Overview

• Between January 2024 and January 2025 the number of children with EHC plans climbed by over 60,000 to 638,700, representing 5.3% of pupils in English schools.
• In 2024 fewer than half of EHC plans were issued within the 20-week legal deadline nationally, with the North East completion rate falling to 49% and some councils reporting as little as 2.5% on time last autumn.
• Autistic spectrum disorder remains the most common primary need for those with EHC plans, while another 1.28 million pupils receive SEN support without formal plans.
• Council leaders warn that growing SEND deficits have become financially unsustainable and could push several local authorities toward bankruptcy by 2026.
• Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has pledged to publish full reform proposals this autumn after investing £740 million in mainstream SEND places and appointing adviser Dame Christine Lenehan to assess the EHC plan framework’s future.