The needs of girls with SEN are being ignored

On Thursday 11 June, the Department for Education released this year’s data regarding children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in education.

Early findings from our work on girls’ exclusion from education have highlighted that girls with special educational needs (SEN) who experience official and unofficial exclusion from education, are often overlooked in education policy and practice and have limited access to gender-responsive support. While the data in this area is still lacking, this release illustrates concerning trends in the needs of girls with SEN, their exclusion from education, and links with additional unmet needs.

Children with SEN are more likely to be excluded, but girls’ experiences are invisible

Data shows concerning trends of children with SEN being excluded and suspended at much higher rates than their peers without SEN. However, it’s not currently possible to also disaggregate this data by gender.

An Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) outlines a child’s specific learning, health, and care needs, and contains guidance on the specific support that child needs giving them access to specialist provision, funding and statutory protections. Compared to students with no identified SEN, we know that students with SEN support without EHCPs are:

• Permanently excluded at a 5.1 times higher rate.
• Suspended at a 3.9 times higher rate.
• Severely absent at a 3.7 times higher rate.(1)

Compared to students with no identified SEN, students with EHCPs are:

• Permanently excluded at a 3.3 times higher rate.
• Suspended at a 3.4 times higher rate.
• Severely absent at a 6.3 times higher rate.(2)

The data demonstrates a clear link between SEN status and increased rates of suspension, permanent exclusion, and severe absence. However, the lack of gender-disaggregated analysis limits our understanding of how these outcomes affect girls, with the experiences of girls with SEN support and EHCPs who also face exclusion, suspension and/or severe absence getting lost within the wider data.

Missing data: understanding the links between girls’ ethnicity, experiences of SEN and exclusion

Within SEN ethnicity data, we have identified several groups of girls who are disproportionately represented (Figure 1), including Black Caribbean girls, and girls of Irish Traveller heritage.  Black girls, Irish Traveller and Romani (Gypsy) and Roma girls are similarly disproportionately represented in the exclusions and suspensions data, which we have previously reported on here and here.

However, we are limited in our ability to fully understand the links between Black and minoritised girls’ experiences of exclusion from education and SEN, because exclusions and absenteeism data is not currently disaggregated in a way that allows analysis to encompass gender, ethnicity, SEN status and type of SEN need. As a standalone category, SEN data is often disaggregated by characteristics such as gender and ethnicity, meaning we can identify, for example, how many girls from different ethnic backgrounds have SEN. Whilst absenteeism, exclusions and suspensions data can be disaggregated by SEN status, these two datasets are not routinely connected in ways that allow for intersectional analysis. This means we can’t currently say how many girls from different ethnic backgrounds with SEN are excluded from school. This lack of multi-layered disaggregation limits our ability to assess the impact of existing culturally responsive interventions and the type of additional support these girls might need.

The growing proportion of girls with SEN

The wider SEN data also reflects a tiered system of support. In 2025/26, 626,329 girls (15.3%) received some form of SEN support – a 53% increase since 2018/19. However, a smaller proportion of girls with SEN have access to EHCPs and the specialist provision and additional support these plans provide. Less than 1 in 4 girls receiving SEN support (23%) have an EHCP, compared to almost 1 in 3 boys.

While boys have historically accounted for a majority of children receiving SEN support, the gap is closing as a result of the rate of increase in SEN identification for girls now outpacing that of boys.(4)  In 2018/19, girls made up 33% of children receiving any form of SEN support – they now account for 37%.

For girls with an EHCP, autism is the most common category of SEN need. For girls receiving SEN support without an EHCP, the most common category of need is Social, Emotional and Mental Health. As part of the Government’s planned SEND(5) reforms, they have proposed to remove Mental Health from this SEN classification – a significant change in approach which is likely to disproportionately impact girls.

Mental health conditions are more common and longer lasting in girls aged 11-19, and are less likely to be recognised than in boys the same age.(6) We are concerned that these changes will serve to remove the responsibility of education providers to offer support to students experiencing poor mental health and emotional distress. This is of particular concern for girls given their experiences of school absence have also been linked to long-term mental health needs, with the mental health of girls excluded after the age of 16 described as being on a ‘deteriorating trajectory’ compared to that of boys.(7)

Recommendations

Our analysis of the data shows that more must be done to meaningfully support girls experiencing SEN, including through tackling the data gaps to inform evidence-based decision-making about ongoing SEND reform. As part of plans set out in the Schools White Paper to support disadvantaged children to achieve and thrive, the Department for Education should:

1. Take a cross-departmental approach to tackling the drivers of girls’ exclusions and absenteeism, including mental ill-health and SEN, and develop pathways of support for specialist girls’ and young women’s services and services led ‘by and for’ Black and minoritised groups.
2. Ensure that all SEN exclusions, suspensions, and absenteeism data is also simultaneously disaggregated by gender and ethnicity, as well as experience of care, and type of SEN, to better capture the gendered and intersectional experiences and needs of girls with SEN who are missing from school.
3. Meaningfully involve girls and young women in both local and national decision-making around education policy and SEN, so decision-makers can better understand their experiences, and so girls and young women can help shape solutions.

Addressing the needs of girls with SEN is a new area of focus for us within our exclusions work. In the Autumn, we will be holding a roundtable on this topic, which you can sign up for here. We are keen to hear from other organisations working in this space. Please reach out to policy@agendaalliance.org if you would like to discuss the content of this blog.