Dr Johny Daniel is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Durham University and an ADR UK Research Fellow. His research focuses on inequalities affecting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly the identification and support of pupils with reading difficulties. He combines analysis of large-scale administrative data with the development and evaluation of evidence-informed educational interventions.

Through his ADR UK fellowship, Johny is using the Longitudinal Education Outcomes dataset to examine the educational and early-adulthood trajectories of young people in England with and without histories of SEND. By linking school records with further and higher education, employment, earnings and benefits data, the research will investigate how outcomes vary by type of need, level of support, sex, socioeconomic background and region. A further strand examines how the identification of specific learning difficulties relates to attainment and participation in education after age 16.

Johny’s work aims to identify when inequalities emerge across the transition to adulthood and which groups face the greatest disadvantage. By producing rigorous and accessible evidence, he seeks to inform more equitable education, employment and support policies for young people with SEND.

Professional profiles

• University staff profile: https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/johny-r-daniel/