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SEND in Manchester

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Manchester — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 219 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Manchester'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 weeks63.5%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 1,657 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
2,305
Refused (no assessment)
546
Refusal rate23.7%
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 Manchester.
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
8,875
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
7.2% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
7,033
SEN Support (no EHCP)
17.8% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
17,380
Total pupils
97,513

SEN Provision in Manchester

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
10
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
6
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
24
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Manchester

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Manchester
Speech Language & Communication— 52.9% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication52.9%
Social Emotional & Mental Health26.2%
Moderate Learning Difficulties11.2%
Physical Disability2.6%
Autism2.5%
Specific Learning Difficulties1.3%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.9%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.5%
Other0.5%
Profound & Multiple LD0.4%
Hearing Impairment0.2%
Visual 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 Manchester

37 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
St Willibrord's RC Primary School
Resourced· Good
Abraham Moss Community School
Resourced
St Peter's RC High School
Resourced· Good
Webster Primary School
Resourced
The Greens ENS
Special
Newall Green Primary School
SEN UnitResourced· Good
Barlow Hall Primary School
Resourced
Manchester Academy
SEN UnitResourced
The Watkin Centre
Special
Old Moat Primary School
SEN Unit· Outstanding
The Birches School
Special· Good
Saint Paul's Catholic High School
Resourced· Good
Rodney House School
Special· Outstanding
IncludEd Learning
SpecialSEN Unit
St James' CofE Primary School Gorton
Resourced· Good
Lancasterian School
Special· Good
Alma Park Primary School
Resourced· Good
Bowker Vale Primary School
Resourced· Good
St Anne's RC Primary School Crumpsall Manchester
Resourced· Good
St Andrew's CofE Primary School
Resourced· Good
St Brigid's RC Primary School
Resourced· Good
Manchester Hospital School
Special· Good
Co-op Academy Medlock
Resourced· Requires Improvement
Ashgate Specialist Support Primary School
Special· Good
Prospect House Specialist Support Primary School
Resourced· Outstanding
Manchester Jewish School for Special Education
Special
Higher Openshaw Community School
Resourced· Good
Pike Fold Primary School
Resourced· Good
Rack House Primary School
Resourced· Good
Broad Oak Primary School
Resourced· Good
Showing 30 of 37. 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: Manchester Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.