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SEND in Blackpool

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Blackpool — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 51 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Blackpool's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND
Visit Local Offer →
Ofsted rating: Blackpool's children's services are currently rated Requires improvement. This means Ofsted has concerns about some services for children. It does not directly reflect SEND support, but SEND provision is often scrutinised in separate Area SEND inspections.

EHCP Timeliness

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Issued within 20 weeks61.6%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 220 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
423
Refused (no assessment)
89
Refusal rate21.0%
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 Blackpool.
Source: HMCTS SENDIST stats ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Blackpool was unable to return annual review data to DfE in 2025. Data suppressed pending further checks.

SEN Population

Pupils across all schools in this LA
Live EHCPs maintained (2024/25)
Total EHCPs in force across the LA
1,661
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,291
SEN Support (no EHCP)
18.2% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
3,591
Total pupils
19,771

SEN Provision in Blackpool

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
4
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
4
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
1
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Blackpool

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Blackpool
Speech Language & Communication— 32.1% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication32.1%
Autism22.2%
Social Emotional & Mental Health17.1%
Moderate Learning Difficulties10.3%
Other9%
Specific Learning Difficulties3.4%
Physical Disability3.4%
Visual Impairment1.3%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.9%
Multi-Sensory 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 Blackpool

9 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Thames Primary Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Revoe Learning Academy
Resourced· Good
Stanley Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Moor Park Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Woodlands School
Special· Good
Spen Brook School
Special
Norman House Independent School
Special
Blackpool Skills Academy
Special
Marton Primary Academy and Nursery
SEN Unit· Good

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: Blackpool Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.