Welcome to our inclusion series. As an organisation that considers inclusion a critical issue, we wanted to understand whether it was possible to measure the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) using public data. We’ve explored creating an index from 12 measures across areas such as the proportion of pupils with SEND supported in mainstream schools, attainment, exclusions and overall numbers of pupils with education, health and care plans (EHCPs).
We have combined public data sources to create overall inclusion scores by local authority area. The inclusion score looks at:
- Exclusions – rates of exclusion of SEND pupils
- Assessment – proportion of SEND pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
- Placement – school placement of pupils with an EHCP
- Attainment – attainment and progress scores of pupils with an EHCP, as well as the proportion not in education, employment or training (NEET)
For an area to have a high score, it would have a high percentage of pupils with SEND supported in mainstream education. Pupils with SEND would have fewer exclusions, plus good attainment and progress.