years behind by the end of secondary school.
In England, the number of students diagnosed with SEND has increased in recent years. As of July 2024, 1.67 million children (18.4%) have some kind of special educational need, up from 17.3% in 2023—an increase of over 100,000. This rise is thought to be down to various factors, including greater awareness of SEND and reforms to the diagnostic system.
In the study, published by the UCL Center for Educational Neuroscience, researchers found that targeted interventions had a slightly bigger effect on mathematics than reading overall— six months of additional progress compared to five months by the end of secondary school, with interventions being delivered from primary school onward.
When looking just at primary school level, targeted interventions had a bigger effect on mathematics (eight months of progress), whereas those at secondary school level had a bigger effect on writing (12 months of progress). The team also analyzed outcomes for science and general attainment to calculate an overall average of five months of progress.
