Parent, pupil and learner voice: February 2025
Updated 15 July 2025
Applies to England
© Crown copyright 2025
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/parent-pupil-and-learner-voice-omnibus-surveys-for-2024-to-2025/parent-pupil-and-learner-voice-february-2025
Introduction
The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Verian (formerly known as Kantar Public) to recruit and maintain a panel of Parents, Pupils and Learners in England, known as the Parent, Pupil and Learner Voice (PPLV). The PPLV is designed to collect robust evidence to help the DfE understand the perspectives of parents, carers, pupils and learners. This allows us to make more effective policy.
The PPLV works as a series of short surveys across the academic year, covering a range of new and longstanding policy issues. This report is about the findings from the February 2025 survey wave of the PPLV.
Methodology
The PPLV survey is answered by secondary school pupils (years 7 to 13), learners in further education (years 12 and 13) and parents of primary, secondary and special school pupils (years 1 to 11) who have agreed to participate in short, regular research surveys on topical education issues. We select parents and pupils randomly using records from the National Pupil Database (NPD) and invite them to take part in an online survey. For the first survey of the academic year, we send invitation letters to households. For other surveys in that same academic year, we send the invitation by email and text message to the parents and pupils who agreed to join the panel in the first survey.
Mid-way through the academic year, we randomly select pupils and learners in years 12 and 13 and invite them to join the panel in the same way. We select learners (those studying in a college setting) from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) and we select pupils (those studying in a school setting) from the NPD.
We ran a survey between 10 February and 17 February. The respondents were:
| Audience | Responses |
|---|---|
| Primary school parents | 984 |
| Secondary school parents | 1386 |
| Special school parents | 615 |
| Secondary school pupils | 2182 |
Questions with fewer than 30 responses (before weighting) are not included in this report, and base sizes of below 100 should be treated with caution. Complete findings can be found in the published data tables, which include more detail on how different groups answered each question.
The report makes some comparisons to previous surveys conducted in previous academic years, for example the Parent, Pupil and Learner Panel Omnibus surveys for 2023 to 2024. These comparisons are helpful to understand how trends may be changing. However, the survey methodology changes over time and so comparisons to previous years are not as reliable as survey findings within each academic year. We introduced parents of pupils attending special schools in the 2023 to 2024 academic year, so any comparisons from previous academic years do not include these audiences.
In this report we round figures to the nearest whole number. We do not describe 0% and 100% as ‘none’ and ‘all’ because figure rounding may mean this is not accurate. For instance, 100% may be 99.6% of respondents, rounded to the nearest whole number. Unless otherwise stated, when we refer to the ‘average’ we are reporting the arithmetic mean.
Further information on the survey methodology is available in the accompanying technical report.
Topics covered in this survey
- technical qualifications at key stage 4
- work experience
- parental advice on post-19 education opportunities
- parental advice on employment or work experience opportunities
- teaching quality
- parental need for wraparound childcare
- breakfast clubs
- access to specialist SEND support
- parental views of SEND and AP system
- wellbeing and loneliness
Technical qualifications at key stage 4
We asked pupils in years 10 and 11 what qualifications they were currently studying.
Figure 1: What qualification year 10 and 11 pupils are currently studying
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| GCSE | 98% |
| BTEC | 10% |
| Cambridge National | 4% |
| National Vocational Qualification | 1% |
| Other | 3% |
| Don’t know | 1% |
Base: Pupils in years 10 and 11 (n = 915). Data table reference = “technicaleducationks4_subject”.
We asked pupils in years 10 and 11 who are studying a qualification other than GCSEs, why they decided to take those qualifications at Key Stage 4.
Figure 2: Why pupils decided to take a qualification other than GCSEs at Key stage 4
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| I am interested in gaining practical skills in the subject area | 37% |
| The content is more interesting to me than GCSEs | 32% |
| It was the only option in the subject area in my school | 31% |
| I want to study a similar subject when I go to sixth form/college | 22% |
| The qualification suits my learning style better than GCSEs | 20% |
| The qualification has more coursework than GCSEs | 9% |
| Other | 12% |
Base: Pupils in years 10 and 11 who are studying a qualification other than GCSEs (n = 132). Data table reference = “technicaleducationks4_reason”.
