Children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) are significantly less likely to progress from a school’s nursery into its reception than their classmates who have no special needs, according to research.

A study by the London School of Economics and Political Science found more than a quarter (26%) of children with a statement of Send move from the school where they attended nursery to another school for reception, compared with 18% of children with no recorded Send.

The findings will fuel parents’ concerns that some schools – under pressure because of funding cuts and accountability measures – are reluctant to admit children with Send after nursery and are directing them to other schools.

Some ethnic minority groups were found to be similarly affected. A quarter (25%) of black Caribbean children who attend a school nursery move schools for reception, compared with 17% of white British and 12% of Bangladeshi children. Researchers said further investigation was needed to find out why.

The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, looked at the progression of more than half a million children born in the 2006-07 academic year from school nursery classes to reception.

While it acknowledges some pupils may move to more appropriate provisions for their formal school years, it says such a move can be particularly disruptive for some children with Send.

“There is also evidence that some schools discourage (more or less explicitly) the attendance and admission to reception of children with complex needs, resulting in them moving to alternative institutions,” it adds.

The plight of children with Send who are out of school or unable to secure the specialist support to which they are legally entitled has gained national attention in recent months, amid claims of a Send funding and provision crisis.

The study’s lead author, Dr Kitty Stewart, an associate professor of social policy and associate director of LSE’s Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, said: “There are aspects of the way early education policy is currently working that are increasing rather than narrowing inequalities between children.

“Recent policy reforms, such as the 30-hour policy for children of working parents, alongside a squeeze on funding for services like Sure Start, are likely to be making these inequalities worse. Government urgently needs to review its provision with a sharper focus on ensuring that all children get the best start in life.”

The report, Inequalities in the experience of early education in England: Access, peer groups and transitions, warns that recent funding cuts and reforms have reduced local authorities’ capacity to take action to understand and address inequalities in early years provision.

It recommends that local authorities should be given the power and resources to address higher levels of transitions between schools for children with statements and some minority ethnic groups.

Dr Tammy Campbell, one of the authors of the study, said: “Funding cuts combined with target-based school accountability measures mean that schools are disincentivised from admitting these pupils. We intend to track changes over recent years in upcoming research.”

Responding to the LSE research, the children and families minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said: “The school admissions code is clear that children with Send cannot be refused a place in a mainstream school on the grounds of having Send and the Children and Families Act 2014 reinforces the rights of children with Send to attend mainstream schools.

“Local authorities are required to have inclusion funds for all three- and four-year-olds with Send who are taking up early education entitlements. These funds are intended to support local authorities to work with providers to address the needs of individual children with Send.”