Home›SEND›Brighton and Hove

SEND in Brighton and Hove

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Brighton and Hove — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 83 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Brighton and Hove'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 weeks97.8%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 302 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
466
Refused (no assessment)
134
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 Brighton and Hove.
Source: DfE EES ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Annual review timeliness not yet recorded.
Source: DfE EES ↗

SEN Population

Pupils across all schools in this LA
Live EHCPs maintained (2024/25)
Total EHCPs in force across the LA
2,800
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
5.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,878
SEN Support (no EHCP)
20.4% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
6,905
Total pupils
33,852

SEN Provision in Brighton and Hove

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
5
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
5
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
4
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Brighton and Hove

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Brighton and Hove
Autism— 54% of EHCPs
Autism54%
Social Emotional & Mental Health17.5%
Speech Language & Communication14.6%
Specific Learning Difficulties6.9%
Moderate Learning Difficulties3.1%
Physical Disability1.3%
Visual Impairment0.7%
Hearing Impairment0.4%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.2%
Profound & Multiple LD0.2%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.2%
Other0.2%
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 Brighton and Hove

13 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Moulsecoomb Primary School
SEN Unit
Hill Park School
SpecialSEN Unit· Outstanding
West Blatchington Primary and Nursery School
SEN Unit
Brighton Aldridge Community Academy
Resourced
Downs View Special School
Special· Good
The Lioncare School
Special
Cottesmore St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Resourced· Good
Carden Nursery and Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Brighton and Hove Clinic School
Special
Bevendean Primary School and Nursery
SEN Unit· Good
Hamilton Lodge School and College for Deaf Children
Special· Good
Longhill High School
Resourced· Requires Improvement
Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre
Resourced· 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: Brighton and Hove Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.