The number of pupils with special educational needs in schools has increased to more than 1.5 million this year, new government figures show.
There are now 1.57 million pupils - 17.3 per cent of the total - who are recorded as having special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), an increase of 87,000 on last year.
The number of pupils in England with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in schools has risen to 389,171 - up by 9.5 per cent from 2022.
This means that, overall, 4.3 per cent of pupils in England have an EHCP, up from 4 per cent in 2022. The figures are based on information drawn for the annual school census.
The data published today by the Department for Education also shows that there are 1,183,384 pupils receiving SEND support or who are classed has having special educational needs but who do not have an EHCP in schools - representing 13 per cent of all pupils.
The data “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)”.
Pupils needing SEND support on the increase
The proportion of pupils with SEND had been decreasing after 2010, when it was 21.1 per cent. However, it has increased for the past six years.
Pupils with an EHCP made up 25 per cent of all pupils with SEND in January 2023. The number of pupils with an EHCP has increased by 9 per cent between 2022 and 2023, and by a total of 64 per cent since 2016.
EHCPs were introduced in 2014 under government reforms, replacing statements of special educational needs.
The government’s planned reforms of SEND aim to improve early intervention and therefore reduce demand for EHCPs.
However, the DfE has refused to disclose information on the modelling it has done on the expected impact of its reforms in reducing the number of EHCPs, when asked by Tes.
A government summary of data, also published today, shows that in January 2023, for pupils with EHCPs, “autistic spectrum disorder” was the most common primary type of need.
There are 116,000 pupils with EHCPs (32.2 per cent of the total with EHCPs) who have this recorded as their primary type of need.
For pupils on SEN support, “speech, language and communication needs” was the most common type of need, with 278,600 (25.5 per cent of) pupils on SEN support having this recorded as their primary type of need
Special educational needs are more prevalent in boys than girls. The DfE data shows that 72.4 per cent of pupils with an EHCP and 62.8 per cent of pupils with SEN support are boys in 2023.
The DfE has also said that pupils with SEND are more likely to be eligible for free school meals.
The figures show that 41.1 per cent of pupils with an EHCP and 37.5 per cent of pupils with SEN support were eligible for free school meals in January 2023, compared with 20.8 per cent of pupils without special educational needs.
The DfE summary also includes notes on the ethnicity of pupils with SEND in January 2023.
It says that among the different ethnic groups, those referred to as “Travellers of Irish heritage” and “Black Caribbean” had the highest proportion of pupils with EHCPs, with percentages of 6.1 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively. The Chinese ethnic group had the lowest percentage of pupils with an EHCP, at 2.1 per cent.
Separate government figures, published last month, showed that across the country there are now more than half a million EHCPs issued. EHCPs can continue until a young person is 25.
