A lack of evidence on what works to support pupils with SEND could pose a “challenge” to reforms, the government’s go-to body for showing what works in education has warned. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has responded to the Department for Education’s SEND consultation, which closed on May 18. Proposed reforms would see mainstream schools support more SEND pupils, while education, health and care plans (EHCPs) would be reserved for pupils with the most complex needs. ‘Significant evidence gaps’ However, the EEF said there remained “significant evidence gaps” in terms what works for SEND pupils, with some research required that “does not yet exist”. “The DfE’s ambition to ensure that high quality evidence informs education decisions in relation to SEND is important. “However at present the gaps in the current evidence base mean that there are areas where that is likely to be challenging given the many practices for which high quality evidence does not yet exist.” The EEF also said there was a “practice gap”, and that it was important that teachers engage with …