Work experience
We asked pupils in years 10 and 11 if they have participated in, or are intending to participate in, a work experience placement this academic year. The majority said yes, with 26% having participated and 37% intending to, compared to 30% who said they had not and do not intend to participate, and 6% saying that they did not know.
We asked those who had participated in a work experience placement this academic year, who was involved in arranging their placement.
Figure 3: Who was involved in arranging pupils’ work experience placements
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Parent(s) or carer(s) | 46% |
| I arranged it myself | 25% |
| A careers leader | 24% |
| Someone else at my school | 13% |
| Other family member(s) | 11% |
| A subject teacher | 8% |
| Other | 2% |
| Don’t know | 1% |
Base: Pupils in years 10 and 11 who have participated in a work experience placement this academic year (n = 228). Data table reference = “workexperience_organised”.
We also asked those who had participated or intended to participate in a work experience placement this academic year, which benefits from their placement they think were or will be most important to them.
Figure 4: Most important benefits from work experience placements for pupils
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Gaining skills and confidence to help me find a job | 54% |
| Career decisions/helping to decide on my career | 49% |
| Improving my understanding of the workplace | 48% |
| Planning my post-16 options | 18% |
| None of the above | 1% |
| Don’t know | 4% |
Base: Pupils in years 10 and 11 who have participated or intend to participate in a work experience placement this academic year (n = 590). Data table reference = “workexperience_important”.
We asked those who do not intend to participate in a work experience placement this academic year whether they had experienced any barriers to accessing a work experience placement.
Figure 5: Barriers to accessing a work experience placement
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| My school does not offer work experience placements | 29% |
| Lack of school support to find a placement | 19% |
| Don’t have the time to take part | 14% |
| No placement looked interesting or relevant to my future plans | 14% |
| Transport issues | 5% |
| No placement in my region/close to me | 4% |
| Other | 29% |
| Not applicable - I have not experienced any barriers | 17% |
Base: Pupils in years 10 and 11 who have not and do not intend to participate in a work experience placement this academic year (n = 246). Data table reference = “workexperience_barriers”.
Parental advice on post-19 education opportunities
We asked pupils in years 9 to 11 whether they had asked their parents or carers for advice on post-19 education opportunities. The majority (57%) of pupils had asked for advice.
For pupils who had asked their parents or carers for advice on post-19 education opportunities, we asked how useful they had found their advice.
Figure 6: How useful pupils found parents’ or carers’ advice on post-19 education opportunities
| Audience | Very useful | Quite useful | Not very useful | Not useful at all | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in years 9 to 11 | 23% | 69% | 8% | 0% | 100% |
Base: Pupils in years 9 to 11 who have asked their parents or carers for advice on post-19 education opportunities (n = 721). Data table reference = “network_usefulness”.
We asked those who found their parents’ or carers’ advice on post-19 education opportunities useful, why this was.
Figure 7: What made pupils parents’ or carers’ advice on post-19 education opportunities useful
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| They knew where the courses I was interested in were run | 35% |
| They were able to direct me to sources of information | 35% |
| They knew where the best places were for the course I was interested in | 34% |
| They were able to talk to me about their experience of studying the same course I am interested in | 30% |
| They were able to put me in contact with a relative or family friend who had studied the course or a course similar to the one I am interested in | 26% |
| They were able to take me to visit future places of study | 24% |
| They were able to direct me to specific websites for my preferred options | 20% |
| Other | 19% |
| Don’t know | 3% |
Base: Pupils in years 9 to 11 who found their parents’ or carers’ post-19 education opportunities advice useful (n = 641). Data table reference = “network_whyuseful”.
We asked pupils who had not asked their parents or carers for advice on post-19 education opportunities why this was.
