Home›SEND›Southend-on-Sea

SEND in Southend-on-Sea

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Southend-on-Sea — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 60 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Southend-on-Sea'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 weeks16.1%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 299 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
569
Refused (no assessment)
137
Refusal rate24.1%
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 Southend-on-Sea.
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
1,992
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
7.0% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
2,235
SEN Support (no EHCP)
12.3% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
3,904
Total pupils
31,760

SEN Provision in Southend-on-Sea

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
2
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
4
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
7
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Southend-on-Sea

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Southend-on-Sea
Autism— 55.3% of EHCPs
Autism55.3%
Social Emotional & Mental Health21%
Speech Language & Communication12%
Moderate Learning Difficulties4.5%
Profound & Multiple LD2.6%
Physical Disability1.6%
Other1.3%
Hearing Impairment0.6%
Visual Impairment0.6%
Specific Learning Difficulties0.3%
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 Southend-on-Sea

12 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Greenways Primary School
Resourced
Shoeburyness High School
Resourced· Good
Thorpedene Primary School & Nursery
Resourced
Sutton House Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Hamstel Infant School and Nursery
SEN Unit· Good
Fairways Primary School
Resourced· Good
Chase High School
SEN UnitResourced
Southend High School for Boys
Resourced· Outstanding
Estuary High School
Special
Compass Community School Boleyn Park
Special
Blenheim Primary School
Resourced· Outstanding
Temple Sutton Primary School
SEN Unit· Good

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: Southend-on-Sea Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.