Over 1.6 million pupils in England have Special Educational Needs (SEN) and of these, 26% have an EHC plan in place.

The Department for Education has released the latest data about Special Education Needs (SEN) in England, today, it shows 1,673,205 pupils in England have special educational needs (SEN) and of these, 26% have an EHC plan in place.

This publication combines information from the school census (state-funded schools), school-level annual school census (independent schools) and general hospital school census on pupils with special educational needs (SEN). 

Key Facts & Figures from the SEN Report (January 2023 – January 2024):

• Over 1.6 million pupils in England have special educational needs (SEN) and of these, 26% have an education, health and care (EHC) plan in place.
• 434,354 pupils (4.8%) in England have an EHC plan – a rise of 11.6% from 2023
• 1,238,851 pupils (13.6%) in England have SEN support but no EHC plan in place
• The most common type of need for those with an EHC plan is autistic spectrum disorder and for those with SEN support is speech, language and communication needs.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at the NAHT, commenting on the EHC plan report:

"Special schools get £10,000 funding per pupil. But this figure has not increased since it was introduced in 2013 – an estimated real-terms cut of £1.3bn. If it had kept pace with inflation, schools would be receiving an additional £3,548 a year for each pupil.

The lack of resources has knock-on effects throughout the school as budgets are pooled from elsewhere, and leaders and teachers are caught up in lengthy tribunals because there simply aren’t spaces for children.

The current system is simply not sustainable.”

To read the full SEN data publication click here.