Figure 8: Why pupils had not asked their parents or carers for advice on post-19 education opportunities
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| I haven’t started to think about what I want to do after age 19 | 65% |
| I want to make this decision by myself | 19% |
| They don’t know anything about the type of course I want to do | 9% |
| I have asked other family members or friends for advice instead | 6% |
| They don’t want me to do the type of course I am interested in doing | 1% |
| Other | 11% |
| Don’t know | 10% |
Base: Pupils in years 9 to 11 who have not asked their parents or carers for advice on post-19 education opportunities (n = 423). Data table reference = “network_whynot”.
We also asked parents how confident they were in giving their child advice on their potential post-19 education options.
Figure 9: How confident parents are at giving their child advice on post-19 education opportunities
| Audience | Very confident | Fairly confident | Not very confident | Not at all confident | Don’t know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parents | 19% | 53% | 22% | 5% | 1% | 100% |
Base: All secondary parents whose child is in year 10 or 11 (n = 486). Data table reference = “network_post19”.
We asked parents who were very or fairly confident in providing advice on post-19 education opportunities why this was.
Figure 10: What made parents confident in providing advice on post-19 education opportunities
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| I know where to go to find out information | 60% |
| I have time to help my child explore their post-19 education options | 54% |
| I know people who have taken different post-19 education routes | 47% |
| I am aware of the post-19 education opportunities available | 43% |
| My child has told me what post-19 education options they want to take | 34% |
| My child’s school has advised me on how I can support them | 31% |
| I have older children who I have helped choose post-19 education options | 26% |
| None of the above | 5% |
Base: All secondary parents whose child is in year 10 or 11 who were very or fairly confident that they can advise their child on post-19 education options (n = 338). Data table reference = “network_post19_factor”.
We asked parents who were not very or not at all confident in providing advice on post-19 education opportunities, why this was.
Figure 11: What made parents not confident in providing advice on post-19 education opportunities
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| I am not aware of the post-19 education opportunities available | 60% |
| I don’t have experience of supporting older children through post-19 education options | 45% |
| My child has not told me what post-19 education options they want to take | 38% |
| I don’t know where to go to find out information | 38% |
| I don’t know people who have taken different post-19 education routes | 36% |
| My child’s school has not advised me on how I can support them | 36% |
| I don’t have time to help my child explore their post-19 education options | 3% |
| None of the above | 4% |
Base: All secondary parents whose child is in year 10 or 11 who are not very or not at all confident that they can advise their child on post-19 education options (n = 139). Data table reference = “network_post19_whynot”.
Parental advice on employment or work experience opportunities
We also asked pupils in years 9 to 11 whether they had asked their parents or carers for advice on employment or work experience opportunities. The majority (70%) of pupils had asked for advice.
For those who had asked their parents or carers for advice on employment or work experience opportunities, we asked how useful they had found their advice.
Figure 12: How useful pupils found their parents’ or carers’ advice on employment or work experience opportunities
| Audience | Very useful | Quite useful | Not very useful | Not at all useful | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils | 23% | 67% | 9% | 1% | 100% |
Base: Pupils in years 9 to 11 who have asked their parents or carers for advice on employment or work experience opportunities (n = 914). Data table reference = “network_employmentuseful”.
We also asked pupils who found their parents’ or carers’ advice on employment or work experience opportunities useful why this was.
Figure 13: What made their parents’ or carers’ advice on employment or work experience opportunities useful
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| They were able to talk through my plans with me | 43% |
| They knew where the best places for employment or work experience opportunities that I was interested in were | 39% |
| They were able to direct me to sources of information | 30% |
| They were able to put me in contact with a relative or family friend who is employed in the area I’m interested in | 26% |
| They were able to direct me to specific websites for my preferred options | 21% |
| They were able to take me to visit potential employment or work experience opportunities | 21% |
| Other | 11% |
| Don’t know | 5% |
Base: Pupils in years 9 to 11 who found their parents’ or carers’ advice on employment or work experience opportunities useful (n = 812). Data table reference = “network_employmentwhyuseful”.
We asked pupils who had not asked their parents or carers for advice on post-19 education opportunities why this was.
