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SEND in Bradford

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Bradford — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 231 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER

Bradford's SEND Local Offer

Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND

Visit Local Offer →

Ofsted rating: Bradford's children's services are currently rated Inadequate. 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 weeks89.6%

National average: 46.4%

Based on 1,337 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

2,331

Refused (no assessment)

671

Refusal rate28.8%

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 Bradford.
Source: HMCTS SENDIST stats ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year

Review decisions within 4 weeks25.7%

National: 44.4%

Based on 4,971 review meetings held in 2024. 1,130 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

7,493

EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)

6.1% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%

6,211

SEN Support (no EHCP)

20.4% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%

20,828

Total pupils

102,137

SEN Provision in Bradford

Schools with specialist support

Special schools

Dedicated SEN schools

With SEN units

Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit

With resourced provision

Specialist places within mainstream schools

Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Bradford

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)

Most common need in Bradford

Speech Language & Communication— 45.3% of EHCPs

Speech Language & Communication45.3%

Social Emotional & Mental Health28.9%

Autism17.8%

Severe Learning Difficulties2.5%

Profound & Multiple LD1.3%

Hearing Impairment1%

Visual Impairment1%

Physical Disability1%

Specific Learning Difficulties0.5%

Moderate Learning Difficulties0.4%

Multi-Sensory Impairment0.1%

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 Bradford

44 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision