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EDUCATION, HEALTH AND CARE CONNECTIONS

EHC plans and SEND support in Waltham Forest

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

Find the local support route

London Borough of Waltham Forest: 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

3,946 plans

3,946 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 03,946. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
January 20232,884 plans
January 20243,295 plans
January 20253,663 plans
January 20263,946 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests for an EHC needs assessment

703 requests

703 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 0871. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year871 requests
2024 calendar year796 requests
2025 calendar year703 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued within 20 weeks, including exceptions

27%

27% 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 571; 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 year89.5%
2024 calendar year50.8%
2025 calendar year27%

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued within 20 weeks, excluding exceptions

25.7%

25.7% 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 549; 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 year90.7%
2024 calendar year50.8%
2025 calendar year25.7%
Explore 9 additional measures

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

New EHC plans started in the year

517 plans

517 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 0694. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year694 plans
2024 calendar year389 plans
2025 calendar year517 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with a decision to assess

527 requests

527 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 0733. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year733 requests
2024 calendar year510 requests
2025 calendar year527 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with a decision not to assess

0 requests

0 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 0135. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year135 requests
2024 calendar year0 requests
2025 calendar year0 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests with no decision yet recorded

124 requests

124 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 0284. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year0 requests
2024 calendar year284 requests
2025 calendar year124 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Requests withdrawn

52 requests

52 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 052. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year3 requests
2024 calendar year2 requests
2025 calendar year52 requests

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, including exceptions

571 plans

571 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 0695. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year695 plans
2024 calendar year463 plans
2025 calendar year571 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Plans issued in the timeliness cohort, excluding exceptions

549 plans

549 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 0685. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year685 plans
2024 calendar year455 plans
2025 calendar year549 plans

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Average observed time to issue a plan, including exceptions

33.6 weeks

33.6 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

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 033.6. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year14 weeks
2024 calendar year28.3 weeks
2025 calendar year33.6 weeks

2025 calendar year Local authority SEN2 return

Average observed time to issue a plan, excluding exceptions

32.7 weeks

32.7 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 032.7. Gaps remain gaps.

Read the values by period
PeriodPublished value
2023 calendar year13.7 weeks
2024 calendar year27.9 weeks
2025 calendar year32.7 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