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How do special educational needs vary across areas?

Published on 10 December 2024

Use this interactive tool to explore how special educational needs prevalence, funding, and spending vary across local authorities over time.

The share of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), particularly those with the highest needs who receive statutory support through Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), has risen dramatically over the last decade. Total high needs funding has also risen significantly, but not enough to match the increase in demand. As local authorities are obligated to provide the support set out in EHCPs, spending has generally been higher than funding. The factors behind this, and implications for policy, are explored in our report ‘Spending on special educational needs in England: something has to change’.

Beneath this national picture there is substantial regional and local variation in the rates of pupils with SEND and EHCPs, the types of need present, and the levels of per-EHCP funding and spending. These differences have significant implications for the SEND provision available and the size of the high needs deficits in each local authority. Here, you can explore how these factors vary over time and across the country.

EHCP numbers for SEND rates and types of need refer only to pupils while per-EHCP funding and spending measures use total EHCPs. See our report for definitions of high needs funding and spending; funding figures here do not include schools block transfers. The funding-spending gap is as a percent of funding. Funding-spending gaps will not reflect actual in-year high needs local authority deficits due to other sources of funding.