Figure 14: Why pupils had not asked their parents or carers for advice on employment or work experience opportunities
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| I haven’t started to think about what I want to do as a career | 44% |
| They don’t know anything about the type of career I want to do | 22% |
| I’m making my career decisions independently | 17% |
| I have asked other family members or friends for advice instead | 8% |
| They don’t want me to do the career I am interested in doing | 3% |
| Other | 13% |
| Don’t know | 12% |
Base: Pupils in years 9 to 11 who have not asked their parents or carers for advice on employment or work experience opportunities (n = 329). Data table reference = “network_employmentwhynot”.
We asked parents how confident they were in giving their child advice on their employment or work experience opportunities.
Figure 15: How confident parents are at giving their child advice on employment or work experience opportunities
| Audience | Very confident | Fairly confident | Not very confident | Not at all confident | Don’t know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parents | 28% | 52% | 17% | 2% | 1% | 100% |
Base: All secondary parents whose child is in year 8,9,10 or 11 (n = 1049). Data table reference = “network_confidence”.
We asked parents who were very or fairly confident in providing advice on employment or work experience opportunities why this was.
Figure 16: What made parents confident in providing advice on employment or work experience opportunities
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| I know where to go to find out information | 65% |
| I have time to help my child explore their choices | 58% |
| I know people employed in a range of different types of jobs that I can ask for help | 56% |
| My child knows what they want to do as a job | 36% |
| I know people who own their own businesses that I can ask for help | 33% |
| I am aware of job market trends or areas of growth | 25% |
| My child’s school has advised me on how I can support them | 18% |
| I have advised other family members when making their career choices | 16% |
| None of the above | 2% |
Base: All secondary parents whose child is in year 8, 9, 10, or 11 who are very or fairly confident that they can advise their child on employment or work opportunities (n = 846). Data table reference = “network_factors”.
We asked parents who were not very or not at all confident in providing advice on post-19 education opportunities why this was.
Figure 17: Reasons why parents were not confident in providing advice on employment or work experience opportunities
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| My child does not know what they want to do as a job | 59% |
| I don’t know about job market trends or areas of growth | 56% |
| I don’t know people employed in a range of different types of jobs that I can ask for help | 53% |
| I don’t know where to go to find out information | 48% |
| I don’t know people who own their own businesses that I can ask for help | 46% |
| My child’s school has not advised me on how I can support them | 35% |
| I have never advised other family members when making their career choices | 24% |
| I don’t have time to help my child explore their choices | 4% |
| None of the above | 4% |
Base: All secondary parents whose child is in year 8, 9, 10, or 11 who are not very or not at all confident that they can advise their child on employment or work experience opportunities (n = 192). Data table reference = “network_whynot”.
Teaching quality
We asked pupils to think about their most recent lesson and consider several statements about the way it was taught, choosing for each statement how often, if at all, their teacher acts in that way.
Figure 18: How often pupils experienced different teaching approaches
| Activity | Always | Most of the time | Some of the time | Never | Don’t know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| My teacher makes learning enjoyable | 23% | 38% | 29% | 9% | 1% | 100% |
| My teacher explains difficult things clearly | 25% | 44% | 25% | 5% | 1% | 100% |
| My teacher talks to me about my work to help me understand my mistakes | 30% | 29% | 28% | 11% | 2% | 100% |
| When the work is too hard, my teacher encourages me to keep trying | 38% | 29% | 21% | 7% | 4% | 100% |
| If I don’t understand something, my teacher explains it in a different way | 25% | 33% | 28% | 9% | 5% | 100% |
| My teacher respects my opinions and suggestions | 44% | 27% | 17% | 6% | 7% | 100% |
Base: All pupils year 7 to 11 (n = 2182). Data table reference = “teaching_enjoyable”, “teaching_clear”, “teaching_understand”, “teaching_trying”, “teaching_explain”, “teaching_opinions”.
Parental need for wraparound childcare
We asked all primary and special parents whose child’s school offers childcare which, if any, of the school’s childcare offers had they used since September 2024. The majority had used at least one of the offers, with 9% using before-school childcare, 21% using after-school childcare and 24% using both, whilst 46% had used neither.
