Suicide in young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in England 2011 to 2022: A retrospective cohort study
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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 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.
