SEND: New IPSEA research examines barriers encountered by underserved communities

A new report from IPSEA highlights ongoing inequalities in how children and young people from under-served communities access special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision.

The report, ‘Breaking barriers: addressing inequalities and improving access to SEND legal advice for under-served communities’, examined the obstacles families face when trying to secure suitable SEND provision for their children and understand their legal rights.

It found that families facing the greatest obstacles are often those least able to access legal advice about their rights. As a result, children and young people may be at greater risk of missing out on the education they are entitled to by law.

The research identified four main concerns regarding how families from under-served communities experience the SEND system, including issues with early intervention and co-production. It also revealed that parents’ concerns are often ignored and dismissed, leading to delays in intervention until unmet needs escalate into crises.

There is also an inability to adapt to changes in families’ circumstances and discriminatory practices, which have far-reaching impacts on families, children and young people.

Early, accurate information about SEND rights

Madeleine Cassidy, Chief Executive, IPSEA, said: “This research shows how intersecting factors, including poverty, migration, racism, care experience, detention and language barriers, shape families’ ability to access support. It also highlights the critical importance of early, accurate information about SEND rights, the role of trusted community organisations, and approaches that recognise the wider pressures many families are navigating. This matters because legal rights only work when people can actually use them.”

The research utilised national data and published literature on SEND and inequality, qualitative focus groups with parents and carers from marginalised communities, and interviews with statutory and voluntary sector organisations supporting these families.

It also examined the experiences of families, children, and young people who might encounter extra barriers when accessing SEND provision and legal advice, including:

• families with English as an additional language (EAL)
• care-experienced children, including unaccompanied asylum-seeking children
• children and young people from asylum-seeking, refugee and unsettled immigration status families
• detained children and those involved in the youth justice system
• Romany Gypsy, Roma and Irish Traveller children and young people
• Black and Global Majority children and young people

Findings highlight that access to support is shaped not only by failures within the SEND system but also by broader structural factors affecting families’ lives, such as poverty, insecure housing, language barriers, migration status, racism, discrimination, involvement with care or youth justice systems, and unequal access to information, advocacy, and support.

The research was funded by Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, John Laing Charitable Trust, LEF, and Pears Foundation. The findings will help guide IPSEA’s future work and partnerships.

Alison Bloomer

Alison Bloomer is Editor of Learning Disability Today.

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