6 Examine the relationship between pre-school centre quality characteristics and the
subsequent progress and development of different ‘at risk’ groups.

7 Investigate parents’ perceptions of whether their child has special educational needs and
their views and experiences of provision to support their child’s needs.

The Sample

The EPPE design over-sampled areas with ethnic diversity and low socio-economic status (SES)
families. This was to ensure that sufficient numbers of children from a variety of backgrounds
were studied. One consequence of this sampling strategy is that the rates of SEN represented in
EYTSEN may have slightly overestimated the rates in the ‘general’ population of children at age
3 plus years. However, the data for 6 year olds on the proportions with SEN in EYTSEN is
broadly in line with national statistics for primary age pupils. This suggests that any
overestimation of SEN within EYTSEN is likely to be small. The sample for the EYTSEN study
was essentially the total EPPE sample with specific sub-groups, defined below, regarded as
being ‘at risk’ for developing SEN.

Methodology

The EYTSEN study used a range of sources of data to explore the notion ‘of risk’ for SEN:

• child assessments were used to determine ‘risk’ for SEN in terms of cognitive and
social/behavioural development

• parental questionnaires administered when the children were in primary school were used
to collect additional details from parents particularly in relation to SEN.

• ‘child profiles’ were completed by primary school teachers who also reported a child’s
SEN status and development.

Thus, a range of sources of information were available to explore a child’s SEN status.

In addition to the above interviews with parents and pre-school centre managers provided details
about the home background and the provision available during pre-school. Observations were
conducted by trained researchers to explore aspects of a pre-school centre ‘quality’ and the
environment experienced by children.

The EYTSEN study analysed these different sources of information and the links between them
to inform policy and practice related to the characteristics of young children ‘at risk’ of SEN and
pre-school centre practices associated with changes in ‘risk status’.

The longitudinal nature of the data allowed the EYTSEN research to investigate possible SEN for
the same group of children over three time points (at entry to pre-school, at entry to primary
school and at the end of Year 1).

Concepts of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and risk for SEN

Special Educational Needs has been defined by the DfES as follows:

“Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty which calls for special
educational provision to be made for them. Children have a learning difficulty if they:
a) have more significant delay in learning than children of the same age

b) have a disability that prevents or hinders them from making use of educational facilities
generally provided for children of the same age in schools within the area of the local education
authority

c) are under compulsory school age and fall within the definitions a) or b) above, or would do so
if special educational provision was not made for them.

Children must not be regarded as having a learning difficulty solely because the language or
form of language of their home is different from the language in which they will be taught.” (DfES
2001, SEN Code of Practice 2001, p. 6)

The Code of Practice, (which is a set of guidelines issued by the UK’s DfES to help assist those
working with children to identify and support children who they suspect as having SEN) while
laying emphasis on cognitive attainment, also considers the child’s social and behavioural

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