DfE-Inclusion and the academisation of English secondary schools:trends in the placement of pupils with significant SEN and those permanently excluded

This project aims to analyse a national dataset (the National Pupil Database) about pupils and schools to explore the routes some vulnerable pupils take through secondary schools. We are interested in comparing trends over time (2003-2015) with a focus on:
-pupils with SEN that enter at year 7 and exit during later years
-all pupils permanently excluded from secondary schools.

Over the past 30 years consecutive UK governments have had 2 main policy initiatives regarding schooling in England. Raising academic standards has been the focus of the first initiative, leading to an assessment-led national curriculum; national testing and comparison of results; and developing a more market-orientated model of schooling. This reflected a wider development in public service policy, to replace some state provision by more diversity and autonomy of provision and more user choice. Academies were created by the Labour government to respond to the issues of persistently 'failing' schools. The Conservative/Lib Dem coalition built on this to introduce academies and free schools on a much larger scale.
A lesser though nevertheless important trend was providing for more pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in ordinary rather than special schools and building capacity in ordinary schools to provide for these pupils - what has been called the inclusive education movement. However, the most recent legislation relating to pupils with SEN reinforces the choice and diversity model in emphasising more parental choice and offering more diversity of provision, for example more special schools established through the free school policy initiative.
There are now a range of school types, each with a different level of autonomy. Converter Academies (the most autonomous of the types) had the lowest percentage of pupils with significant SEN, the sponsored Academies (required to convert, governed by outside sponsor) had the highest percentage with significant SEN, while maintained schools (remaining as local authority schools) had percentages between these levels.

We think the policy of secondary schools changing into academies and a focus on raising standards in school may have changed the patterns over time of vulnerable pupils (those with SEN as well as those who experience permanent exclusions) in ordinary schools. The specific aim of our project is to examine whether greater school autonomy and diversity is related to lower placements in ordinary secondary schools and thus greater separate special school and alternative provision placements.

Objective 1: to analyse secondary data from the NPD at a pupil, school and local authority (LA) level, regarding pupils that enter and exit mainstream secondary schools.
Objective 2: to explore the typical educational routes of children with SEN over time since pupil level data was collected. To find out if there is any variation in educational routes by different areas of SEN.
Objective 3: to examine whether greater school autonomy and diversity is related to lower placements in ordinary secondary schools and thus greater separate special school and alternative provision placements.
Objective 4: to examine variations in the educational trajectories of vulnerable pupils at a LA level associated with the extent of acadamisation at a LA level. If there are differences we will examine the characteristics of the LAs that may influence the variations.

By identifying routes from mainstream schools to special schools/alternative provision we hope to identify some factors that explain significant divergence from typical routes through school. This is to enable us to understand pupil, school and LA factors that influence the educational experiences of vulnerable pupils. The project will support original evidence informed policy making and will act as a model of the kind of research that can and needs to be done internationally in the context of international moves towards greater inclusive education.

The aim of the impact strategy for this project is to inform the review, deliberations and formation of educational policies from the perspective of vulnerable pupils: those with special educational needs (SEN) and those permanently excluded. The proposed research is likely to produce original and much needed knowledge about the placement trends of vulnerable pupils (ordinary versus special school/alternative provision).

There is a wide range of stakeholders in the school education system who will be interested in the knowledge and understanding resulting from this research including organisations and agencies, such as: local authorities; multi-academy chains; teacher unions and professional associations; voluntary-sector disability and SEN organisations; local government and national policy makers; politicians and the education and general media. They will benefit from the research because it will inform their reviews, deliberations and formation of educational policies and advocacy positions that bear on contemporary policy debates.

There are two key groups who would be beneficiaries of this research:
1. Policy-makers (at a government, local authority and school level). The research will bear on contemporary policy debates about the design of the school system and the effects of its design on vulnerable pupils. Whatever the findings about these trends and the factors associated with them, the research will have made a difference when its findings are referred and used in policy deliberations and decision-making in the school education sphere.
2. Voluntary-sector disability and SEN organisations. Discussions have been had with these organisations about this project and they have expressed their interest in joint work in communicating the findings and making sense of their policy and practice implications. Some of the groups work to lobby the government regarding policy changes and implementation and the empirical findings of this research may strengthen their cases.

This project will involve the following communication and engagement activities: prepare electronic flyers; set up a project website and use Twitter account to send out regular updates; prepare Executive Summaries (UK and international) of the findings; organise an invited Policy Seminar in London of key potential users of the research findings (voluntary organisations, policy makers etc. in the SEN/disability field); and arrange individual meetings with key policy-makers, e.g. members of the House of Commons Education Select Committee.

The CI leading on the impact strategy has long-standing and ongoing links with key voluntary organisations who are interested in collaborating to communicate the findings of this study. Senior leaders of these voluntary and professional organisations (NASEN, SEN Policy Research Forum , the Special Educational Consortium, the Council for Disabled Children and the Centre for the Study of Inclusive Education - see Pathways to Impact for more details) will be invited to join a reference group which will advise and support the impact strategy. The SEN Policy Research Forum will organise the invited London based Policy Seminar.