EDUCATION, HEALTH AND CARE CONNECTIONS

SEND support and education, health and care plans

Connect local council support routes with published EHC-plan totals, requests and timeliness for England.

England figures at a glance

January 2026 England

Active EHC plans at January

718,838 plans

718,838 plans was reported for “Active EHC plans at January”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Active EHC plans at January

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

January 2023 → January 2026 · vertical scale 0–718,838. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
January 2023	517,048 plans
January 2024	576,474 plans
January 2025	638,745 plans
January 2026	718,838 plans

2025 calendar year England

Requests for an EHC needs assessment

162,702 requests

162,702 requests was reported for “Requests for an EHC needs assessment”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Requests for an EHC needs assessment

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–162,702. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	138,242 requests
2024 calendar year	154,489 requests
2025 calendar year	162,702 requests

2025 calendar year England

Plans issued within 20 weeks, including exceptions

45.5%

45.5% was reported for “Plans issued within 20 weeks, including exceptions”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Plans issued within 20 weeks, including exceptions

The calculation uses a denominator of 102,203; see the source for the eligible group.

DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate. The 2026 release describes January 2026 plans or calendar-year 2025 activity. Published local authority figures are not NHS diagnostic waits or forecasts for an individual. The data collection changed in 2023; earlier observations are excluded. Including and excluding permitted exceptions are separate cohorts. Timeliness cohorts can differ from new-plan counts because dates and coverage differ.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–100%. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	49.1%
2024 calendar year	45.9%
2025 calendar year	45.5%

2025 calendar year England

Plans issued within 20 weeks, excluding exceptions

46.1%

46.1% was reported for “Plans issued within 20 weeks, excluding exceptions”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Plans issued within 20 weeks, excluding exceptions

The calculation uses a denominator of 95,411; see the source for the eligible group.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–100%. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	50.3%
2024 calendar year	46.4%
2025 calendar year	46.1%

Explore 9 additional measures

2025 calendar year England

New EHC plans started in the year

110,708 plans

110,708 plans was reported for “New EHC plans started in the year”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: New EHC plans started in the year

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–110,708. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	84,428 plans
2024 calendar year	97,747 plans
2025 calendar year	110,708 plans

2025 calendar year England

Requests with a decision to assess

106,062 requests

106,062 requests was reported for “Requests with a decision to assess”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Requests with a decision to assess

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–106,062. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	92,985 requests
2024 calendar year	101,045 requests
2025 calendar year	106,062 requests

2025 calendar year England

Requests with a decision not to assess

43,289 requests

43,289 requests was reported for “Requests with a decision not to assess”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Requests with a decision not to assess

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–43,289. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	33,141 requests
2024 calendar year	38,889 requests
2025 calendar year	43,289 requests

2025 calendar year England

Requests with no decision yet recorded

11,778 requests

11,778 requests was reported for “Requests with no decision yet recorded”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Requests with no decision yet recorded

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–12,038. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	10,089 requests
2024 calendar year	12,038 requests
2025 calendar year	11,778 requests

2025 calendar year England

Requests withdrawn

1,573 requests

1,573 requests was reported for “Requests withdrawn”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Requests withdrawn

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–2,517. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	2,027 requests
2024 calendar year	2,517 requests
2025 calendar year	1,573 requests

2025 calendar year England

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, including exceptions

102,203 plans

102,203 plans was reported for “Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, including exceptions”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, including exceptions

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–102,203. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	80,945 plans
2024 calendar year	90,392 plans
2025 calendar year	102,203 plans

2025 calendar year England

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, excluding exceptions

95,411 plans

95,411 plans was reported for “Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, excluding exceptions”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, excluding exceptions

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–95,411. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	76,506 plans
2024 calendar year	84,866 plans
2025 calendar year	95,411 plans

2025 calendar year England

Average observed time to issue a plan, including exceptions

25.6 weeks

25.6 weeks was reported for “Average observed time to issue a plan, including exceptions”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Average observed time to issue a plan, including exceptions

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–25.6. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	24.7 weeks
2024 calendar year	25.5 weeks
2025 calendar year	25.6 weeks

2025 calendar year England

Average observed time to issue a plan, excluding exceptions

24 weeks

24 weeks was reported for “Average observed time to issue a plan, excluding exceptions”. DfE SEN2 all-plan/request aggregate.

Definition and source

Published measure: Average observed time to issue a plan, excluding exceptions

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year → 2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0–24. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period

Period	Published value
2023 calendar year	23.1 weeks
2024 calendar year	23.7 weeks
2025 calendar year	24 weeks

Choose a local authority

Barking and Dagenham Barnet Barnsley Bath and North East Somerset Bedford Bexley Birmingham Blackburn with Darwen Blackpool Bolton Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Bracknell Forest Bradford Brent Brighton and Hove Bristol, City of Bromley Buckinghamshire Bury Calderdale Cambridgeshire Camden Central Bedfordshire Cheshire East Cheshire West and Chester City of London Cornwall County Durham Coventry Croydon Cumberland Darlington Derby Derbyshire Devon Doncaster Dorset Dudley Ealing East Riding of Yorkshire East Sussex Enfield Essex Gateshead Gloucestershire Greenwich Hackney Halton Hammersmith and Fulham Hampshire Haringey Harrow Hartlepool Havering Herefordshire, County of Hertfordshire Hillingdon Hounslow Isle of Wight Isles of Scilly Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kent Kingston upon Hull, City of Kingston upon Thames Kirklees Knowsley Lambeth Lancashire Leeds Leicester Leicestershire Lewisham Lincolnshire Liverpool Luton Manchester Medway Merton Middlesbrough Milton Keynes Newcastle upon Tyne Newham Norfolk North East Lincolnshire North Lincolnshire North Northamptonshire North Somerset North Tyneside North Yorkshire Northumberland Nottingham Nottinghamshire Oldham Oxfordshire Peterborough Plymouth Portsmouth Reading Redbridge Redcar and Cleveland Richmond upon Thames Rochdale Rotherham Rutland Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Shropshire Slough Solihull Somerset South Gloucestershire South Tyneside Southampton Southend-on-Sea Southwark St. Helens Staffordshire Stockport Stockton-on-Tees Stoke-on-Trent Suffolk Sunderland Surrey Sutton Swindon Tameside Telford and Wrekin Thurrock Torbay Tower Hamlets Trafford Wakefield Walsall Waltham Forest Wandsworth Warrington Warwickshire West Berkshire West Northamptonshire West Sussex Westminster Westmorland and Furness Wigan Wiltshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wirral Wokingham Wolverhampton Worcestershire York

Source and interpretation

Department for Education: Education, health and care plans, reporting year 2026. Published 25 June and updated 30 June 2026. Reused under the Open Government Licence.

The collection changed in 2023, so earlier observations are excluded from these trends. Values marked unavailable, not applicable or suppressed remain separate from zero. Read the source footnotes for council-specific quality issues.

Official SEND support guidance · Find local council support