Barriers faced when eliciting the voice of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities for their Education, Health and Care Plans and Annual Reviews

Eliciting the views, wishes and feelings of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has been a primary element of the Children and Families Act 2014. Despite professional rhetoric that aims to ensure the voice of children and young people remains at the centre of assessments, SEND professionals often experience difficulties in ensuring meaningful participation during assessments for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and subsequent Annual Reviews. In this study, 36 SEND professionals from local authorities and 16 SEND professionals from specialist schools within England were asked their views on eliciting pupil voice through an online-based questionnaire, with a particular focus on the barriers they experience. This was then followed up with six in-depth semi-structured interviews. The findings identify two distinct categories of barriers; the barriers relating to children and young people that inhibit their ability to express their views meaningfully, and the barriers relating to professionals that impede on their ability to elicit views meaningfully within their role. The implications of the analysis for a person-centred approach during EHCP assessments and Annual Reviews are discussed.