We asked primary and special school parents to what extent they agreed that their needs for before-school and after-school childcare are currently being fully met.
Figure 19: The extent parents agree or disagree that their needs for before-school and after-school childcare are currently being met
| Childcare | Strongly agree | Agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Don’t know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before-school childcare | 32% | 32% | 16% | 9% | 4% | 7% | 100% |
| After-school childcare | 34% | 31% | 15% | 9% | 6% | 5% | 100% |
Base: Primary and special school parents, excluding those who said they do not need before-school childcare. (n = 948).Primary and special schoolparents excluding those who said they do not need after-school childcare. (n = 948). Data table references = “wraparound_satisfaction_before”, “wraparound_satisfaction_after”.
We asked parents who disagreed or strongly disagreed that their needs for before-school childcare are being met, and those who disagreed or strongly disagreed that their needs for after-school childcare are being met, why this was.
Figure 20: Why parents’ needs for before-school or after-school childcare are not being fully met
| Response | Before-school childcare | After-school childcare |
|---|---|---|
| It is too expensive | 46% | 35% |
| The hours are unsuitable | 31% | 13% |
| It is not available during school holidays | 19% | 16% |
| I am not able to get a place at my preferred provider | 17% | 19% |
| It does not meet my child’s needs | 12% | 11% |
| I have been refused a childcare place due to my child’s needs | 5% | 5% |
| I am not happy with the quality | 3% | 5% |
| The school offers no provision | 3% | 12% |
| Don’t know | 0% | 2% |
| Another reason | 17% | 27% |
Base: All parents who disagreed or strongly disagreed that their needs for before-school childcare are being met (n = 205). All parents who disagreed or strongly disagreed that their needs for after-school childcare are being met (n = 249). Data table references = “wraparound_whydissatisfied_before”, “wraparound_whydissatisfied_after”.
We asked all primary and special school parents whether the current availability of before and after-school childcare had affected the work pattern and or working hours of those in their household during term time. The majority said no (57%), whilst 32% said yes and 11% were not sure.
We asked those parents who have used before or after-school childcare what childcare funding options they had used for this since the start of September 2024.
Figure 21: Childcare funding options parents have used for before or after-school childcare since September 2024
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Tax-Free Childcare | 19% |
| Universal Credit | 15% |
| Childcare vouchers | 8% |
| None of the above | 59% |
| Prefer not to say | 1% |
Base: All parents who have used before or after schooo childcare (n = 461). Data table reference = “wraparound_tfc”.
Breakfast clubs
We asked primary parents whose child’s school offers before school childcare whether the breakfast offered by the school is free. The majority said that it was not free and there was a charge (70%), 10% said it was free, 5% said there was no breakfast offer at the school and 15% did not know.
We asked primary parents whose child school does not offer free breakfast, if their child’s school were to offer a free breakfast club that lasted for 30 minutes, how often would they plan for their child to attend.
Figure 22: How often parents would plan for their child to attend a free breakfast club if offered by their child’s school
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Every school day | 27% |
| Less than every school day but more than once a week | 24% |
| About once a week | 10% |
| Less than once a week but more than once a month | 4% |
| Less than once a month but more than once a term | 2% |
| Less than once a term | 3% |
| Never | 21% |
| Don’t know | 8% |
Base: All primary parents whose child school does not offer free breakfast (n = 892). Data table reference = “breakfast_likely”.
Access to specialist SEND support
We asked all parents whose child has SEND whether their child needed specialist support during this academic year, and if so, what type of support was required.
Figure 23: The types of specialist support needed this academic year
| Response | Special | Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|---|---|
| A speech and language therapist | 50% | 28% | 7% |
| An occupational therapist | 33% | 15% | 7% |
| Another type of support | 20% | 31% | 29% |
| Mental health support | 22% | 21% | 29% |
| They do not need any of these types of support | 11% | 18% | 28% |
| Medical support | 21% | 14% | 20% |
| Social services | 19% | 5% | 5% |
| A physiotherapist | 17% | 6% | 8% |
| An educational psychologist | 15% | 15% | 10% |
| Don’t know | 8% | 6% | 8% |
Base: All parents whose child has SEND (n = 1630). Data table reference = “sendsupport_require”.
