With Michelle Windridge, National Education Lead for School-Based Early Years, Twinkl
Remember Covid? Our coverage during the pandemic helped thousands of families, teachers, people in the SEND sector and those in local and national government understand what was happening with families and why. We even carried out two research surveys about risk assessments and children who were not allowed back to school. We’ve also covered other research relating to SEND and Covid
Children born during the pandemic, often referred to as “Covid babies” are now moving through primary school, carrying the effects of disrupted socialisation, reduced early support and missed developmental checks. Twinkl’s National Education Lead for School-Based Early Years, Michelle Windridge, asks whether this cohort could fall into a gap between early years policy and the support now needed in KS1 and beyond.
Covid Babies and SEND Reforms: Are They Being Missed? by Michelle Windridge, Twinkl
The 2026 SEND and Schools White Paper reforms mark the most significant shift in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities policy since the 2014 Children and Families Act. Central to the proposals is a “mainstream-first” approach that aims to ensure more children with additional needs are supported within mainstream education. Measures such as inclusion hubs, strengthened early intervention, and new professional development pathways (including specialised training for Reception teachers) are intended to ensure that needs are identified earlier and addressed more effectively.
In principle, these reforms represent an important step forward. However, they arrive at a unique moment in the educational journey of a particular cohort of children: those born during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now in Key Stage 1 (KS1), these “COVID babies” experienced their earliest months of life during lockdowns and social restrictions that fundamentally altered their developmental environment. As the system reforms around them, a pressing question emerges: are these children at risk of becoming the forgotten generation of the SEND reforms?
What do we mean by “COVID babies”?
The earliest years of a child’s life are widely recognised as critical for brain development, social communication, and emotional regulation. Yet for children born in later 2019-2021, these formative months unfolded in extraordinary circumstances. Lockdowns limited social contact, baby groups were cancelled, health visitor appointments were reduced or moved online, and families often remained isolated from wider support networks.
Research suggests that these conditions may have had measurable developmental impacts. A study highlighted by The Guardian reported that children born during the pandemic showed poorer communication skills compared with previous cohorts. Similarly, research discussed in The Conversation found that pandemic-born children displayed differences in social interaction and language development as they approached school age, although it also emphasised children’s remarkable resilience.
How lockdown affected early development
Evidence from the University of Oxford further indicated that lockdown conditions widened developmental and socio-economic gaps among babies and toddlers. Families with fewer resources were particularly affected, with reduced access to childcare, social interaction, and early developmental support.
At the same time, research published in medical literature suggests that the pandemic environment influenced both cognitive and emotional development in infants and toddlers. Limited peer interaction and reduced exposure to varied environments may have contributed to delays in speech, communication, and social confidence. For many children, the usual early-warning systems (such as nursery staff, community groups, or regular health checks) were simply not available.
These children are now moving through primary school carrying the invisible legacy of those early disruptions.
Why SEND reforms matter for pandemic-born children
The government’s SEND reform proposals aim to address longstanding challenges in the system, including delays in assessment, rising demand for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), and increasing pressure on specialist placements. The proposed model introduces three levels of SEND support, designed to ensure that more children receive help within mainstream schools without necessarily requiring an EHCP.
Alongside this, inclusion bases will allow schools to access specialist expertise more easily, and Reception teachers will receive enhanced training to support early identification of additional needs. The creation of Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) Reception Networks is intended to promote collaboration between schools and spread best practice in supporting children entering formal education.
In theory, these changes should mean that more children have their needs recognised and addressed within the classroom. This aligns with the principle that every child has a right to education, as established by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, particularly Articles 28 and 29, which emphasise access to education and the development of every child’s full potential.
However, while the proposed policy emphasises early identification and intervention (as does the CFA 2014), its design may unintentionally overlook the unique circumstances of pandemic-born children.
The early intervention gap
One of the central features of the Schools White Paper proposals are a fast-track route to support for children under five with complex needs (an as-yet undefined term). Strengthening support at this stage is essential and widely welcomed by early years professionals.
However, COVID-years children who have already moved beyond the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) now sit in a grey area. Many of these children may not meet the threshold for complex needs identified before age five, but they may still experience developmental delays linked to their early pandemic experiences. Difficulties with speech, social interaction, emotional regulation, or attention may only become fully apparent as academic and social expectations increase in KS1 and KS2.
By the time these needs become visible, the early intervention window emphasised by policy may have already closed.
