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SEND in Leicester

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Leicester: the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 142 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Leicester's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for children and young people with SEND (birth to age 25)
Visit Local Offer →
Ofsted rating: Leicester's children's services were rated Requires improvement at their last full inspection in January 2025. This rating covers children's social care, not SEND support directly, though SEND provision is scrutinised in separate Area SEND inspections. Note: Ofsted is phasing out headline children's services ratings from April 2026.

EHCP Timeliness

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Issued within 20 weeks51.5%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 575 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
883
Refused (no assessment)
1
Refusal rate0.1%
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

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Appeals registered
97
Appeal rate
National mean: 2.8%
2.4%
Appealable decisions
4,063
Parent wins at hearing
National estimate (HMCTS)
~98%
Parents win the vast majority of SEND tribunal cases at hearing. If your EHCP request is refused, appealing is often worth pursuing. A high appeal rate may indicate contested decisions locally.

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Review decisions within 4 weeks15.6%
National: 44.4%
Based on 3,217 review meetings held in 2024. 252 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
4,057
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
0
SEN Support (no EHCP)
0
Total pupils
61,346

SEN Provision in Leicester

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
10
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
21
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
3
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Leicester

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Leicester
Speech Language & Communication, 24.5% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication24.5%
Autism22.3%
Social Emotional & Mental Health22.1%
Moderate Learning Difficulties10.7%
Other4.7%
Physical Disability2.2%
Specific Learning Difficulties0.9%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.5%
Visual Impairment0.5%
Hearing Impairment0.3%
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 Leicester

33 schools, special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Rushey Mead Academy
Resourced
The Goldhill Learning Foundation
Special
Indie Education
Special
Willowbrook Mead Primary Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Thurnby Mead Primary Academy
SEN Unit
Barley Croft Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Babington Academy
SEN Unit
Leicester Therapeutic School
Special
Educ8 Leicestershire
Special
Fullhurst Community College
SEN Unit
West Gate School
Special· Good
The Children's Hospital School
Special· Outstanding
Stokes Wood Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Braunstone Frith Primary Academy
SEN Unit· Good
English Martyrs' Catholic School, A Voluntary Academy
Resourced· Good
Shenton Primary School
Resourced· Good
Overdale Infant School
SEN Unit· Requires Improvement
Sandfield Close Primary School
SEN Unit
Lancaster Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Overdale Junior School
SEN Unit· Good
Rushey Mead Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
King Richard III Infant and Nursery School
SEN Unit· Requires Improvement
Catherine Infant School
SEN Unit· Outstanding
Oaklands School
SpecialSEN Unit· Good
Orchard Mead Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Inglehurst Junior School
SEN Unit· Good
The City of Leicester College
SEN Unit· Requires Improvement
Ellesmere College
Special· Good
Spinney Hill Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Spark Vale Academy
Special
Showing 30 of 33. Use the SEN Finder to filter and search all of them.

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