Hounslow Council: Early Intervention Pathway Evaluation
What Hounslow Council needed
As part of its Safety Valve programme, Hounslow Council wanted independent evidence to understand whether investment in its Mainstream Inclusion Partnership (MIP) was achieving the desired outcomes.
While the feedback from schools was positive, Hounslow needed robust quantitative evidence to establish whether the programme was successfully enabling children with SEND to have their needs met earlier within mainstream education. Crucially, they wanted to understand whether this reduced pressure on statutory services and delivered measurable value for money.
What we did
Mime evaluated over two years of programme activity, analysing data for more than 800 pupils supported through £1.4 million of MIP funding.
We examined how the programme was being used across different groups of pupils and schools before creating a matched comparison group of children with similar characteristics who had not received MIP support. Using statistical impact analysis, we isolated the effect of the intervention from other influencing factors, including age, type of need, deprivation and geography. We also modelled the potential long-term financial benefits associated with reducing future need for EHCPs.
The impact of our work
The evaluation showed that pupils who received MIP support were less likely to be issued with an EHCP than comparable pupils who did not receive the intervention. After controlling for other factors, children outside the programme were 2.3 times more likely to receive an EHCP in the following year.
The findings gave Hounslow clear, quantitative evidence that its early intervention approach was improving outcomes while helping to manage pressure on statutory SEND provision. The analysis also demonstrated strong value for money, equipping the council with robust evidence to support ongoing investment and the delivery of its Safety Valve commitments.
“As part of our Safety Valve programme, we needed to understand if our Early Intervention Pathway, known locally as the Mainstream Inclusion Partnership (MIP), was having the intended impact. Through MIP, local mainstream schools are able to apply and agree additional resources to support their SEN Support cohorts. While schools provided strong qualitative evidence, we found it difficult to quantify the impact using our own resources.
Mime analysed our MIP data, developed a detailed profile of the children using the pathway, and identified a comparable group who had not accessed the intervention. This provided robust evidence that MIP was helping to prevent needs from escalating and reducing the likelihood of children requiring an EHCP if they had been supported by MIP. This evidence demonstrated both the effectiveness and value for money of MIP, which was required for the Safety Valve programme.“
Charlotte Dyett – Project Manager, Transformation
