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SEND in Suffolk

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Suffolk — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 366 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Suffolk's SEND Local Offer
Services, support, education, health and social care for 0–25s with SEND
Visit Local Offer →
Ofsted rating: Suffolk'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.

EHCP Timeliness

Latest DfE data (2024)
Issued within 20 weeks25.4%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 1,366 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
2,784
Refused (no assessment)
267
Refusal rate9.6%
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 Suffolk.
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
8,837
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
5.8% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
6,319
SEN Support (no EHCP)
19.2% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
20,860
Total pupils
108,651

SEN Provision in Suffolk

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
16
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
39
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
15
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Suffolk

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Suffolk
Social Emotional & Mental Health— 25.3% of EHCPs
Social Emotional & Mental Health25.3%
Autism24.5%
Speech Language & Communication18.7%
Moderate Learning Difficulties6.1%
Other3.2%
Specific Learning Difficulties2.2%
Physical Disability1.9%
Severe Learning Difficulties1.5%
Visual Impairment0.4%
Profound & Multiple LD0.2%
Hearing Impairment0.2%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.2%
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 Suffolk

64 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Pushforward Secondary School
Special
Rushmere Hall Primary School
SEN UnitResourced· Good
Copleston High School
SEN Unit
Woodbridge Road Academy
Resourced
Murrayfield Primary - A Paradigm Academy
SEN Unit
The Ryes College
SpecialSEN Unit
Castle Hill Infant School
SEN Unit· Good
Woodhall Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Clements Primary Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Morland Church of England Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Churchill Special Free School
Resourced· Good
Cambian Dunbroch School
Special
Pushforward Primary School
Special
Elveden Church of England Primary Academy
SEN Unit· Outstanding
Redstone Hall School
Special
Castle Manor Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Bungay High School
Resourced· Good
Ixworth High School
SEN Unit
New Skill Centre
Special
Piper's Vale Primary - A Paradigm Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Bramfield House School
Special
Riverwalk School
Resourced· Good
Westgate Community Primary School and Nursery
Resourced· Good
The Ashley School
Resourced· Outstanding
Castle Hill Junior School
SEN Unit· Good
Wetheringsett Manor School
Special
Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Wells Hall Primary School
SEN Unit· Good
Sybil Andrews Academy
SEN Unit· Good
Centre Academy East Anglia
Special
Showing 30 of 64. 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: Suffolk Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.