Justice-Involved Children with Special Educational Needs and Disability: What Are the Implications for Access to Identification and Support Through an Education, Health and Care Plan? A Thought Piece
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease see the attached review
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please find attached a document which consists of a table containing the reviewer suggestions and my responses to these.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear authors,
This paper deals with a very important issue and points out critical weak points in the current system. But for publishing in a top journal, the paper would need stronger empirical data, better theoretical framing, and improved methodological accuracy. Right now, it seems more like a good commentary or introduction, rather than a rigorous scientific paper. Checking just the websites from 36 local authorities is not enough to draw strong conclusions. This type of analysis is quite basic and doesn’t give deeper insights into how things really work at local authorities, which makes findings less strong and hard to generalize. It would help a lot if the authors added qualitative data, for example by talking directly with officials or families. Also, there is missing detailed empirical analysis, for example statistical data about how successful EHCP applications are among different groups. Without this kind of data, some statements are just guesses or hypotheses. Although the authors do mention a few relevant studies, the article would be much better if it had a stronger theoretical background, especially around marginalization, fairness, and educational inclusion. Doing some real research, even just a proper review of other studies (not just websites), would really help. The recommendations for policymakers at the end are very general. It would be better to show specific examples or practical ideas about how local authorities can actually improve their procedures. Finally, the authors should clearly talk about the limits of their study and suggest ideas for future research—like outlining a detailed plan for a bigger and more thorough investigation.
Thank you for your work and I hope your paper could be improved for future publishing.
Author Response
Please find attached a document which consists of a table containing the reviewer suggestions and my responses to these.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThank you very much for the opportunity to review this engaging and well-crafted manuscript. The authors have clearly articulated the context and the associated concerns, providing a thoughtful analysis of the situation. I believe the manuscript represents a valuable contribution to the existing literature.
Please find below my comments, which primarily pertain to the "Discussion" section and the references.
Kindly ensure that all references cited in the text are formatted in accordance with the journal’s guidelines. The Microsoft Word template provided by the journal may be particularly helpful in this regard. Additionally, please place punctuation marks—such as periods—after the references. For instance, see line 136 on page 4.
In the same line, please ensure that all references cited are also included in the reference list, formatted in accordance with the journal’s guidelines. Furthermore, kindly include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for all references where available.
Section “7. Conclusions”
I recommend replacing the title “Conclusions” with “Discussion” to better reflect the content of the section. Given the relevance and practical importance of the topic, I also suggest expanding the "Discussion" section to include more concrete suggestions for addressing the situation described in the manuscript. Additionally, highlighting potential directions for future research in this section would further strengthen the manuscript.
Author Response
Please find attached a document which consists of a table containing the reviewer suggestions and my responses to these.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
