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SEND in Merton

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Merton — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 74 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Merton'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 weeks82.3%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 402 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
594
Refused (no assessment)
121
Refusal rate20.4%
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 Merton.
Source: HMCTS SENDIST stats ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Review decisions within 4 weeks50.2%
National: 44.4%
Based on 2,296 review meetings held in 2024. 29 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
2,730
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,983
SEN Support (no EHCP)
14.3% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
4,349
Total pupils
30,420

SEN Provision in Merton

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
5
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
2
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
10
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Merton

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Merton
Autism— 33.7% of EHCPs
Autism33.7%
Speech Language & Communication33%
Social Emotional & Mental Health22.4%
Moderate Learning Difficulties3.5%
Severe Learning Difficulties2.6%
Specific Learning Difficulties1.9%
Physical Disability1.2%
Profound & Multiple LD0.9%
Hearing Impairment0.5%
Visual Impairment0.2%
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 Merton

16 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Blossom House School
Special
West Wimbledon Primary School
Resourced· Good
Cranmer Primary School
Resourced· Good
Cricket Green School
Special· Outstanding
Wimbledon Chase Primary School
Resourced· Good
Ricards Lodge High School
Resourced· Outstanding
Perseid School
Special· Good
Melrose School
Special· Good
Jus'T'Learn
SEN Unit
Raynes Park High School
Resourced· Good
Hatfeild Primary School
Resourced
Liberty Primary
Resourced· Good
The Priory CofE School
SEN UnitResourced· Good
Lavender Lodge School
Special
Harris Primary Academy Merton
Resourced· Outstanding
Rutlish School
Resourced· Outstanding

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