NEW figures published by the Department for Education show that many Devon pupils with additional needs who sat their Key Stage 2 (KS2) tests this summer have performed better than the national average.

Results for this summer’s KS2 pupils in Devon with special educational needs (SEN) who are receiving additional support in the classroom show an improvement on last year’s results (2022/23) in science; grammar, punctuation, and spelling; maths; and reading.

Fifty-eight per cent of Devon pupils with SEN, who are receiving additional support, were assessed as having met the standard expected of all KS2 pupils for science, compared to a national average of 54 per cent.

Fifty-two per cent of pupils in Devon with SEN support met the expected standard in reading, compared to 48 per cent national average.

Many pupils with Educational Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) also performed better than the national average.

The tests, known as SATs, alongside teacher assessments, are to make sure that individual pupils have the support they need as they move into secondary school.

Councillor Lois Samuel, our Cabinet Member with responsibility for services that support children and young people with SEND, said: ‘We want all of our Devon schools to be places that enable and encourage young people to thrive and to achieve as much as they can, so to have a year-on-year improvement in results, especially where our Devon results are better than the national average, is great news and goes to show how hard children have been working.’