Inequalities of the Waiting Time for Education Health and Care Plan Provision for Pupils With Intellectual Developmental Disabilities: A Brief Report.

Waiting times were approximated in years because exact dates were not available in the National Pupil Database, only the year of identification and the year of EHCP grant. The study assigned a single primary SEN type to each pupil, despite records showing many pupils were classified under different types in different years. The regression models explained only a small proportion of the variance in waiting times, indicating that other unmeasured factors likely play a significant role. The findings cannot be generalised to children with intellectual disabilities not of genetic aetiology, such as those with ADHD or acquired brain injuries. The cohort consisted of children with genetic conditions who often have visible physical phenotypes, which may have influenced how quickly they were identified for support compared to children with less visible disabilities.

The study used data from the IMAGINE-ID study. Funding and conflicts of interest are not explicitly detailed in the provided text, but the research relied on the National Pupil Database and the Office for National Statistics Secure Research Service.

Do not assume that a child's disability severity alone determines how long they will wait for an EHCP. This study shows that socio-economic deprivation and the specific type of learning difficulty (e.g., specific learning difficulties vs. profound learning difficulties) are strong predictors of wait times, often outweighing the perceived severity of the condition.