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SEND in Waltham Forest

Everything parents of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) need to know about Waltham Forest — the Local Offer, EHCP timeliness, tribunal stats, and all 88 schools with their SEN provision.

OFFICIAL LOCAL OFFER
Waltham Forest'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 weeks50.8%
National average: 45.9%
Based on 463 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
796
Refused (no assessment)
0
Refusal rate0.0%
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 Waltham Forest.
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
3,663
EHCP pupils (rolled up from schools)
6.2% of pupils · Nat avg: 4.8%
2,744
SEN Support (no EHCP)
13.5% of pupils · Nat avg: 13.6%
5,932
Total pupils
44,041

SEN Provision in Waltham Forest

Schools with specialist support
Special schools
Dedicated SEN schools
1
With SEN units
Mainstream schools with a dedicated SEN unit
3
With resourced provision
Specialist places within mainstream schools
11
Open SEN Finder →

Primary Needs of EHCP Pupils in Waltham Forest

DfE data (2024/25)
Most common need in Waltham Forest
Autism— 33.2% of EHCPs
Autism33.2%
Social Emotional & Mental Health25.2%
Speech Language & Communication22.1%
Moderate Learning Difficulties5.4%
Physical Disability5.1%
Severe Learning Difficulties2.1%
Other1.8%
Specific Learning Difficulties1.3%
Profound & Multiple LD1%
Multi-Sensory Impairment0.8%
Visual Impairment0.5%
Hearing Impairment0.3%
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 Waltham Forest

14 schools — special schools, SEN units, and resourced provision
Buxton School
Resourced· Good
The Woodside Primary Academy
Resourced· Outstanding
South Grove Primary School
Resourced· Outstanding
Hawkswood Primary PRU
Resourced· Outstanding
Heathcote School & Science College
Resourced· Good
Whitehall Primary School
Resourced· Good
Frederick Bremer School
Resourced· Good
Joseph Clarke School
SEN Unit· Good
Belmont Park School
Special· Good
Hillyfield Primary Academy
Resourced· Good
Davies Lane Primary School
Resourced· Outstanding
Lime Academy Hornbeam
Resourced· Good
Big Creative Academy
SEN UnitResourced
Chingford Foundation 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: Waltham Forest Council. National benchmarks are most-recent published values. Last updated: 20 April 2026.