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SEND in Reading

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Reading — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 73 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Reading's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND
Visit Local Offer →
Ofsted rating: Reading's children's services are currently rated Requires improvement. 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 weeks59.1%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 304 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
515
Refused (no assessment)
148
Refusal rate28.7%
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 Reading.
Source: HMCTS SENDIST stats ↗

Annual Review Decisions

DfE 2025 release (2024 calendar year) · First published this year
Reading was unable to return annual review data to DfE in 2025. Data suppressed pending further checks.

SEN Population

Pupils across all schools in this LA
Live EHCPs maintained (2024/25)
Total EHCPs in force across the LA
1,966
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
4.3% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,176
SEN Support (no EHCP)
14.9% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
4,109
Total pupils
27,498

SEN Provision in Reading

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
2
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
5
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
11
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Reading

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Reading
Autism— 28.8% of EHCPs
Autism28.8%
Speech Language & Communication28.8%
Social Emotional & Mental Health22.2%
Moderate Learning Difficulties6.6%
Specific Learning Difficulties6.3%
Severe Learning Difficulties3%
Profound & Multiple LD2.3%
Physical Disability1.7%
Visual 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 Reading

17 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Groveside School
Special
River Academy
Resourced
Norcot Early Years Centre
Resourced· Outstanding
Oxford Road Community School
Resourced· Good
The Holy Brook School
Special· Good
New Town Primary School
SEN Unit
Southcote Primary School
Resourced· Good
Christ The King Catholic Primary School
Resourced· Good
New Bridge Nursery School
SEN UnitResourced· Outstanding
Blagdon Nursery School
SEN Unit· Outstanding
Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre
Resourced· Good
E P Collier Primary School
Resourced· Good
Wilson Primary School
Resourced· Good
The Avenue Special School
SEN Unit· Good
The WREN School
SEN Unit· Requires Improvement
Blessed Hugh Faringdon Catholic School
Resourced· Good
King's Academy Prospect
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: Reading Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.