We asked parents whose child has required specialist support this academic year, whether they have received support from each of the specialists they needed it from for a maximum of three response options.
Figure 24: Whether specialist support has been received
| Activity | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Medical support | 87% | 9% |
| Social service | 79% | 18% |
| Physiotherapist | 78% | 20% |
| Another type of support | 77% | 13% |
| Speech and language therapist | 75% | 18% |
| Occupational therapist | 67% | 25% |
| Mental health support | 56% | 34% |
| Educational psychologist | 53% | 38% |
Base: Parents responded based on the types of specialist support their child had needed, so individual base sizes are different for each job role. Please refer to accompanying data tables. Data table reference = “sendsupport_receive”.
We asked parents who said their child needs specialist support, but does not receive it, why that was. When a parent said their child needed multiple types of support and did not receive them, we only asked about three types of support selected randomly from those they required.
Figure 25: Most common reasons why specialist support cannot be accessed
| Response | Percentage |
|---|---|
| My child is currently on the waiting list | 28% |
| There are no support staff (e.g. therapists) available at pupil’s school | 23% |
| The school can’t/won’t pay for the support | 11% |
| My child doesn’t meet the criteria | 10% |
| The support offered is not suitable for my child | 8% |
| Other | 15% |
| Don’t know | 4% |
| Travelling to where support is delivered is too difficult | 0% |
Base: Reasons given by parents for their child not being able to access specialist support
All parents who said their child needs specialist support but does not receive it (n = 578). Data table reference = “sendsupport_access_edupsychologist”, “sendsupport_access_mhsupport”, “sendsupport_access_occupational”, “sendsupport_access_speech”, “sendsupport_access_medical”, “sendsupport_access_physiotherapy”, “sendsupport_access_socialservice”, “sendsupport_access_other”.^
Parental views of SEND and AP system
We asked all parents whose child has SEND how confident they were that their child’s school is able to support their special educational needs or disabilities.
Figure 26: How confident parents are that their child’s school is able support their special educational needs or disabilities
| Phase | Very confident | Fairly confident | Not very confident | Not at all confident | Prefer not to say | Don’t know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 22% | 39% | 18% | 13% | 1% | 7% | 100% |
| Secondary | 15% | 40% | 20% | 17% | 1% | 7% | 100% |
| Special | 56% | 28% | 8% | 5% | 1% | 1% | 100% |
Base: All parents whose child has SEND (n = 1630). Data table reference = “sendsystem_confident”.
We also asked how useful the SEND support that their child has received since September 2024 has been.
Figure 27: How useful SEND support has been
| Phase | Very useful | Fairly useful | Not very useful | Not useful at all | Prefer not to say | Don’t know | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 23% | 39% | 14% | 9% | 2% | 14% | 100% |
| Secondary | 16% | 37% | 19% | 15% | 3% | 11% | 100% |
| Special | 55% | 30% | 6% | 4% | 1% | 4% | 100% |
Base: All parents whose child has SEND (n = 1630). Data table reference = “sendsystem_useful”.
Glossary of terms
Individualised Learner Record (ILR): The primary data collection about further education and work-based learning in England. It is requested from learning providers in England’s further education system.
National Pupil Database (NPD): A register data set of all pupils in state schools in England, compiled by the Department for Education. It contains attainment data as children progress through school, as well as information on pupil background, absences and exclusions from school.
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND): A child or young person has SEND if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if they:
- have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age
- have a disability which prevents or hinders them from making use of facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.
Some children and young people who have SEND may also have a disability under the Equality Act 2010 – that is ‘…a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term and substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’. Where a disabled child or young person requires special educational provision, they will also be covered by the SEND definition.
Special schools: Schools which provide an education for children with a special educational need or disability. Almost all pupils in special schools have an education, health and care plan (EHCP), which are plans for children and young people aged up to 25 who need more support than is available through special educational needs support. EHC plans identify educational, health and social needs and set out the additional support to meet those needs.