This report is the first of two volumes containing the evaluation findings from the first 18 months of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) pathfinder programme. Twenty pathfinder sites, comprising 31 local authority areas were tasked to develop and trial: an integrated assessment process; a single, joined up ‘Education, Health and Care Plan’; and personal budgets across education, social care and health, and adult services as appropriate for children and young people from birth to 25 years.