My research focuses on the understanding of the identification of special educational needs in England, with the aim of facilitating a greater common understanding of special educational needs and so contributing to improving the effective use of limited educational resources.  I am focusing particularly on three categories of special educational need: moderate learning difficulties (MLD), autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and social emotional and mental health (SEMH) within three English local authorities. I plan to follow an examination of local authority data trends with an exploratory survey of those involved in special educational needs identification.