This creates a potential intervention gap: children who missed out on the typical early support systems during lockdown but who no longer fall within the policy’s primary focus on early years intervention.
Can mainstream schools meet these needs?
The success of a mainstream-first approach ultimately depends on the capacity of mainstream schools to deliver effective support. Yet the reality on the ground tells a more complicated story. Schools are already managing increasing SEND needs, insufficient specialist staff, and inadequate budgets. Teaching assistants, speech and language support, and pastoral services (all critical for inclusive practice) are frequently stretched.
While the White Paper promises investment and structural reform, many educators remain concerned that the funding currently allocated will not match the scale of the ambition. If mainstream schools are expected to meet a wider range of needs without sufficient resources, there is a risk that support becomes stretched thin. In such circumstances, children whose needs are less visible or less severe may receive minimal intervention. For pandemic-born children with subtle developmental delays, this could mean slipping through the cracks.
What parents may notice at home or school
Beyond measurable developmental outcomes, the social experiences of COVID babies also deserve consideration. Many children born during lockdown had limited opportunities to interact with extended family members, peers, and wider community environments during their first year of life, a period widely recognised as crucial for attachment, communication, and emotional development.
Baby groups, play sessions, and informal social learning environments were largely absent. For many families, even routine healthcare and developmental checks were disrupted. These missed experiences cannot simply be recreated later. While children are remarkably adaptable, the absence of early socialisation opportunities can still influence confidence, language development, and emotional regulation as they grow. This means schools are now encountering a cohort whose early developmental context was unlike any previous generation.
Why “resilience” still matters
It is important not to frame pandemic-born children solely through a deficit lens. Research highlights that many of these children show impressive resilience. Families often spent more time together, and some children benefited from increased parental interaction during lockdown. But resilience does not negate the need for support. Instead, it reinforces the importance of responsive and flexible educational systems that recognise both strengths and challenges.
How to avoid a forgotten generation
The proposals in SEND reforms contain promising elements: earlier identification, greater collaboration between schools, and clearer support structures. If implemented effectively, they could significantly improve outcomes for many children. However, creation of policies must acknowledge the unique developmental context of pandemic-born pupils now moving through primary education.
This may require:
- Targeted monitoring of the COVID cohort as they transition into KS2
- Additional speech, language, and social communication support in primary schools
- Flexible intervention pathways for children whose needs emerge later
- Adequate funding to ensure mainstream schools can deliver inclusive practice
What should happen next?
Without these considerations, the risk is clear: children who experienced an unprecedented disruption to their earliest developmental years may become the unintended casualties of a system focused primarily on the future rather than the present. Every child has a right to education that enables them to thrive. Ensuring that pandemic-born children are not overlooked within the evolving SEND framework is therefore not only a policy challenge, it is a matter of educational equity.
As these proposals develop, the question remains: can they be designed to support this unique cohort, or will COVID babies quietly become the forgotten children of educational reform?
About the author
Michelle is Twinkl’s National Education Lead for School-Based Early Years, bringing over 25 years of teaching and school leadership experience across EYFS, KS1, and KS2.
Previously, Michelle worked as a Lecturer in Education, helping to prepare future teachers and achieving Fellowship status in recognition of her commitment to teaching and learning.
Before joining Twinkl, Michelle held several senior roles, including assistant headteacher, specialist leader of education, local authority moderator and EYFS aspiration leader. Michelle currently serves as an external examiner in Higher Education and a Childcare Strategy Director.
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Key Content
Also read:
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- Why every child deserves Portage, wherever they’re born
- Let’s write the true narrative of the SEND reform proposals: We want your unfiltered-by-AI views
- “Covid babies” and plans for SEND Reforms: Are We Creating a Forgotten Generation?
- A sceptics eye on government EHCP prep research shows the “deranged” numbers just don’t add up
- 10 questions every parent should ask about SEND interventions–Plus a unique opportunity to join QTrobot Autism Research
- Three steps to boost SEND accountability in the Early Years
- Disabled children increasingly turned away from early years settings. A SEND charity aims to tackle the SEND inclusion crisis
- Falling Through the Cracks: How children with SEND struggle to access early years education
- How much impact will Early Years SENCOs in disadvantaged areas make to boosting early identification of SEND?
- SNJ Report: The casual bias and daily discrimination faced by disabled children and their families from ethnic and marginalised communities
- Schools need support to implement vital lessons about better SEND teaching, learned from Covid
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- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms - September 9, 2026
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN - August 4, 2026
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them” - July 30, 2026
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