This page includes data and a summary of pupils with special educational needs.
Summary
The term ‘SEN provision’, in this summary, represents EHC plans, statements of SEN and SEN support.
Surrey has similar rates of pupils with EHC plans or statements of SEN (4.6%) compared to England (4.0%) in 2021/22. Surrey pupils also have a similar prevalence of SEN support (13.0%) compared to England (12.6%).
Pupils in pupil referral units are much more likely to have SEN provision than state-funded primary and secondary schools. While 3 per cent of state-funded primary school pupils and 2.5 per cent of state-funded secondary school pupils have EHC plans or statements of SEN, 18.6 per cent of pupils in pupil referral units have such SEN provision. Similarly, 11.9 per cent of state-funded primary school pupils and 12.5 per cent of state-funded secondary school pupils have SEN support in Surrey, but 77.1 per cent of pupils from pupil referral units have SEN support.
The rate of Surrey pupils with EHC plans or statements of SEN and SEN support per 100 pupils (%) by school type in 2021/22
(1) Totals include state-funded nursery, primary, secondary and special schools, non-maintained special schools, pupil referral units and independent schools
When looking at the distribution of pupils with SEN provision across the types of schools in Surrey, around 30 per cent of pupils with EHC plans or SEN statements are in state-funded special schools and another 30 per cent are in state-funded primary schools. The remaining third of pupils with EHC plans or SEN statements are in state-funded secondary schools (18%), non-maintained special schools (5%), and independent schools (15%).
When looking at the percentages of pupils with SEN provision within each school type, certain types of schools in Surrey have more pupils with SEN provision than others. For example, while 3.1 per cent of state-funded primary school pupils and 2.5 per cent of secondary school pupils have EHC plans or statements of SEN, 18.6 per cent of pupils in pupil referral units have EHC plans or statements of SEN. Most pupils in special schools have EHC plans or SEN statements at over 98 per cent.
Pupils with SEN support are more likely to be in non-special schools than their peers with EHC plans or SEN statements. The rates of Surrey pupils with SEN support in non-special schools are therefore higher than the rates of pupils with EHC plans or statements of SEN. In state-funded primary schools, 40 per cent of pupils have SEN support, compared to 31 per cent of pupils in state-funded secondary schools and 26 per cent of pupils in independent schools.
Free School Meals
Surrey pupils with SEN provision are more likely to also be eligible for Free School Meals than their peers who do not have SEN provision. While around 10 per cent of pupils without SEN provision are eligible for Free School Meals, 24.9 per cent of pupils with SEN support and 28.7 per cent of pupils with EHC plans or statements of SEN are eligible for Free School Meals.
The percentage of pupils with Free School Meal eligibility is, for most types of need, higher within pupils with a SEN statement or EHC plans than their peers who receive SEN support. The exception to this is for those with multi-sensory impairment (10.3% of those with a statement or EHC plans and 10.8% of those with SEN support), profound and multiple learning difficulty (18.1% of those with a statement or EHC plans and 40.0% of those with SEN support), and speech, language, and communications needs (26.0% of those with a statement or EHC plans and 26.6% of those with SEN support).
The prevalence of Free School Meals is much higher for pupils with certain types of needs, for example, 41.1 per cent of pupils with a statement or EHC plans for social, emotional, and mental health are eligible for Free School Meals, 40 per cent of pupils with SEN support for profound and multiple learning difficulties are eligible for Free School Meals, and 38.2 per cent of pupils with a statement or EHC plans for moderate learning difficulties are eligible for Free School Meals.
The proportions of Surrey pupils eligible for Free School Meals by SEN provision and type of need in 2021/22
English as a First Language
Just under 10 per cent of all Surrey pupils with either type of SEN provision are known or believed to have their first language as something other than English. A higher proportion of primary school pupils with SEN provision (12.6% of those with a statement or EHC plans and 12.0% of those with SEN support) are known/believed to have English as a second language than secondary school pupils with SEN provision (5.6% and 7.1% respectively).
Very few pupils in state-funded special schools have SEN support (less than 1%) rather than a statement or EHC, and so the higher than average prevalence of such pupils with English as a second language is most likely due pupils in state-funded special schools being a very specific and small subgroup.
The proportions of Surrey pupils whose first language is known/believed to be something other than English by SEN provision in 2021/22
Pupils with certain types of need have higher proportions of not having English as their first language which may add a further complexity to their additional needs. Of pupils with a statement or EHC, the types of need with the highest rates of pupils with English as a second (or higher) language are hearing impairment (21.0%), profound and multiple learning difficulty (18.8%), and multi-sensory impairment (13.8%). Of pupils with SEN support, the types of need with the highest rates of pupils which do not have English as a first language are severe learning difficulties (18.8%), speech, language and communications needs (16.4%), and moderate learning difficulty (12.4%).
The proportions of Surrey pupils whose first language is known/believed to be something other than English by SEN provision and type of need in 2021/22
Source:
Department for Education at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-special-educational-needs-sen
