SEND in Middlesbrough
Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Middlesbrough — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 63 schools with their SEN provision.
OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Middlesbrough's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND
Visit Local Offer →
Ofsted rating: Middlesbrough's children's services are currently rated Requires improvement. This means Ofsted has concerns about some services for children. It does not directly reflect SEND support, but SEND provision is often scrutinised in separate Area SEND inspections.
Latest DfE data (2024)
Issued within 20 weeks98.0%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 306 new EHCPs issued in 2024.
Councils must issue new EHCPs within 20 weeks of the request. Exceptions exist but many delays don't qualify.
DfE requests data (2024)
Refusal rate31.0%
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.
Appeals against LA decisions
Pupils across all schools in this LA
Live EHCPs maintained (2024/25)
Total EHCPs in force across the LA
2,019
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.3% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,632
SEN Support (no EHCP)
16.4% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
4,254
SEN Provision in Middlesbrough
Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
4
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
4
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
13
Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Middlesbrough
DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Middlesbrough
Social Emotional & Mental Health— 29% of EHCPs
Social Emotional & Mental Health29%
Speech Language & Communication25.3%
Moderate Learning Difficulties8.5%
Severe Learning Difficulties8.5%
Specific Learning Difficulties1.7%
Profound & Multiple LD0.3%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.3%
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 Middlesbrough
17 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
DATA SOURCES
School-level SEN data: DfE Education Health and Care plans release + GIAS. LA-level stats: DfE EES + HMCTS SENDIST. Local Offer: Middlesbrough Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.