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EDUCATION, HEALTH AND CARE CONNECTIONS

EHC plans and SEND support in Darlington

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

Find the local support route

Darlington Borough 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

1,227 plans

1,227 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 01,227. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
January 2023911 plans
January 20241,026 plans
January 20251,122 plans
January 20261,227 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests for an EHC needs assessment

285 requests

285 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 0285. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year226 requests
2024 calendar year245 requests
2025 calendar year285 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued within 20 weeks, including exceptions

82%

82% 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 122; 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 year83.9%
2024 calendar year72.1%
2025 calendar year82%

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued within 20 weeks, excluding exceptions

81.5%

81.5% 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 119; 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 year83.9%
2024 calendar year72.5%
2025 calendar year81.5%
Explore 9 additional measures

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

New EHC plans started in the year

166 plans

166 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 0196. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year175 plans
2024 calendar year196 plans
2025 calendar year166 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with a decision to assess

174 requests

174 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 0183. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year183 requests
2024 calendar year175 requests
2025 calendar year174 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with a decision not to assess

109 requests

109 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 0109. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year26 requests
2024 calendar year58 requests
2025 calendar year109 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with no decision yet recorded

2 requests

2 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 017. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year17 requests
2024 calendar year12 requests
2025 calendar year2 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests withdrawn

0 requests

0 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 01. Gaps remain gaps.

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

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, including exceptions

122 plans

122 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 0172. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year168 plans
2024 calendar year172 plans
2025 calendar year122 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, excluding exceptions

119 plans

119 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 0168. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year168 plans
2024 calendar year167 plans
2025 calendar year119 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Average observed time to issue a plan, including exceptions

18 weeks

18 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 018.9. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year18.3 weeks
2024 calendar year18.9 weeks
2025 calendar year18 weeks

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Average observed time to issue a plan, excluding exceptions

17.6 weeks

17.6 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 018.3. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year18.3 weeks
2024 calendar year18.3 weeks
2025 calendar year17.6 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