The support children receive and the time it takes to get a special educational needs diagnosis is largely influenced by income, this is the Special Educational Needs income gap.

Special educational needs

• Parents with a child entitled to free school meals are twice as likely to have requested an assessment for SEN as parents whose child is not entitled to free school meals( 56 % vs 28 %)

• Three quarters( 76 %) of parents with household incomes over £ 100,000 say that all or most of their child ' s SEN needs are being met, compared to just over half( 55 %) of parents with household incomes under £ 50,000

• Parents with household incomes over £ 100,000 are half as likely to say that some or none of their child’ s SEN needs are being met than parents with household incomes under £ 50,000( 23 % vs 42 %)

• Three quarters( 74 %) of parents with household incomes over £ 100,000 have found it easy to get the support they need for their child ' s SEN needs compared to just under half( 45 %) of parents with household incomes under £ 50,000

• Parents with household incomes under £ 50,000 are twice as likely to say it has been difficult to get the support their child needs for their SEN needs compared to parents with a household income over £ 100,000( 50 % v 25 %)

• Almost two thirds( 64 %) of parents with household incomes under £ 20,000 have experienced long waiting times for a SEN diagnosis, compared to under half( 47 %) for parents with household incomes over £ 100,000

• 28 % of parents with household incomes over £ 100,000 have had difficulty obtaining a diagnosis for their child ' s SEN, compared to 47 % of parents with household incomes under £ 50,000

Photography: istock. com / izusek

( 24 %) parents still waiting for a special educational needs assessment for their child have been waiting for more than a year

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