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SEND in St. Helens

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about St. Helens — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 80 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
St. Helens'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 weeks28.8%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 597 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
649
Refused (no assessment)
101
Refusal rate15.6%
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 St. Helens.
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
2,179
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,775
SEN Support (no EHCP)
17.8% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
4,847
Total pupils
27,191

SEN Provision in St. Helens

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
9
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
0
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
5
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in St. Helens

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in St. Helens
Speech Language & Communication— 41.4% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication41.4%
Autism25.7%
Social Emotional & Mental Health22%
Specific Learning Difficulties3.4%
Moderate Learning Difficulties1.9%
Other1.7%
Physical Disability1.2%
Hearing Impairment0.8%
Visual Impairment0.8%
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 St. Helens

14 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
De La Salle School
Resourced· Requires Improvement
Willow Bank School
Special· Good
Wargrave CofE Primary School
Resourced
Ashurst Primary School
Resourced· Good
Progress Arc Billinge School
Special
Learn 4 Life School
Special
Rectory CofE Primary School
Resourced· Requires Improvement
Lansbury Bridge School
Special· Good
Mill Green School
Special· Outstanding
Wargrave House School
Special· Good
This Is My Education - TIME
Special
Ash Meadow School
Special
A.R.T.S. Education
Special
Outwood Academy Haydock
Resourced

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: St. Helens Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.