We use the Education and Child Health Data from Linked Data (ECHILD) database, which links educational and health records across England.
We track five cohorts of primary school children who have reached the end of Year 6 between 2014/15 and 2018/19. We track them from the Spring census of Reception (i.e. from 2008/9 to 2012/13). These children were born in NHS hospitals between 1st September 2003 and 31st August 2008.
We then observe pupils’ outcomes at the australia rcs data end of reception (Early Years Foundation Stage Profile; EYFSP), the end of Year 2 (Key Stage 1), and at the end of Year 6 (Key Stage 2). We also look at the number of children with and without neurodisability who appear in the school census during the term of assessment, but do not sit the exams.
Method
We compared the proportion of children with and without neurodisability who did not achieve the national expected level in English and Maths assessments for EYFSP, Key Stage 1, and Key Stage 2. who did not sit each exam.
In the early years of primary school, less than 4% of children with neurodisability did not sit exams. However, by Year 6, nearly a third of these children did not sit exams despite being in school.
So, while children with neurodisability generally participate in school assessments alongside their peers during EYFSP and Key Stage 1, the transition to Key Stage 2 results in a substantial proportion of children with neurodisability not participating.