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SEND in Bradford

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Bradford: the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 231 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Bradford'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: Bradford's children's services were rated Inadequate at their last full inspection in October 2018. That inspection is now 7+ years old; councils rated Inadequate typically receive monitoring visits during the improvement period, which may show different findings. Check the Ofsted reports page for the latest monitoring visits. 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 weeks89.6%
National average: 46.4%
Based on 1,337 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
2,331
Refused (no assessment)
671
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

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Appeals registered
279
Appeal rate
National mean: 2.8%
3.3%
Appealable decisions
8,448
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 weeks25.7%
National: 44.4%
Based on 4,971 review meetings held in 2024. 1,130 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
7,493
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
0
SEN Support (no EHCP)
0
Total pupils
102,137

SEN Provision in Bradford

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
4
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
2
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
40
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Bradford

DfE 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
Most common need in Bradford
Speech Language & Communication, 45.3% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication45.3%
Social Emotional & Mental Health28.9%
Autism17.8%
Severe Learning Difficulties2.5%
Profound & Multiple LD1.3%
Hearing Impairment1%
Visual Impairment1%
Physical Disability1%
Specific Learning Difficulties0.5%
Moderate Learning Difficulties0.4%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.1%
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 Bradford

44 schools, special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Swain House Primary School
Resourced· Good
Abbey Green Nursery School
Resourced
Ilkley Grammar School
Resourced
Hirst Wood Nursery School
Resourced
Oasis Academy Lister Park
Resourced
Crossley Hall Primary School
Resourced
Prism Independent School
SpecialSEN Unit
Miriam Lord Primary School
Resourced
Parkwood Primary School
Resourced· Good
Thornton Primary School
Resourced· Good
High Park School
Resourced
Long Lee Primary School
Resourced· Good
Co-op Academy Grange
Resourced
Green Lane Primary School
Resourced
Midland Road Nursery School
Resourced· Outstanding
Girlington Primary School
Resourced· Good
Hollingwood Primary School
Resourced· Good
St Edmund's Nursery School & Children's Centre
Resourced· Outstanding
Fagley Primary School
Resourced· Outstanding
Appleton Academy
Resourced· Good
Beckfoot Thornton
Resourced· Good
Hanson Academy
Resourced· Inadequate
Crossflatts Primary School
Resourced· Good
Strong Close Nursery School
Resourced· Good
Bingley Grammar School
Resourced· Good
Chellow Heights Special School
Special· Good
Canterbury Nursery School and Centre for Children and Families
Resourced· Outstanding
Beckfoot School
Resourced· Outstanding
Denholme Primary School
Resourced· Good
Cottingley Village Primary School
Resourced· Good
Showing 30 of 44. 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: Bradford Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.