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SEND in Barnsley

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Barnsley — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 98 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Barnsley's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND
Visit Local Offer →

EHCP Timeliness

Latest DfE data (2024)
Issued within 20 weeks96.7%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 363 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 requests data (2024)
Requests received
718
Refused (no assessment)
294
Refusal rate40.9%
National: 25.2%
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 Barnsley.
Source: HMCTS SENDIST stats ↗

SEN Population

Pupils across all schools in this LA
Live EHCPs maintained (2024/25)
Total EHCPs in force across the LA
3,044
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
5.7% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,944
SEN Support (no EHCP)
13.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
4,626
Total pupils
34,156

SEN Provision in Barnsley

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
3
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
6
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
9
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Barnsley

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Barnsley
Speech Language & Communication— 34% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication34%
Autism29%
Social Emotional & Mental Health17.4%
Moderate Learning Difficulties11.7%
Specific Learning Difficulties3.8%
Physical Disability2.6%
Other0.5%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.2%
Hearing Impairment0.2%
Visual Impairment0.2%
Multi-Sensory 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 Barnsley

14 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Laithes Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Oakhill Primary Academy
Resourced· Good
Astrea Academy Dearne
SEN UnitResourced· Good
Worsbrough Common Primary School
Resourced· Good
Churchfield Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Hoylandswaine Primary School
Resourced· Inadequate
Park House School
Special
Penistone Grammar School
SEN UnitResourced· Good
The Robert Ogden School
Special
Outwood Academy Carlton
Resourced· Good
Waterton Newstead Academy
Special
Lift Meadstead
Resourced
Hoyland Springwood Primary School
SEN UnitResourced· Good
Horizon Community College
SEN UnitResourced· 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: Barnsley Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.