Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales

Knight, Cathryn; Lowthian, Emily; Crick, Tom; Jones, Carys; Rawlings, Anna; Abbasizanjani, Hoda; Rees, Sarah

doi:10.1002/berj.4083

Journal article 350 views 69 downloads

Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales

Cathryn Knight, Emily Lowthian

, Tom Crick

, Carys Jones, Anna Rawlings

, Hoda Abbasizanjani

, Sarah Rees

British Educational Research Journal, Volume: 51, Issue: 1, Pages: 466 - 487

Swansea University Authors: Emily Lowthian , Tom Crick , Carys Jones, Anna Rawlings , Hoda Abbasizanjani , Sarah Rees

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DOI (Published version): 10.1002/berj.4083

Abstract

In the context of an emerging new additional learning needs (ALN) system in Wales, this research explores who was likely to be identified with special educational needs (SEN) under the previous system. Our study reveals analysis of linked Welsh education and health data on SEN identification in lear...

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Published in:	British Educational Research Journal
ISSN:	0141-1926 1469-3518
Published:	Wiley 2025
Online Access:	Check full text
URI:	https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa67911

first_indexed	2024-10-04T11:01:34Z
last_indexed	2025-02-25T06:15:20Z
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Our study reveals analysis of linked Welsh education and health data on SEN identification in learners in mainstream education settings born between 2002/3 and 2008/9. Using longitudinal multilevel modelling, we explore (i) who is likely identified with SEN and (ii) whether there is evidence of social patterning in SEN identification. We find that 48% of those born in the year 2002/3 were identified with SEN at some point during their schooling years. Furthermore, when controlling for health-related variables, those who are identified with SEN in Wales were more likely to be male, White, from a deprived background, with lower school attendance, had not experienced breastfeeding and were born later in the academic year. Taken together, the research findings suggest that SEN identification was influenced by a child's context. The study thus underscores the critical importance of examining the relationship between socioeconomic, environmental and biological factors in SEN identification, urging for a comprehensive and cross-organisation approach to enhance outcomes for learners with diverse needs. 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spelling	2025-02-24T12:52:08.7962720 v2 67911 2024-10-04 Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales db5bc529b8a9dfca2b4a268d14e03479 0000-0001-9362-0046 Emily Lowthian Emily Lowthian true false 200c66ef0fc55391f736f6e926fb4b99 0000-0001-5196-9389 Tom Crick Tom Crick true false 76dda5f486b0236c893f46dfb9fa2cd0 Carys Jones Carys Jones true false f4f5ea10d85950ed97dc305ee31b2b22 0000-0003-3929-474X Anna Rawlings Anna Rawlings true false 93dd7e747f3118a99566c68592a3ddcc 0000-0002-9575-4758 Hoda Abbasizanjani Hoda Abbasizanjani true false 86073be88970f36d7ffa0a1f0768be2b 0000-0002-1939-0120 Sarah Rees Sarah Rees true false 2024-10-04 SOSS In the context of an emerging new additional learning needs (ALN) system in Wales, this research explores who was likely to be identified with special educational needs (SEN) under the previous system. Our study reveals analysis of linked Welsh education and health data on SEN identification in learners in mainstream education settings born between 2002/3 and 2008/9. Using longitudinal multilevel modelling, we explore (i) who is likely identified with SEN and (ii) whether there is evidence of social patterning in SEN identification. We find that 48% of those born in the year 2002/3 were identified with SEN at some point during their schooling years. Furthermore, when controlling for health-related variables, those who are identified with SEN in Wales were more likely to be male, White, from a deprived background, with lower school attendance, had not experienced breastfeeding and were born later in the academic year. Taken together, the research findings suggest that SEN identification was influenced by a child's context. The study thus underscores the critical importance of examining the relationship between socioeconomic, environmental and biological factors in SEN identification, urging for a comprehensive and cross-organisation approach to enhance outcomes for learners with diverse needs. It also highlights the need for follow-up research to explore unfolding trends as the new ALN system in Wales becomes fully implemented and integrated over the coming years. Journal Article British Educational Research Journal 51 1 466 487 Wiley 0141-1926 1469-3518 additional learning needs; administrative data; multilevel modelling; special educational needs; Wales 1 2 2025 2025-02-01 10.1002/berj.4083 COLLEGE NANME Social Sciences School COLLEGE CODE SOSS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee Nuffield Foundation Grant Number: FR-000023790. 