Acquired brain injury should be included in SEND reforms

The government has been urged to ensure every school can meet the needs of children and young people with acquired brain injury (ABI), following the publication of the government’s consultation on SEND reform. 

The calls come from the UK Acquired Brain Injury Form (UKABIF)  - the UK’s umbrella body for brain injury.

It is estimated that one child in every classroom has experienced a brain injury, meaning the impact is very significant across the UK. NHS data suggests approximately 40,000 children and young people acquire brain injuries each year in the UK though this is likely to be an underestimate due to coding issues and cases that don't present at hospitals, such as mild concussions or non-accidental injuries. 

Without effective intervention early on, this can have a devastating impact on the future of young people - 60% of those in prisons or young offender settings have experienced a brain injury, hugely more prevalent than in the general population. Overall, brain injuries are estimated to cost the economy £43bn per year including £1.5bn in the education and justice system, according to a joint report by the APPG on Acquired Brain Injury and UKABIF. 

The current teacher training curriculum and SENCO training rarely includes acquired brain injury (ABI), despite covering other less-prevalent conditions like hearing impairments. Unlike these conditions, which have specialist advisory teachers within local authorities, there is no dedicated support system for students with acquired brain injuries.

The former Education Secretary, Baroness (Estelle) Morris, who is Vice Chair of the APPG on Acquired Brain Injury, said:  “I welcome the SEND proposals in the Government’s White Paper. It gives us a chance to bring about significant change for the tens of thousands of children across the country who desperately need better support in their schools or colleges. For too long the needs of those children with an acquired brain injury haven’t been addressed and this is a chance to remedy that. 

"Educational Authorities need to develop comprehensive brain injury training for teachers, while the DfE should evaluate the establishment of specialist advisory services for brain injury support and ensure that there is far better integration of brain injury awareness into teacher and SENCO training programmes.”

Children and young people with brain injuries are at higher risk of poor outcomes throughout their lifetimes, including overrepresentation in exclusions and alternative provision and less likely to progress to future study or work.

Despite this, there is no consistent national measurement of data relating to children and young people with ABI, and ABI is not included as a category on the SEN census. There is no mandatory training for teachers or SENCOs on ABI, and the current SEND system is unable to respond with the urgency or flexibility required to sudden, acquired needs like ABI, leading to long delays in pupils returning to school or accessing appropriate support within school. 

UKABIF calls for the new national SEND training programme to include dedicated training on children and young people with ABI, and for the new ‘Experts at Hand’ service to include professionals with expertise in ABI in every local area.