The number of children registered as having special educational needs is dropping sharply as schools in England respond to government policy changes and possibly, also, to pressures on their budgets, research will reveal today.

Almost two thirds of staff responsible for special needs provision in schools said the number of pupils they categorised as eligible for extra support had fallen following major reforms introduced by the coalition government last year.

Researcher Helen Curran, senior lecturer in special educational needs at Bath Spa University, said that pressures on schools’ resources may be part of the reason for the reduction, which echoes national statistics showing a pronounced drop in SEN numbers last academic year.

The Department for Education says the main reason is that many pupils were wrongly identified as SEN in the past.

Ms Curran’s study is being presented at BERA’s annual conference today. Full release is here.