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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 220 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Manchester'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 →

EHCP Timeliness

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Issued within 20 weeks76.8%
National average: 46.4%
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 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Requests received
2,305
Refused (no assessment)
546
Refusal rate23.7%
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

DfE 2024 data (June 2025 release)
Appeals registered
108
Appeal rate
National mean: 2.8%
1.1%
Appealable decisions
9,533
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 weeks42.7%
National: 44.4%
Based on 6,344 review meetings held in 2024. 790 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
8,875
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
0
SEN Support (no EHCP)
0
Total pupils
97,513

SEN Provision in Manchester

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
11
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 2024/25 data (June 2025 release)
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

38 schools, special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Newall Green Primary School
SEN UnitResourced
Webster Primary School
Resourced
The Greens ENS
Special
Abraham Moss Community School
Resourced· Good
St Peter's RC High School
Resourced
The Watkin Centre
Special
Barlow Hall Primary School
Resourced· Good
Old Moat Primary School
SEN Unit· Outstanding
The Birches School
Special· Good
Saint Paul's Catholic High School
Resourced· Good
Manchester Academy
SEN UnitResourced
St Willibrord's RC Primary School
Resourced· Good
Rodney House School
Special· Outstanding
IncludEd Learning
SpecialSEN Unit
Oakbrook School
Special
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· Outstanding
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
Showing 30 of 38. 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.