Report

Selective inclusion

This report from UK think tank the Sutton Trust examines the interplay of SEND and disadvantage in school admissions.

There is widespread acceptance that the SEND (Special Education Needs and Disability) system is in crisis but fierce debate surrounding ways forward. Greater demand is being placed on a system that is complex, notoriously difficult to navigate, and too often leaves young people without the support they need.

In October 2025, our Double Disadvantage? report examined the link between SEND and socio-economic disadvantage, finding that outcomes for disadvantaged students with SEND tend to be worse than their wealthier peers with SEND. The report also exposed inequalities in access to support, revealing that middle-class parents find the SEND system easier to navigate, and are more likely to be happy with the support their child with SEND was receiving. It highlighted a broken system, with a clear economic divide among those who can secure the support their children need.

In February 2026, the government set out its proposed reforms to the schools and SEND systems in England in the Schools White Paper. The document included a range of measures aimed at improving the SEND system and, in particular, the capacity of mainstream schools to improve their provision for pupils with SEND.

Against this backdrop, this report builds on our previous research to further analyse the relationship between disadvantage and SEND, and how this impacts school admissions. We find that schools under-representing one group also tend to under-represent the other, and that under-representation of pupils with SEND at high performing schools is entirely driven by under-representing pupils with SEND who are also in low-income households.