Special educational needs (SEN)s encompass a range of needs and disabilities including neurodivergence (such as ADHD and Autism), cognitive, socio-emotional and mental health difficulties, physical disabilities and sensory difficulties. A high proportion of children in care have SEN. As the graph shows, over half (57%) of children in care have special educational needs, compared to 18% of all children. This suggests that approximately 3% of all children with special educational needs are those in care, around four times higher compared to the percentage of children in care in the general population (less than 1%). Since 2017/18, the number of children with special educational needs has steadily increased, with a sharper rise among looked after children (4.7%) compared to all pupils (3.5%).
