12 Inclusion Framework Guidance
y Excluded young people are more likely to be unemployed, develop
severe mental health problems, and go to prison (Gill et al., 2017)
y school-based interventions are likely to be an effective means
of reaching children with complex needs who are at risk of early
school leaving (Ward et al)
y clinical evidence suggests that there must be a renewed focus
on early intervention by supporting young people with their
mental health far earlier, before their needs escalate to the point
of needing specialist support (Young Minds and The Children's
Society, 2019)
y the rising number of EHCPs, and over reliance on the statutory
pathways for support will multiply the LAs costs year on year
y 'Labelling' tells us very little about the actual needs of the child
(Rowland, 2017) and instead creates pigeon-holing where access
to certain facets of the educational experience can be denied. This
combined with stigmatisation amidst student cohorts can have a
negative and indeed traumatic effect and can create behavioural
issues as the child struggles to cope, maintain dignity, or gain the
respect of peers (Whitfield, 2022)
y the combination of cost to the LA and the potential negative
impact upon life trajectory provides substantial evidence that the
current common practice of statutory process and labelling, as a
means of offering solutions, can be confidently challenged
y research highlighted a need for early intervention to identify
barriers to school attendance and in-school access before crisis
and potential exclusion are experienced
y early intervention works on the premise of identifying need prior to
problems occurring and intervening to divert outcomes.
y the universal adoption of early intervention has transformative
possibilities when considering the current numbers of children
experiencing hardship, trauma, SEN, or mental illness, all of which
are barriers to inclusion in a full education
y to avoid the escalation of symptoms, our education settings need
support to adopt a practical shift in early intervention practice,
enabling need to be identified early
y key ECC education stakeholders unanimously agreed that early
intervention holds the key to addressing disadvantage amongst
pre-school and school aged children
y for those immersed in early years provision, early intervention
seeks to identify barriers to early development with regards to
speech and language or cognition and mobility
y appropriate teacher training and interventions can mean that
more children have their needs identified early on, allowing faster
implementation of support, quicker access to education, and a
reduced likelihood of the child falling behind their peers