Ask, Listen, Act – Working Together to Inform the Provision of SEND Support for Children after the COVID-19 Pandemic

What is the Study About?

This study, funded by the NIHR, intended to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns on children and young people (CYP) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The aim of the research was to examine the perceptions, experiences, lessons learnt and priorities of CYP with SEND, their parents/carers and key stakeholders to reduce the inequalities and mitigate the long-term impacts of COVID-19 for CYP with SEND. We had five objectives to achieve this:

• To examine the evidence and policy
• To capture the impact and lessons learnt from various perspectives
• To explore the experiences of CYP with SEND, parents/caregivers and stakeholders
• To understand potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the long-term development and wellbeing of this generation
• To work collaboratively with CYP, parents/carers and stakeholders to identify priorities for ‘going forward’ through lockdowns and restarts to promote recovery

You can keep up with our study’s progress on our Twitter page.

Publications

• ‘Vulnerable and abandoned’—The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, health and social care provision for children with SEND: Children and parents' perspectives
• ‘Trying to stay afloat’: Education professionals' perspectives on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with special educational needs and disabilities

Evidence briefings

Links to all of our reports and evidence briefings are available below.

1. Executive summary of the findings
• Plain language summary
2. Review of the literature
3. Evidence briefing: quantitative survey findings
   • Summary for parents and carers
   • Summary for children
4. Evidence briefing: qualitative interview findings
5. Evidence briefing: qualitative responses from education professionals
6. Evidence briefing: qualitative responses from health and social care professionals
7. Evidence briefing: workshop findings
8. Priorities for policy and practice briefing

PowerPoint slides and a recording from our webinar are now available.

What did the study involve?

We have been conducting surveys and interviews with CYP with SEND and their parents/carers, as well as Local Authorities and policymakers, and education, health and social care professionals.

We are now in the process of analysing the data and holding priority-setting groups with parents, children, and professionals. If you are a parent who has been asked to participate via your child’s school, you can read both the parent participation information sheet and the information sheet for children's participation.

The project will run from May to December 2021.

The project team

Dr Emma Ashworth (LJMU) is Principal Investigator for the project. Prof Amel Alghrani (University of Liverpool) and Prof Lucy Bray (Edge Hill University) are Co-Applicants. Dr Joanna Kirkby is the Research Assistant on the project. The study is conducted in collaboration with Liverpool Health Partners.

Who to contact for further information

Principal Investigator: Dr Emma Ashworth – E.L.Ashworth@ljmu.ac.uk