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EDUCATION, HEALTH AND CARE CONNECTIONS

EHC plans and SEND support in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Explore local authority plan totals, requests and observed timeliness, then follow the council’s Local Offer and assessment routes.

Find the local support route

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council: council website. Find its SEND Local Offer, children’s services and assessment information.

Published local authority evidence

January 2026 Local authority SEN2 return

Active EHC plans at January

4,982 plans

4,982 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

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.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

January 2023January 2026 · vertical scale 04,982. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
January 20233,266 plans
January 20243,769 plans
January 20254,432 plans
January 20264,982 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests for an EHC needs assessment

1,182 requests

1,182 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

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.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 01,230. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year903 requests
2024 calendar year1,230 requests
2025 calendar year1,182 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued within 20 weeks, including exceptions

70.1%

70.1% 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 656; 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 year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0100%. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year4.8%
2024 calendar year74.1%
2025 calendar year70.1%

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued within 20 weeks, excluding exceptions

69%

69% 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 613; 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 year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0100%. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year4.8%
2024 calendar year77.6%
2025 calendar year69%
Explore 9 additional measures

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

New EHC plans started in the year

665 plans

665 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

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.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 01,034. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year312 plans
2024 calendar year1,034 plans
2025 calendar year665 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with a decision to assess

783 requests

783 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

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.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0858. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year533 requests
2024 calendar year858 requests
2025 calendar year783 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with a decision not to assess

357 requests

357 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

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.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0357. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year354 requests
2024 calendar year295 requests
2025 calendar year357 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with no decision yet recorded

28 requests

28 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

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.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 077. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year13 requests
2024 calendar year77 requests
2025 calendar year28 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests withdrawn

14 requests

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

Definition and source

Published measure: Requests withdrawn

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.

Education, health and care plans · Coverage and method

See how this has changed

2023 calendar year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 014. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year3 requests
2024 calendar year0 requests
2025 calendar year14 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, including exceptions

656 plans

656 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

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 year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0784. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year273 plans
2024 calendar year784 plans
2025 calendar year656 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, excluding exceptions

613 plans

613 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

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 year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 0635. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year273 plans
2024 calendar year635 plans
2025 calendar year613 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Average observed time to issue a plan, including exceptions

18.4 weeks

18.4 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

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 year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 038.9. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year38.9 weeks
2024 calendar year24.9 weeks
2025 calendar year18.4 weeks

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Average observed time to issue a plan, excluding exceptions

17.4 weeks

17.4 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

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 year2025 calendar year · vertical scale 038.9. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year38.9 weeks
2024 calendar year19.4 weeks
2025 calendar year17.4 weeks

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