Alliance comments on Institute of Education study on the impact of school on disabled children’s behaviour

3rd October 2014

Commenting on a new Institute of Education study, which suggests that school can worsen disabled children’s behavioural problems, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Pre-school Learning Alliance, said:

“This study clearly highlights the importance of ensuring that children with disabilities or special educational needs are given adequate support in their earliest years.

“However, children’s educational experiences do not start at school at age five. The vast majority of three- and four-year-olds attend some kind of early years provision, and so we would have liked to see the study take into account the impact of pre-school experiences on emotional and behavioural development as well. Given that the research found that the behaviour of both disabled and non-disabled children tends to improve between the ages of three and five, before subsequently declining at six, it may well be that schools should be looking to early years providers as examples of good practice in this area.

“We believe that it's vital that all providers, whether maintained or non-maintained, have a strategic approach to addressing behaviour issues in young children, including those with disabilities and/or SEN. This, alongside a commitment to working in partnership with parents, is key to preventing behavioural and social issues later on in childhood.”

For further information, please .

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Notes for editors

  1. The Pre-school Learning Alliance is the largest voluntary sector provider of quality affordable childcare and education in England.
  2. Through direct provision and its membership of 14,000 nurseries, sessional pre-schools and parent and toddler groups, the Alliance supports over 800,000 children and their families in England. The Alliance also develops and runs family learning programmes, offers information and advice, runs acclaimed training and accreditation programmes and campaigns to influence early years policy and practice.
  3. For information about the Pre-school Learning Alliance, visit our website:

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