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schools National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)  \nSelective Comprehensives 2026  \nMaria Pia Iocco and Jenna Julius  \nPublished in March 2026  \nBy the National Foundation for Educational Research, The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire SL1 2DQ [www.nfer.ac.uk](www.nfer.ac.uk)  \n© 2026 National Foundation for Educational Research Registered Charity No. 313392  \nISBN: 978-1-916567-56-6  \nHow to cite this publication:  \nlocco, M. P. and Julius, J. (2026) . Selective Comprehensives 2026. Slough: NFER  \nContents  \nKey findings i  \n1 Introduction 1  \n2 The social composition of the top 500 comprehensive schools 2  \n3 Exploring the overlap between SEND, disadvantage and outcomes 8  \nReferences 11  \nMethodological Appendix 12  \nData Appendix 14  \nAcknowledgements  \nNFER was commissioned by the Sutton Trust to update our previous work on Selective Comprehensives and produce an independent briefing report of our findings. These findings are reported in this document. Alongside this, the Sutton Trust has produced its own summary report drawing out highlights from our report and setting out their recommendations.  \nThis work contains statistical data from ONS which is Crown Copyright. The use of the ONS statistical data in this work does not imply the endorsement of the ONS in relation to the interpretation or analysis of the statistical data. This work uses research datasets which may not exactly reproduce National Statistics aggregates. The analysis was carried out in the Secure Research Service, part of the Office for National Statistics.  \nDefining Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)  \nThere are two levels of support currently used to target pupils with SEND in schools:  \n• SEN Support generally describes a lower level of support that can be provided by teachers or teaching assistants. This is largely funded through a school’s existing budget, albeit some local authorities (LAs) provide additional funding for pupils on SEN Support.  \n• Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are support plans put in place by the LA for pupils requiring a higher level of support. EHCPs are legally binding documents outlining a pupil’s needs and the support that must be provided.  \nSEN coordinators (SENCOs) in schools decide on SEN Support, while EHCPs are issued by LAs following applications from schools or parents. While schools must cover the first £6,000 needed to support any pupil with SEND, the remaining cost of the provision specified in an EHCP must be met by the LA.  \nDefining the top 500 comprehensive secondary schools  \nThe ‘top 500 comprehensive schools’ are defined throughout this report using the following three measures of school-level attainment:  \n• Progress 8 – this is the main school accountability measure used by government. This is the average of each pupil’s Progress 8 score for all eligible Year 11 pupils at the school. A Progress 8 score compares a pupil’s Attainment 8 score to all other pupils nationally who had similar Key Stage 2 results at the end of primary school.  \n• Attainment 8 – A pupil’s Attainment 8 score is the sum of eight different Key Stage 4  \nqualifications. This includes mathematics, English, three qualifications from EBacc subjects and three other qualifications. Attainment 8 at school level is the average of each pupil’s Attainment 8 score for all eligible Year 11 pupils at the school.  \n• Percentage of pupils achieving grade four or above in English and Maths GCSE  \nAll schools in scope were ranked according to their scores on each of the attainment measures from the 2023/24 academic year and the top 500 schools form the group of interest for each measure.  \nKey findings  \nThis briefing report, commissioned by the Sutton Trust , provides an update on social selectivity in England’s top performing comprehensive schools drawing on GCSE data up to 2023/24 . It buildson the Selective Comprehen","cbCaisp1hEFG11EU","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisp1hEFG11EU","pdf",1137167,42,"English","# Contents\n## Key findings\n## 1 Introduction\n## 2 The social composition of the top 500 comprehensive schools\n## 3 Exploring the overlap between SEND, disadvantage and outcomes\n## References\n## Methodological Appendix\n## Data Appendix\n## Acknowledgements","[{\"question\":\"What is the main purpose of the Selective Comprehensives 2026 briefing report?\",\"answer\":\"To assess whether top performing comprehensive schools are representative of their local areas by socio-economic background, and to examine whether there is social selection in SEND representation, alongside exploring links between outcomes, disadvantage, and SEND.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the report define the “top 500 comprehensive schools”?\",\"answer\":\"It ranks schools using three attainment measures from 2023/24: Progress 8, Attainment 8, and the percentage achieving grade four or above in English and Maths GCSE.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the report advise caution when interpreting EHCP and SEN Support data?\",\"answer\":\"Because SEN Support identification practices vary across schools, and differences in how pupils are assessed and issued EHCPs can affect who receives these supports.\"}]","Selective Comprehensives 2026 - Briefing report - Update on social selectivity and SEND representation | PDF",1792057315,106]