In the 2022-23 academic year, 4.3 percent of learners had an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and 13 percent had special educational need (SEN) support, according to the Department for Education.
However, recent data found that in post-16 education, almost a third of learners need support due to cognitive differences.
This is a significant proportion, and thankfully, for many, a diagnosis of a learning difficulty and/or disability (LDD) will mean that an EHCP is already in place when they reach college or their apprenticeship programme.
But there will be others whose needs have gone unrecognised and unmet, leaving them at risk of falling behind, or even dropping out of their course altogether.
