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SEND in East Sussex

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about East Sussex — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 220 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
East Sussex'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 weeks81.9%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 420 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
1,107
Refused (no assessment)
594
Refusal rate53.7%
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 East Sussex.
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
4,939
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
5.7% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
3,821
SEN Support (no EHCP)
20.9% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
13,884
Total pupils
66,453

SEN Provision in East Sussex

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
12
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
11
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
14
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in East Sussex

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in East Sussex
Autism— 47.5% of EHCPs
Autism47.5%
Moderate Learning Difficulties17.4%
Social Emotional & Mental Health16%
Speech Language & Communication12.4%
Specific Learning Difficulties3.3%
Physical Disability1.7%
Visual Impairment0.7%
Hearing Impairment0.6%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.2%
Profound & Multiple LD0.2%
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 East Sussex

35 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Bexhill Independent Special School
Special
Willingdon Primary School
Resourced· Good
Priory School
Resourced· Good
Peacehaven Community School
SEN Unit
All Saints Church of England Primary School, Bexhill
SEN Unit· Good
Northease Manor School
Special
Mulberry Academy St Leonards
Resourced
Mulberry West St Leonards Primary
Resourced· Good
Uckfield College
SEN Unit· Outstanding
The Eastbourne Academy
Resourced
Compass Community School Pinetree Park
Special
Denton Community Primary School and Nursery
SEN Unit· Good
Meridian Community Primary School and Nursery
SEN Unit· Good
Wallands Community Primary and Nursery School
SEN Unit· Good
Grovelands Community Primary School
Resourced· Good
Heathfield Community College
Resourced· Good
Churchwood Primary Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Ark Little Ridge Primary Academy
SEN UnitResourced· Outstanding
Mulberry Academy Hastings
SEN Unit· Requires Improvement
Manor Primary School
Resourced· Good
Step by Step School Limited
Special
Willingdon Community School
Resourced· Good
Frewen College
Special
Headstart
Special
Anderida Learning Centre
Special
Cuckmere House School
Resourced· Outstanding
St Mary's School
Resourced· Good
St Mary's School and 6th Form College
Special· Good
Mountfield Heath School
Special
Chailey Heritage School
Special· Good
Showing 30 of 35. 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: East Sussex Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.