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SEND in Wakefield

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Wakefield — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 160 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Wakefield'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 weeks86.0%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 457 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
844
Refused (no assessment)
39
Refusal rate4.6%
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 Wakefield.
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
3,857
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
11.4% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
6,580
SEN Support (no EHCP)
45.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
26,232
Total pupils
57,648

SEN Provision in Wakefield

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
13
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
2
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
13
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Wakefield

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Wakefield
Speech Language & Communication— 50.8% of EHCPs
Speech Language & Communication50.8%
Autism21.1%
Social Emotional & Mental Health17.3%
Specific Learning Difficulties2.8%
Physical Disability2.6%
Moderate Learning Difficulties1.5%
Severe Learning Difficulties1.3%
Visual Impairment1.1%
Profound & Multiple LD0.9%
Hearing Impairment0.4%
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 Wakefield

25 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Hall Cliffe Primary School
Special
Oakfield Park School
Special· Outstanding
Carleton High School
Resourced
Moorthorpe Primary School With Inclusion Resource
SEN UnitResourced· Good
Hammer Lane Academy
Special
St Thomas � Becket Catholic Secondary School, A Voluntary Academy
Resourced· Good
Minsthorpe Community College
Resourced· Good
St Wilfrid's Catholic High School & Sixth Form College: A Voluntary Academy
Resourced· Good
The Featherstone Academy
Resourced· Good
Newlands Primary School
Resourced
Northfield Primary School
Resourced· Requires Improvement
Denby Grange School
Special
High Well School
SpecialResourced· Good
Balance Alternative Provision
Special
Kingsland Primary School
Special· Outstanding
Methodist Voluntary Controlled Junior, Infant and Nursery School: With Communication Resource
Resourced· Good
The Grange School
Special
Highfield School
SpecialSEN Unit· Good
Hall Cliffe School
Special
Castleford Academy
Resourced
Meadowcroft School
Special
Compass Community School Hemsworth
Special
Ivy Lane School
Special
Crofton Academy
Resourced· Good
The Rookeries Carleton Junior and Infant School
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: Wakefield Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.