This presentation summarises the latest findings and updates about Agency data collection, which will take place annually from 2020 onwards. EASIE work continues to focus on developing procedures, indicators and outputs that provide countries with individual, comparative and aggregated data relating to all learners’ access to inclusive education.

1. European Agency Statistics on
Inclusive Education (EASIE)
www.european-agency.org/data

2. European Agency
• An independent organisation that acts as a platform for collaboration for the
ministries of education in its member countries.
• Our mission is to help member countries improve their inclusive education policy
and practice for all learners.
• Our work is in line with and directly supports international and European Union
policy initiatives on education, equity, equal opportunities and rights for all
learners.
• A key Agency activity is the European Agency Statistics on Inclusive Education
(EASIE).

3. European Agency Statistics on Inclusive
Education (EASIE)
The Agency’s data collection work aims to provide clearly focused data that informs
the European Commission’s Education and Training 2020 strategic objectives and
the implementation of Article 24 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (2006).
EASIE work has developed procedures, indicators and outputs that provide
individual country, comparative and aggregated data to inform country-level work
relating to all learners’ access to inclusive education.

4. Countries currently involved
31 Agency member countries participate in EASIE:
Austria, Belgium (Flemish and French communities), Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United
Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales)
Not all countries participated in all of the data collection cycles.

5. Data collection procedure
• EASIE data has been collected for every second school year between 2014
and 2018.
• From 2020 onwards, data will be collected annually.
• Data is collected in collaboration with nominated data experts from the different
countries/jurisdictions.
• All collected data is reviewed by Agency staff and approved by each country’s
Representative Board member.
• After approval, all collected data is published on the Agency website.

6. Agreed EASIE operational definitions
An inclusive setting refers to education where the learner with SEN follows
education in mainstream classes alongside their mainstream peers for the largest
part – 80% or more – of the school week.
An official decision leads to a learner being recognised as eligible for additional
educational support to meet their learning needs.

7. EASIE outputs
There are different outputs from the data collection and data analysis:
• Data tables and background information (all available data and background
information for each country)
• Methodology reports (an overview of the methodology developed within the
EASIE data collection activities)
• Country reports (which are not public but for individual countries only)
• Cross-country reports (the 2014 and 2016 dataset cross-country reports, with all
available data for all participating countries together)
• Key Messages and Findings report (information on the main EASIE findings and
key messages).

8. 1. Access to mainstream education
What proportion of learners go to mainstream school?
2. Access to inclusive education
What proportion of learners spend the majority of their time with their peers
in mainstream classrooms?
3. Placement of learners with an official decision of SEN
Where are learners with an official decision of SEN placed for their education?

9. An agreed set of indicators related to five equity
issues and questions (2)
4. Gender breakdowns of data on placement of learners with an official decision of
SEN
What are the differences in the identification rates and placement rates of girls
and boys with an official decision of SEN?
5. ISCED level breakdowns of data on placement of learners with an official
decision of SEN
What are the differences in the identification rates and placement rates of
learners between ISCED 1 and 2?

10. Key Messages and Findings (2014 / 2016)
1. Overall, the available data supports the assertion from other areas of Agency
work that inclusive education is a policy vision for all Agency member countries.
All countries provide inclusive education opportunities for some learners with
an official decision of SEN.
2. Looking at countries’ definitions of an ‘official decision of SEN’, all countries
identify different groups of learners as having SEN. Learners with an official
decision of SEN include learners with disabilities as defined by the UNCRPD, but
also other groups of learners who have special/additional educational needs
that require extra support and resources.

11. Key Messages and Findings (2)
3. The identification rates of learners with an ‘official decision of SEN’ differ greatly
across all countries. This data reflects country differences in legislation and
policies for identifying learners with SEN, as presented and discussed in other
areas of Agency work.
4. None of the countries has a fully inclusive system where 100% of learners attend
mainstream classes and are educated with their peers for at least 80% of their
time, in line with the EASIE placement benchmark. All countries use different
forms of separate specialist provision – schools, classes and/or units, as well as
different forms of non-school-based education (i.e. home-schooling or provision
maintained by other sectors).

12. Key Messages and Findings (3)
5. The rates of placement in separate, non-mainstream provision (separate special
schools, classes, units and non-formal education programmes) differ across all
countries.
6. In all countries, about twice as many boys as girls are identified as having a
special educational need requiring an official decision of SEN. This 2:1 ratio is
reflected in the placement rates of boys and girls in different settings that is
apparent in most countries.
7. There is substantial variation among countries in the proportion of learners
within the two ISCED levels. This indicates that countries identify learners
requiring an official decision in different ways and during different stages of their
schooling.

13. Key Messages and Findings (4)
8. The situation of learners who are out of school for different reasons and under
different circumstances (i.e. formally enrolled in education but do not attend, or
not enrolled in any form of education) is unclear in almost all countries.
9. Trend data available from all countries shows no overall average change in the
identification rates of learners with an official decision of SEN. However, some
individual countries have clear increases in the proportion of learners with an
official decision of SEN.
10. Trend data available from all countries also shows that, on average, there is a
negligible decrease in the proportion of learners with an official decision of SEN
in fully separate educational settings (special classes and schools).

14. Key results from the 2018 Cross-Country Report
• Percentage of learners in compulsory school with an official decision of SEN for
ISCED 1 and 2 in 2018 (total average of 4.75% for 31 countries).
• Percentage of learners with an official decision of SEN in fully separate
educational settings for ISCED 1 and 2 in 2018 (total average of 1.55% for 23
countries).

15. Percentage of learners in compulsory school with an official
decision of SEN for ISCED 1 and 2 in 2018 (total average of 4.75%
for 31 countries)
<2% 2.01% – 4.0% 4.01% – 6.00% 6.01% – 8.00% >8.01%
Luxembourg Austria Germany Belgium (Flemish) Cyprus
Sweden Bulgaria UK Northern Ireland Estonia Czech Republic
France Finland Iceland
Italy Greece Lithuania
Netherlands Hungary Malta
Poland Ireland Slovakia
Spain Latvia UK Scotland
Switzerland Norway
UK England Portugal
UK Wales Slovenia

16. Percentage of learners with an official decision of SEN in fully
separate educational settings for ISCED 1 and 2 in 2018 (total
average of 1.55% for 23 countries)
<1% 1.01% – 2.00% 2.01% – 3.00% 3.01% – 4.00% >4.01%
Bulgaria Austria Slovenia Czech Republic Estonia
Luxembourg France UK Northern Ireland Switzerland Finland
Norway Greece Latvia
Serbia Iceland Slovakia
Spain Ireland
Lithuania
Poland
Portugal
UK England
UK Wales

17. ISCED levels
• Identification rates (percentage of learners with an official decision of SEN)
ISCED 02: 2.15%
ISCED 1: 4.41%
ISCED 2: 5.25%
ISCED 3: 2.41%
• Learners/children in fully segregated settings
ISCED 02: 0.86%
ISCED 1: 1.47%
ISCED 2: 1.69%
ISCED 3: 1.09%

18. Gender distribution
• Of the learners with an official decision of SEN, and learners educated in fully
segregated settings, roughly two thirds are boys.
• This is the pattern across all countries.
• This gender distribution is true for all ISCED levels.

19. Future orientation
• From 2020 onwards, data collection will take place annually.
• Consequently, cross-country reports will be published every year.
• Data collection from 2020 onwards will cover the issue of learners who are out
of education.

20. Contact
www.european-agency.org
European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education
Østre Stationsvej 33, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark
secretariat@european-agency.org
Tel.: +45 64 41 00 20