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SEND in Blackburn with Darwen

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Blackburn with Darwen — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 90 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Blackburn with Darwen's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND
Visit Local Offer →

EHCP Timeliness

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Issued within 20 weeks86.5%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 260 new EHCPs issued in 2024.
Councils must issue new EHCPs within 20 weeks of the request. Exceptions exist but many delays don't qualify.

EHCP Assessment Requests

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Requests received
349
Refused (no assessment)
55
Refusal rate15.8%
National: 25.5%
Lower is better. Refused requests can be appealed to the SEND tribunal — and ~98% of cases heard find in the parent's favour.

SEND Tribunal

Appeals against LA decisions
Tribunal data not yet imported for Blackburn with Darwen.
Source: DfE EES ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Review decisions within 4 weeks18.1%
National: 44.4%
Based on 1,215 review meetings held in 2024. 16 expected reviews were not held.
After an annual review meeting, LAs must notify parents of the decision (amend, maintain or cease) within 4 weeks. This data was published for the first time in June 2025.

SEN Population

Pupils across all schools in this LA
Live EHCPs maintained (2024/25)
Total EHCPs in force across the LA
1,522
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,978
SEN Support (no EHCP)
24.3% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
7,372
Total pupils
30,344

SEN Provision in Blackburn with Darwen

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
3
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
2
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
3
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Blackburn with Darwen

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Blackburn with Darwen
Speech Language & Communication— 31.7% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication31.7%
Autism24%
Social Emotional & Mental Health21.4%
Moderate Learning Difficulties11.1%
Profound & Multiple LD3.1%
Physical Disability2.7%
Specific Learning Difficulties2.3%
Hearing Impairment2.3%
Severe Learning Difficulties1.1%
Visual Impairment0.4%
The primary need is the main reason the EHCP was issued. Many children have co-occurring needs. ASD is the most common primary need nationally.

Schools with SEN provision in Blackburn with Darwen

7 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Lower Pastures
Special
St Wilfrid's Church of England Academy
Resourced· Good
St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School
Resourced· Requires Improvement
Shadsworth Infant School
SEN Unit· Good
Aurora Woodlands School
SpecialSEN Unit
Lower Darwen Primary School
Resourced· Good
Newfield School
Special

Helpful resources

EHCP Guide →
What an EHCP is, how to apply, appeal process
Annual Review Tracker →
Timeline and stages of EHCP annual reviews
Choosing a SEN School →
Practical guide for SEN parents
Our SEN Methodology →
How we calculate SEN Experience Indicator
DATA SOURCES
School-level SEN data: DfE Education Health and Care plans release + GIAS. LA-level stats: DfE EES + HMCTS SENDIST. Local Offer: Blackburn with Darwen Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.