Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40265292›Full record

ArticleJournal of intellectual disability research : JIDR2025

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

Irene O Lee, Jeanne Wolstencroft, Harriet Housby, Marianne B M van den Bree, Samuel J R A Chawner, Jeremy Hall, Michael J Owen, IMAGINE ID Consortium*, David H Skuse

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Irene O LeeBehavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Population Policy and Practice Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0004-6802
Jeanne WolstencroftBehavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Population Policy and Practice Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6160-9731
Harriet HousbyBehavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Population Policy and Practice Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5770-8697
Marianne B M van den BreeCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-4426-3254
Samuel J R A ChawnerCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-2590-2874
Jeremy HallCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-0403-3278
Michael J OwenCentre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4798-0862
IMAGINE ID Consortium*
David H SkuseBehavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, Population Policy and Practice Programme, Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7891-5732

Funding

Medical Research Council MR/T033045/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundChildren and young people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) face challenges across various aspects of their lives and require significant support, particularly in the field of education. In the United Kingdom, Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) support those with special educational needs (SEN) in schools. Disparities exist throughout our national educational system with respect to how long pupils with IDDs must wait for an EHCP, but the socio-demographic influences on those disparities are currently unknown. Delays in providing EHCP support result in negative educational, wellbeing and developmental outcomes. Using data from the National Pupil Database (NPD), we examined variabilities in waiting times for EHCP provision, and correlations with potentially influential variables such as SEN classification, family socio-economic status, region of domicile and ethnicity.

methodsThis national study recruited 2131 participants [6-28 years old, mean (SD) = 14.1 (4.4) years] with IDDs associated with a genetic condition. Families gave consent for their child's educational records to be reviewed by the research team. All participants had received an EHCP at some point during their full-time education in England. We accessed the NPD (provided by the UK Department for Education), for details of participants' primary SEN type, free school meal eligibility, ethnicity and the academic year in which they received an EHCP. Based on their home address postcode, we assigned to each family an index of multiple deprivation (IMD) score. From the NPD, we calculated the waiting time between a child's recommendation for an EHCP and the time they received it. We compared these data with IMD scores, primary SEN type, free school meal eligibility, English region of domicile, ethnicity, and sex. We used linear regression models to examine the associations between the predictors (the above demographic independent variables) and the duration of time it took for children to receive an EHCP.

resultsParticipants with IDDs of genetic aetiology who lived in the most socially deprived regions of England waited longer for EHCP support than those in the least deprived regions, irrespective of the NPD classification of the child's SEN type. Neither the child's ethnicity nor their sex had any added impact. Whatever their IMD status, participants living in London obtained an EHCP more quickly than those living elsewhere in England.

conclusionsThere are nationwide inconsistencies in the time taken to provide EHCPs to children and young people whose intellectual impairments are of known genetic aetiology. Regional inequalities in the funds available to local education authorities could be a major contributory factor.

Indexed as

Developmental DisabilitiesEducation, SpecialHealthcare DisparitiesHealth Services AccessibilityIntellectual DisabilityWaiting ListsAdolescentAdultChildEnglandFemaleHumansMaleUnited KingdomYoung Adulteducation health and care planindex of multiple deprivationinequalityintellectual and developmental disabilitiesregions of Englandsocio‐economical statuswaiting time

Identifiers

PMID40265292
PMCPMC12576390

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.