Suicide in young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in England 2011 to 2022: A retrospective cohort study
- 1Office for National Statistics
Abstract
Background: Population-level evidence on suicide mortality among children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is limited. SEND captures a broad and heterogeneous population, including children whose needs are recognised in educational settings regardless of recorded clinical diagnosis. Methods: We analysed 3,959,390 CYP aged 10-18 years in England using Growing Up in England (GUiE) data linked to death registrations. SEND provision was classified as no support, support or statement, using records from academic years 2001/02 to 2010/11. CYP were followed until age 25, death or 31 December 2022. Sex-stratified, age-adjusted Cox models estimated suicide by SEND provision. Results: In the cohort, 1,383,300 CYP (35%) had provision of support and 148,200 (4%) had a statement. During follow-up, 2,620 suicides occurred among 10- to 24-year-olds; 1,190 (45.4%) were among CYP with support and 130 (5%) among those with statements. Compared with males with no support, suicide was higher among males with provision of support (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.33-1.61) and statements (HR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.09-1.61). Among females, support provision was associated with higher risk of suicide (HR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.05-1.44), while no significant difference was observed for those with statements (HR: 1.15; 95% CI: 0.69-1.92). Suicide rates were highest among CYP with social, emotional and mental health needs. Conclusions: CYP with SEND had elevated risk of suicide, particularly those receiving support without a statutory plan and those with social, emotional and mental health needs, highlighting the need for targeted prevention.
Related
- "Our children are the forgotten children": lived experiences of COVID-19 asymptomatic testing in young people with special educational needs and disabilities and those who care for them.
- Beyond Participation, Towards Meaningful Inclusion: An Experience-Sensitive Approach to Inquiry with Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
- Factors associated with language difficulties and special educational needs among children with language difficulties: a retrospective cohort study
- Psychological therapy for children and young people with a diagnosis of autism or intellectual disabilities in mainstream child and adolescent mental health services: a cross-sectional survey of clinicians’ perspectives in England
- Intersectional Barriers to and Facilitators of Educational Inclusion for Persons With Disabilities in Low‐ and Middle‐Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review
BibTeX
@misc{rossa2026suicide,
title = {{Suicide in young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in England 2011 to 2022: A retrospective cohort study}},
author = {M. Rossa and I. Ward and C. Razieh and C. Rodway and W. van Rijswijk and A. Zylbersztejn and V. Nafilyan and E. Sharland},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.30.26366719},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.30.26366719v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Suicide in young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in England 2011 to 2022: A retrospective cohort study
AU - M. Rossa
AU - I. Ward
AU - C. Razieh
AU - C. Rodway
AU - W. van Rijswijk
AU - A. Zylbersztejn
AU - V. Nafilyan
AU - E. Sharland
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.30.26366719
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.30.26366719v1
AB - Background: Population-level evidence on suicide mortality among children and young people (CYP) with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) is limited. SEND captures a broad and heterogeneous population, including children whose needs are recognised in educational settings regardless of recorded clinical diagnosis. Methods: We analysed 3,959,390 CYP aged 10-18 years in England using Growing Up in England (GUiE) data linked to death registrations. SEND provision was classified as no support, support or statement, using records from academic years 2001/02 to 2010/11. CYP were followed until age 25, death or 31 December 2022. Sex-stratified, age-adjusted Cox models estimated suicide by SEND provision. Results: In the cohort, 1,383,300 CYP (35%) had provision of support and 148,200 (4%) had a statement. During follow-up, 2,620 suicides occurred among 10- to 24-year-olds; 1,190 (45.4%) were among CYP with support and 130 (5%) among those with statements. Compared with males with no support, suicide was higher among males with provision of support (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.46; 95% CI: 1.33-1.61) and statements (HR: 1.32; 95% CI: 1.09-1.61). Among females, support provision was associated with higher risk of suicide (HR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.05-1.44), while no significant difference was observed for those with statements (HR: 1.15; 95% CI: 0.69-1.92). Suicide rates were highest among CYP with social, emotional and mental health needs. Conclusions: CYP with SEND had elevated risk of suicide, particularly those receiving support without a statutory plan and those with social, emotional and mental health needs, highlighting the need for targeted prevention.
ER -