Special Educational Needs Provision
The Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) School Place Planning Strategy for CCC sets the baseline for specialist provision across the city and summarises a range of factors that are driving the need for change over the short to medium term. This strategy gives more in-depth information regarding the current and future SEND pupil population and outlines the options available to add or make changes to specialist provision for Coventry pupils.
The aim of this strategy is to help CCC, schools, parents and the wider community understand the need for specialist provision planning and to establish future demand. It will provide a basis against which future specialist provision will be planned.
Most children with an identified special educational need, have their needs met within their local mainstream school through the provision ordinarily available within a school’s delegated budget. Children receiving ‘SEN Support’ are placed on the school’s SEN register and their progress is monitored through a ‘plan, do, review’ process as set out in statutory guidance: SEND Code of Practice January 2015.
Support arrangements commonly include access to external specialists, including CCC’s specialist support teaching service and Education Psychology.
An increasing percentage of children with ‘severe and complex’ special educational needs are referred to the LA for a statutory education, health and care assessment. The outcome of that assessment may lead to an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP). An EHCP identifies a child’s learning difficulties, sets out the support the child needs and determines the school the child should attend to have their needs met. LAs have a statutory duty to arrange the provision that is specified and quantified within the plan, including the delivery of a suitable school placement.
The graph above indicates that the cumulative increase in EHCPs (Educational, Health and Care Plans) has grown significantly faster than the school-age population since 2016. EHCPs have risen sharply approaching a circa.130% increase by 2025 compared with a school-age population increase of under 10%.
This is creating a growing demand for specialist education places. If the rate of growth continues it is forecast for CCC to maintain over 5000 EHCP plans by 2029. This is in line with national demand increase, and in response to this challenge the previous Government published The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan in 2023.
The Secretary of State for Education set out the need for reform in October 2024 recognising that it will take time but there will need to be a greater focus on mainstream provision.
| Date (year ending) | EHCPs | Percentage of school age population |
|---|---|---|
| January 2016 | 1559 | 2.94% |
| January 2017 | 1724 | 3.23% |
| January 2018 | 1863 | 3.34% |
| January 2019 | 2084 | 3.67% |
| January 2020 | 2145 | 3.73% |
| January 2021 | 2350 | 4.07% |
| January 2022 | 2587 | 4.42% |
| January 2023 | 2714 | 4.51% |
| January 2024 | 3065 | 4.98% |
| January 2025 | 3581 | 5.46% |
| January 2026 (forecast) | 3987 | NA |
| January 2027 (forecast) | 4461 | NA |
| January 2028 (forecast) | 4943 | NA |
| January 2029 (forecast) | 5403 | NA |
As a result, the demand for specialist placements has increased exceeding forecasts based on birth rates. Through the SEND Transformation Strategy there is work underway to respond to this, which includes:
- Development of a workforce strategy to increase the skills, confidence and capacity of mainstream schools to meet an increasing level of additional needs
- a programme to establish Enhanced Resource Provisions (ERPs) initially across Coventry’s primary schools estate
- in-year commissioning expansion of current Coventry special schools to a level of maximum capacity
- the Woodlands development programme to re-site Woodfield Special School (an all-age special school for children experiencing significant social, emotional and mental health challenges) will deliver up to 100 additional placements
- the potential expansion through capital investment of the current broad spectrum special school estate to create additional secondary capacity
- utilisation of the independent non-maintained sector as an interim solution to secure CCC’s statutory duty
Growth in Coventry specialist school placements
Alongside the development of supporting inclusion in mainstream schools, CCC has also expanded its specialist settings. Currently approximately 40% of children with an EHC Plan are placed in mainstream schools, 35% in special schools, 12% in FE and 13% have other arrangements.
Over the last 8 years a programme of capital works to expand special school provision, has increased commissioned numbers in Coventry Special Schools by 55% (see table below). The number of pupils in special schools has grown steadily over the years, and additional capital projects are underway to accommodate the rise in children with EHCPs for the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
| Special school and ERP commissioned places: academic year | City-wide total | Growth from previous academic year |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 to 2018 | 886 | NA |
| 2018 to 2019 | 927 | 41 |
| 2019 to 2020 | 983 | 56 |
| 2020 to 2021 | 1061 | 78 |
| 2021 to 2022 | 1202 | 141 |
| 2022 to 2023 | 1272 | 70 |
| 2023 to 2024 | 1319 | 47 |
| 2024 to 2025 | 1373 | 54 |
Total growth from 2017 to 2024: 487
Future need
Primary
Given the rising demand for EHCPs, the number of pupils in primary mainstream with additional needs has also increased. To meet the needs of these pupils, it is proposed to Page 18 of 22 create resourced provision units on mainstream school sites making use of existing education assets.
The following schools currently have ERPs:
| School name | DfE number/URN | Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Alderman's Green | 2000 | Primary |
| Aldermoor Farm | 2131 | Primary |
| Courthouse Green | 2001 | Primary |
| Hearsall | 2124 | Primary |
| Little Heath | 3435 | Primary |
| President Kennedy | 6906 | Secondary |
| Stoke Park | 4033 | Secondary |
| Whittle Academy | 2017 | Primary |
CCC has developed a model of provision based on best practice and experience, both internally within CCC and that learnt from other local authorities. This best practice states that resource provisions can accommodate up to 10 learners in primary on a mainstream school site (either maintained or academy).
However, this is a variable depending on the type of provision being provided. It is anticipated that 3 primary resource provisions per year will be required over the planned period assuming a population of 10 pupils per provision. Work is underway to identify areas of the city where education provision will be released and can be utilised for this purpose.
Further expansion of special schools across the estate is increasingly challenging due to the landlocked nature of many school sites, which limits the available space for new buildings or extensions. Despite these constraints, efforts are being made to meet the growing demand for special educational needs (SEN) provision. An expansion project is currently underway at Castle Wood Special School, which will create an additional 16 places for students.
This project reflects the commitment to increasing capacity where feasible.
Secondary
Woodfield Special School (all-through school) is in the process of relocation and expansion at the former Woodlands site. This will create up to an additional 100 SEMH places across both primary and secondary phases. These additional places will be phased in from September 2026.
There are also projects being undertaken at Sherbourne Fields Special School to accommodate their secondary cohort moving through from primary phase, and Baginton Fields Academy expansion will provide up to an addition 74 additional places across the secondary phase of education for a wide range of pupils with an EHCP.
Due to the rising demand for specialist school placements, it is likely that further expansion within existing Coventry Special Schools will be required. Consultation has been undertaken with Special School Headteachers to explore options to deliver extensions to their existing accommodation.
SEND Post-16
As a result of growth in population, the number of pupils accessing post 16 provision in special schools has increased. As part of secondary mainstream expansion, partnerships with colleges and employment pathways including supported internships have been developed and considered for an extended SEND Post-16 provision.
