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SEND in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 117 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole'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 weeks77.6%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 784 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
1,230
Refused (no assessment)
295
Refusal rate24.0%
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 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Source: DfE EES ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Review decisions within 4 weeks10.6%
National: 44.4%
Based on 3,281 review meetings held in 2024. 98 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
4,432
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
0
SEN Support (no EHCP)
0
Total pupils
55,153

SEN Provision in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
9
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
6
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
8
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Social Emotional & Mental Health— 39.5% of EHCPs
Social Emotional & Mental Health39.5%
Speech Language & Communication22.3%
Autism21.8%
Moderate Learning Difficulties7.4%
Physical Disability3.2%
Specific Learning Difficulties2.2%
Other1.2%
Profound & Multiple LD0.6%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.6%
Hearing Impairment0.5%
Visual Impairment0.5%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.3%
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 Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

19 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Broadstone Middle School
SEN UnitResourced· Good
The White House School
Special
Canford Heath Junior School
Resourced· Good
Tregonwell Academy
SEN UnitResourced· Outstanding
Portfield School
Special· Good
Broadstone First School
Resourced· Good
Canford Heath Infant School
Resourced· Outstanding
Winchelsea School
SpecialSEN Unit· Good
Malmesbury Park Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Manorside Academy
SEN UnitResourced· Outstanding
Langside School
Special· Good
Linwood School
Special· Outstanding
Victoria Education Centre
Special· Good
The Stable School
Special
Connie Rothman School
Special
The Bishop of Winchester Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Queen's Park Infant Academy
Resourced· Good
Old Town Infant School and Nursery
Resourced· Good
The Lion Works 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: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.