Education Endowment Foundation:SEND Review – trial

SEND Review – trial

NASEN
Implementation costThe cost estimates in the Toolkits are based on the average cost of delivering the intervention.
Evidence strengthThis rating provides an overall estimate of the robustness of the evidence, to help support professional decision-making in schools.
Impact (months)The impact measure shows the number of additional months of progress made, on average, by children and young people who received the intervention, compared to similar children and young people who did not.
+1
months
Project info

Independent Evaluator

Manchester Metropolitan University logo
Manchester Metropolitan University
A structured, peer-to-peer evaluation of SEND provision across the school.
Schools: 160 Grant: £559,810
Key Stage: 3, 4 Duration: 2 year(s) 8 month(s) Type of Trial: Efficacy level evidence
Completed June 2022

The SEND Review Programme is designed to help secondary schools reflect on, develop, and improve their whole-school SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision. Delivered by the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen), the programme supports SENCOs through training and coaching, enabling them to work collaboratively with colleagues to lead inclusive, school-wide change.

Participants undertake a self-evaluation of their school’s SEND provision, take part in peer school visits, and receive support to develop and implement effective school development plans. The programme aims to improve the well-being, attendance, and – over time – attainment of pupils with SEND, while also promoting positive outcomes for all learners across the school.

EEF summary

The EEF funded this evaluation for several reasons. First, the impact of SEND on academic attainment is closely related to the EEF’s focus on socio-economic disadvantage. It also aligns with the EEF’s work on SEND in mainstream settings and the emerging evidence which suggests that high-quality teaching for pupils with SEND benefits all learners. Additionally, the programme has been delivered widely, with some modifications, addressing a gap in evidence on SEND interventions in secondary schools.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, the programme was delayed, and the duration was shortened from 16 to 11 months and delivered from September 2021 until July 2022. In addition, data was collected two years after the delivery to give time for the programme to embed in schools. This had considerable implications for the quality of data collected over an extended trial period. This means the findings have a very low security rating.

With these limitations in mind, the evaluation found that pupils with SEND in SEND Review schools made one additional months’ progress in GCSE English Language, on average, compared to pupils with SEND in other schools. Tentatively positive results were also found for pupils eligible for Free School Meals, as well as all pupils in SEND Review schools, not only pupils with SEND.

There appears to be no evidence that pupils with SEND in intervention schools have lower absence or exclusion rates than pupils in control schools, and their wellbeing does not appear to be any different to control groupAs part of a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), settings will be randomised into either the intervention or control group. Settings in the control group continue with their usual practices and help provide a comparison to measure the intervention’s impact. They are usually offered a monetary compensation as thanks for their contribution. pupils with SEND.

The implementation and process evaluationAn IPE is used to understand how and why an intervention has (or has not) been successful. Data is analysed to explore programme quality, reach, adaptation and differentiation, as well as setting fidelity and responsiveness to the trial design. found that the programme was well received, and led to a range of positive changes in line with the goals of the programme, such as strategic leadership of SEND and an improved culture of collaboration across schools to support pupils with SEND.

Given the low confidence in these results, particularly regarding the primary outcome, a follow-up report is planned for late 2025, using data from the National Pupil Database.

Outcome/​Group
ImpactThe size of the difference between pupils in this trial and other pupils
SecurityHow confident are we in this result?
GCSE English Language / SEND only
+1
Months' progress
(Effect size 0.05)
GCSE English Language / all FSM eligible
+2
Months' progress
(Effect size 0.13)
N/A

Were the schools in the trial similar to my school?

  • There were 156 schools involved in the trial, including 29,699 total pupils and 4,178 pupils with SEND.
  • The intervention was delivered to 156 state-funded secondary schools across the North East, North West, South West, South Central England, North-west London, and the West Midlands, although schools beyond these areas were also involved.
  • 12% of pupils in schools who received the SEND review programme and 14% of control schools were pupils with SEND. 23% of pupils in schools who received the SEND review programme and 26% in control schools were pupils eligible for Free School Meals.

Could I implement this in my school?

  • No resources are required to implement the programme beyond staff time and cover for SENCOs as they engage in all aspects of the programme, which includes training, self-evaluation, and travel for school visits, and engagement with SEND Review support.
  • The programme was delivered in a manner consistent with its design and evidence from case studies suggests it had positive effects on whole school SEND provision and SENDCo practice. 
  • The programme was delayed and disrupted due to Covid, with key changes including the reduction of the programme (from 16 to 11 months) and the move to support staff, online rather than in person. This, alongside a change in support for pupils with SEND in control schools to be more aligned with the intervention schools, could have had an impact on programme outcomes. 
  • Different versions of the SEND Review, which are less comprehensive than the programme trialled are available through NASEN online at Whole School SEND.

How much does it cost?

  • From the perspective of a participating school, cost per pupil with SEND per year over 3 years is estimated at £27. This relates primarily to the cost of training and cover.

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