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SEND in Torbay

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Torbay — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 47 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Torbay'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 weeks28.9%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 218 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
307
Refused (no assessment)
31
Refusal rate10.1%
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 Torbay.
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
1,643
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.7% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
1,331
SEN Support (no EHCP)
13.4% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
2,685
Total pupils
19,985

SEN Provision in Torbay

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
2
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
1
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
5
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Torbay

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Torbay
Social Emotional & Mental Health— 30.7% of EHCPs
Social Emotional & Mental Health30.7%
Speech Language & Communication27.8%
Autism22%
Moderate Learning Difficulties8.8%
Physical Disability4.4%
Specific Learning Difficulties3.9%
Hearing Impairment1%
Severe Learning Difficulties0.5%
Profound & Multiple LD0.5%
Other0.5%
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 Torbay

8 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Preston Primary School
Resourced· Good
The Spires College
Resourced· Good
Brixham College
Resourced· Requires Improvement
Preston Bridge School
Special
Eden Park Primary & Nursery School
Resourced· Good
Brunel School
SEN Unit· Requires Improvement
Mayfield School
Special· Good
Lift Barton Hill
Resourced· 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: Torbay Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.