2025-02-24T12:52:08.7962720 2024-10-04T11:56:20.8985059 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Social Sciences - Education and Childhood Studies Cathryn Knight 1 Emily Lowthian 0000-0001-9362-0046 2 Tom Crick 0000-0001-5196-9389 3 Carys Jones 4 Anna Rawlings 0000-0003-3929-474X 5 Hoda Abbasizanjani 0000-0002-9575-4758 6 Sarah Rees 0000-0002-1939-0120 7 67911__32850__5f4fb21a13a54cf18cfc8d1531d4eb9f.pdf 67911.VoR.pdf 2024-11-05T12:56:06.9361394 Output 844075 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title	Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales
spellingShingle	Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales Emily Lowthian Tom Crick Carys Jones Anna Rawlings Hoda Abbasizanjani Sarah Rees
title_short	Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales
title_full	Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales
title_fullStr	Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales
title_full_unstemmed	Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales
title_sort	Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales
author_id_str_mv	db5bc529b8a9dfca2b4a268d14e03479 200c66ef0fc55391f736f6e926fb4b99 76dda5f486b0236c893f46dfb9fa2cd0 f4f5ea10d85950ed97dc305ee31b2b22 93dd7e747f3118a99566c68592a3ddcc 86073be88970f36d7ffa0a1f0768be2b
author_id_fullname_str_mv	db5bc529b8a9dfca2b4a268d14e03479_*_Emily Lowthian 200c66ef0fc55391f736f6e926fb4b99__Tom Crick 76dda5f486b0236c893f46dfb9fa2cd0__Carys Jones f4f5ea10d85950ed97dc305ee31b2b22__Anna Rawlings 93dd7e747f3118a99566c68592a3ddcc__Hoda Abbasizanjani 86073be88970f36d7ffa0a1f0768be2b_*_Sarah Rees
author	Emily Lowthian Tom Crick Carys Jones Anna Rawlings Hoda Abbasizanjani Sarah Rees
author2	Cathryn Knight Emily Lowthian Tom Crick Carys Jones Anna Rawlings Hoda Abbasizanjani Sarah Rees
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doi_str_mv	10.1002/berj.4083
publisher	Wiley
college_str	Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
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department_str	School of Social Sciences - Education and Childhood Studies{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Social Sciences - Education and Childhood Studies
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description	In the context of an emerging new additional learning needs (ALN) system in Wales, this research explores who was likely to be identified with special educational needs (SEN) under the previous system. Our study reveals analysis of linked Welsh education and health data on SEN identification in learners in mainstream education settings born between 2002/3 and 2008/9. Using longitudinal multilevel modelling, we explore (i) who is likely identified with SEN and (ii) whether there is evidence of social patterning in SEN identification. We find that 48% of those born in the year 2002/3 were identified with SEN at some point during their schooling years. Furthermore, when controlling for health-related variables, those who are identified with SEN in Wales were more likely to be male, White, from a deprived background, with lower school attendance, had not experienced breastfeeding and were born later in the academic year. Taken together, the research findings suggest that SEN identification was influenced by a child's context. The study thus underscores the critical importance of examining the relationship between socioeconomic, environmental and biological factors in SEN identification, urging for a comprehensive and cross-organisation approach to enhance outcomes for learners with diverse needs. It also highlights the need for follow-up research to explore unfolding trends as the new ALN system in Wales becomes fully implemented and integrated over the coming years.
published_date	2025-02-01T05:53:37Z
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Sociodemographic trends in special educational needs identification in Wales

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