According to the latest Annual Report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI), reception children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) are now, on average, 20.1 months behind their peers. This is the largest gap recorded since data collection began in 2013.

It was also revealed that between 2019 and 2024, the disadvantage gap widened across all phases, with the gap in early years rising from 4.6 months in 2023 to 4.7 months in 2024.

EPI recommends making child development and SEND a mandatory part of initial teacher training and early career development as well as increasing in the early years pupil premium to match the pupil premium in later school years.