Pupils with additional needs and disabilities in Surrey
This page includes data and a summary of pupils with additional needs and disability (previously known as SEND, those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities).
The term ‘SEN provision’, in this summary, represents EHC plans, statements of SEN and SEN support.
Highlights
NEW (Latest data - 2025/26 and 2025 calendar year, next release expected around June 2026)
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There were 17,765 active EHC plans in Surrey in 2025, 10.6% more than the previous year.
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There were 2,383 EHC plans requests in Surrey in 2025 with 90.4% of plans (2,317) issued a plan.
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1,649 EHC plans were issued in the first 20 weeks of 2025 (80.70%).
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Roughly Around 13% of those in state-funded primary and secondary schools have special educational needs (SEN) support in Surrey. A higher proportion of pupils in independent schools have SEN support (21.9%) than in state-funded primary (13.3%) and secondary (13.2%) schools.
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In Surrey, 'Autistic Spectrum Disorder' is the most common primary need for those with education, health and care plans, while 'Social, Emotional and Mental Health' is the most common for those who receive special educational needs support.
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A lower proportion of pupils in Surrey are eligible for free school meals compared to the South East and England, both with and without additional needs and disabilities.
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Pupils with the most complex educational needs, those with EHC plans, have the highest proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals at around 1 in every 3 pupils (34.3%).
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Pupils in Surrey with English as their first language are more likely to have EHC plans (7.4%) or SEN support (13.7%) compared to those with their first language as something other than English (4.6% EHC plans and 9.1% SEN support).
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While 64.0% of pupils with no SEN in Surrey schools are White British, a higher proportion of pupils with EHC plans (71.8%) and SEN support (73.9%) are White British.
Sources from the Department for Education:
Special educational needs in England, Academic year - GOV.UK
