HOPE study outputs
Explore key research outcomes from the HOPE study, examining how SEND provision affects children's health and education through linked data analysis across England.
How is the HOPE study's research being carried out?
The HOPE study will use diverse methodologies and involve young people, parents and practitioners. Our research methods will use the fact that SEN provision has not been evenly distributed across local authorities, and the amount of provision has varied over time. This will make it possible to compare outcomes in children who received support with similar children who did not receive support for SEN. Different methods are being used to analyse how certain we can be that SEN provision causes a change in health outcomes. Four interlinked work packages within the HOPE study will work iteratively to develop, investigate, and inform each other's findings throughout the programme.
What are the HOPE study's outputs?
The HOPE Study is a multi-year research programme using linked health and education data to understand the impact of SEND provision. Below you'll find published protocols, papers, and key findings from across our four work packages.
1. Protocol: HOPE study research – Evaluation of variation in special educational needs provision and its impact on health and education using administrative records for England: umbrella protocol for a mixed-methods research programme:
https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/11/e072531 (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072531). November 2023
2. Evaluation of special educational needs and disability provision in English primary schools using administrative health and education data in the ECHILD database (summary paper of the HOPE programme):
Preprint: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.31.25334778v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.31.25334778). September 2025.
Please expand the sections below to view outputs from each of the HOPE work packages.
Protocols
3. Protocol: Primary school attainment outcomes in children with neurodisability: Protocol for a population-based cohort study using linked education and hospital data from England
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/4-28/v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13588.1). May 2024.
4. Protocol: Educational outcomes of children with major congenital anomalies: Study protocol for a population-based cohort study using linked hospital and education data from England
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/4-68/v1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13750.1. November 2024.
5. Protocol: Planned and unplanned hospital admissions and health-related school absence rates in children with neurodisability: Protocol for a population-based study using linked education and hospital data from England
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/4-26/v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13558.1). May 2024.
Papers
6. Abstract, Conference Proceedings: Health and education needs of primary school children with Down Syndrome in England: What can we learn from linked administrative data?
https://ijpds.org/article/view/2695 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v9i5.2695). September 2024.
7. Hospital-recorded chronic health conditions in children with and without Down syndrome in England: a national cohort of births from 2003 to 2019
https://adc.bmj.com/content/110/3/221 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2024-327532. February 2025.
8. Phenotyping neurodisability in hospital admissions records in England: a national birth cohort from linked administrative data
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ppe.70052 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ppe.70052). July 2025.
9. Planned and unplanned hospital admissions and health-related school absence rates in children with neurodisability: A population-based study using linked education and hospital data from England
In the process of being published
10. Primary school attainment outcomes in children with neurodisability: A population-based cohort study using linked education and hospital data from England
Preprint: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.12.25329491v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.12.25329491). June 2025.
11. Gestational age at birth, chronic conditions and school outcomes: a population-based data linkage study of children born in England
https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/52/1/132/6589377 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyac105). February 2023.
12. Educational outcomes of children with congenital anomalies (trajectories in attainment)
Preprint: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.21.25329922v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.21.25329922). June 2025.
Protocols
13. Protocol: Local authority variation in primary school-recorded special educational needs provision among children with major congenital anomalies: A research protocol
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/3-50/v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13466.1). October 2023.
Papers
14. Abstract, Conference Proceedings: School-recorded special educational needs in children with major congenital anomalies: a linked administrative records study of births in England:
https://ijpds.org/article/view/2340 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v8i2.2340). September 2023.
15. School-recorded special educational needs provision in children with major congenital anomalies: a linked administrative records study of births in England, 2003-2013
https://ijpds.org/article/view/2519/ (DOI: https://doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v10i1.2519. February 2025.
16. Local authority variation in primary school-recorded special educational needs provision by gestational age at birth
In the process of being published
17. Sociodemographic variation in the timing of recorded special educational needs provision in primary school in England amongst children with cerebral palsy
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-61/v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.14006.1). July 2025.
