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RFAs: Early Identification of Children with Special Educational Needs

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Deadline: 05-Aug-2026

Innovate UK is supporting the development of innovative solutions that enable earlier, fairer, and more reliable identification of special educational needs among children and young people across the UK. The competition focuses on tools, approaches, and technologies that improve the assessment of each child’s strengths and needs.

Phase 1 projects can have total eligible costs of up to £500,000, inclusive of VAT, and may last for up to 12 months. Lead applicants can be organisations of any size based in the UK, EU, EEA, or internationally.

What is the Innovate UK SEN Identification Competition?

The Innovate UK competition supports projects that develop, test, and prepare innovative solutions for identifying special educational needs earlier and more accurately.

The competition aims to improve how children and young people with SEN are identified and assessed across education and related service systems.

It focuses on practical innovations that can be used by frontline services and integrated into real-world education settings.

Main Purpose of the Competition

The main purpose of the competition is to support earlier, fairer, and more reliable identification of children and young people who have, or are likely to have, special educational needs.

The competition aims to:

Funding Amount

Phase 1 projects can have total eligible costs of up to £500,000.

This amount is inclusive of VAT.

Projects can last for up to 12 months.

Who Can Apply?

To lead a project, applicants can be organisations of any size.

Lead applicants may be based in:

Projects may be delivered by a single organisation or with subcontracted expertise.

Subcontracting and Expertise

Applicants may involve subcontracted expertise where needed.

Subcontractors may include:

Subcontracted expertise should clearly support the project’s development, testing, implementation, or adoption pathway.

Target Beneficiaries

The competition is designed to benefit children and young people across the UK who have, or may be likely to have, special educational needs.

Target beneficiaries may include:

Key Focus Areas

The competition focuses on early identification, assessment quality, and scalable innovation.

Key focus areas include:

What Types of Projects Are Supported?

The competition supports projects that develop, test, refine, and prepare innovations for real-world use.

Supported projects may include:

Earlier Identification of SEN

Projects should support the earlier identification of children and young people who have, or are likely to have, special educational needs.

This may include solutions that identify needs:

Early identification can help ensure that children receive appropriate support sooner.

High-Quality Assessment of Strengths and Needs

The competition also focuses on improving assessment quality.

Projects should help assess each child’s individual:

Solutions should aim to support fair, consistent, and practical assessment across different settings.

Frontline Service Deployment

Innovations should be suitable for use by frontline services.

This may include tools or approaches used by:

Solutions should be practical, accessible, and suitable for integration into existing service pathways.

Universal Review Points

The competition encourages innovations designed for use at universal review points.

These may include:

Using universal review points can help identify needs earlier and more consistently.

Health Data and Health Settings

Projects using health data or operating in health settings are eligible where there is a clear link to education.

Such projects must show how health-related information or delivery settings can support:

Prematurity and Early Speech and Language Assessment

Applications may explore the predictive value of prematurity indicators or early speech and language assessments.

These approaches may help identify children who are more likely to require support before challenges become more visible in formal education settings.

Projects should show how these indicators can be used responsibly, accurately, and practically.

Scaling and Adoption

Projects should demonstrate a credible route to real-world adoption and impact.

Innovations should be capable of:

Applicants should explain how their solution can move from development or testing to practical implementation.

Key Concepts Explained

Special Educational Needs

Special educational needs refer to learning, developmental, communication, physical, social, emotional, or other needs that require additional or different support in education.

Frontline Services

Frontline services are the professionals and organisations that work directly with children, young people, and families, including health, education, early years, and local support services.

Universal Review Points

Universal review points are routine assessment or review stages that many or all children experience, providing opportunities to identify needs early.

Reception Baseline Assessment

The reception baseline assessment is an assessment point used in England when children enter reception, helping capture early information about learning and development.

Scalable Innovation

A scalable innovation is a solution that can move beyond a small test setting and be adopted more widely across systems, regions, or national services.

Expected Results

Funded projects should contribute to better identification and assessment of SEN.

Expected results may include:

Why It Matters

Early and accurate identification of special educational needs can help children and young people receive the right support at the right time.

Inconsistent assessment practices can delay support and create unequal experiences across local authorities and schools.

This Innovate UK competition supports practical innovations that can help frontline services identify needs earlier, assess children more fairly, and strengthen pathways into education support.

How to Apply

Applicants should prepare a proposal that clearly explains the innovation, target users, expected impact, delivery plan, and route to adoption.

Suggested Application Steps

  1. Define the SEN identification or assessment challenge the project will address.
  2. Explain how the innovation supports earlier, fairer, or more reliable identification.
  3. Identify the target age group, setting, and frontline users.
  4. Show how the solution can assess individual strengths and needs.
  5. Explain how the project will be tested or refined.
  6. Demonstrate how the solution can integrate into education settings.
  7. Address links with health data or health settings where relevant.
  8. Explain the route to real-world adoption and scale.
  9. Prepare a budget of up to £500,000 inclusive of VAT.
  10. Plan a project duration of up to 12 months.
  11. Identify any subcontracted expertise required.
  12. Submit the application according to Innovate UK competition requirements.

Assessment Considerations

Applications should demonstrate innovation, feasibility, and potential for practical impact.

Assessment may consider:

Tips for Strong Applications

A strong application should clearly show how the proposed solution will improve SEN identification in real-world settings.

Applicants should focus on:

Applicants should avoid proposals that are technically interesting but lack a practical route to adoption in education or frontline service systems.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applicants should carefully align their proposal with the competition’s scope.

Common mistakes include:

FAQ

What is this Innovate UK competition about?

It supports innovative solutions for earlier, fairer, and more reliable identification of special educational needs among children and young people in the UK.

How much funding is available for Phase 1 projects?

Phase 1 projects can have total eligible costs of up to £500,000, inclusive of VAT.

How long can projects last?

Projects can last for up to 12 months.

Who can lead a project?

Organisations of any size can lead a project, including organisations based in the UK, EU, EEA, or internationally.

Can applicants work with subcontractors?

Yes. Projects may involve subcontracted expertise from businesses, research organisations, research and technology organisations, charities, social enterprises, voluntary groups, or other third-sector organisations.

What types of innovations are in scope?

In-scope innovations include tools for frontline services, early identification approaches, assessment solutions, speech and language assessment models, prematurity indicator-based approaches, and health-data-linked solutions with clear education outcomes.

Can projects operate in health settings?

Yes. Projects using health data or operating in health settings are eligible where there is a clear connection to education and potential to improve educational outcomes.

Conclusion

Innovate UK is supporting projects that improve the early, fair, and reliable identification of special educational needs among children and young people across the UK. With Phase 1 project costs of up to £500,000 and a duration of up to 12 months, the competition encourages practical innovations that can be tested, refined, and scaled across education systems.

Strong applications will demonstrate a clear SEN identification challenge, a practical solution for frontline services, strong evidence of potential impact, integration with education settings, and a credible route to real-world adoption and national scaling.

For more information, visit GOV.UK.

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