18. Is there evidence of inequality in the provision, level, and timing of SEND provision in English primary schools?.
Preprint: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.27.25334554v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.08.27.25334554). August 2025.
Protocols
19. Protocol: Early special educational needs provision and its impact on unplanned hospital utilisation and school absences in children with isolated cleft lip and/or palate: a demonstration target trial emulation study protocol using ECHILD
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/3-54/v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13472.1). October 2023.
20. Protocol: Impact of special educational needs provision on hospital utilisation, school attainment and absences for children in English primary schools stratified by gestational age at birth: A target trial emulation study protocol
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/3-59/v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13471.1). November 2023.
21. Protocol: Sociodemographic variation in the timing of recorded special educational needs provision in primary school in England amongst children with cerebral palsy: a staggered cohort study using the ECHILD database
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/4-39 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.13618.1). July 2024.
Papers
22. Early special educational needs provision and its impact on unplanned hospital utilisation and school absences in children with isolated cleft lip and/or palate: a demonstration target trial emulation study using ECHILD
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0327720 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327720). July 2025.
23. Impact of special educational needs provision on hospital utilisation, school attainment and absences for children in English primary schools for children with cerebral palsy: A target trial emulation
https://openresearch.nihr.ac.uk/articles/5-65/v1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.3310/nihropenres.14015.1). August 2025.
24. Short- and long-term effects of Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision on school attendance: Insights from G-Computation and Dynamic Panel Models.
In the process of being published
Papers
25. To what extent do England's local offer websites adhere to the statutory guidance as set out in the special educational needs and disabilities code of practice?
https://bera-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/berj.3996 (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/berj.3996). February 2024.
26. Guest Article: Do England’s Local Offer websites meet the expectations of the SEND Code of Practice?
27. National Survey: Key findings flyers
hope_study_-_cyp_survey_key_findings_flyer.pdf
hope_study_-_parent_carer_survey_key_findings_flyer.pdf
hope_study_-_wider_stakeholder_group_survey_key_findings_flyer.pdf
hope_study_-_national_surveys_key_findings_poster.pdf
December 2022.
28. Understanding and comparing the experiences of children and young people, parents, and professionals in the SEN Process across England
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08856257.2025.2491192 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2025.2491192). May 2025.
29. Lessons from Local Area SEND Inspections: A Content Analysis of Ofsted Outcome Letters
In the process of being published
30. Exploring the experiences of the English Special Educational Needs System through an online survey of young people, and parents and carers
https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8578.70043 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8578.70043). July 2025.
31. Surveying the Professional Experience of Special Educational Needs Provision in England
In the process of being published
32. Exploring children and young people’s experiences of the SEN system in England using timeline interviews
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1564583/abstract (DOI: https://doi.org/ 10.3389/feduc.2025.1564583). July 2025.
33. Exploring professionals’ experiences of the SEN system in England using multi-disciplinary focus group discussions
In the process of being published
34. Annual trends in Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman complaints and outcomes relating to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in England: 2018 to 2023
In the process of being published
35. Exploring parents and carers experiences of the SEN system in England using timeline interviews
In the process of being published
36. Synthesis of the HOPE Work package 4 'What are experiences of SEND provision?' qualitative methods
In the process of being published
37. Survey report: Priorities for research using the ECHILD (Education and Child Health Insights from Linked Data) database – A survey of views from children and families conducted in collaboration with Scope
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/child-health/sites/child_health/files/scope_survey_report_0.pdf. April 2023.
38. Blog: Special educational needs policy requires research infrastructure
https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/special-educational-needs-policy-requires-research-infrastructure. January 2025.
39. At a glance summaries of HOPE output (multiple short summaries of HOPE's outputs)
In the process of being published
Privacy Policy
To find out more about this study’s research, the ECHILD database, how we collect, manage, and use data, and what to do if you (or your child) do not want to be part of the study click here or:
Contact the HOPE study
UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH
Patient and Public Involvement
Click to email. hope21@medschl.cam.ac.uk