(England) Nearly one in five students have special needs; increase in "complex needs"

 Feb 5, 2026, tes Magazine: Nearly a fifth of KS4 students recorded with SEND

https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/secondary/nearly-fifth-ks4-students-recorded-send 

Nearly one in five students at the end of key stage 4 [ages 14 to 16] were identified as having special educational needs and disabilities in 2024-25, according to annual figures published today.

The Department for Education’s latest end-of-KS4 performance data shows the percentage of students with an identified special educational need increasing for the seventh consecutive year.

In 2024-25, 18.7 per cent of students at the end of KS4 in state-funded schools had a special educational need, compared with 17.3 per cent in 2023-24.

The proportion of students identified with SEND has increased every year since 2017-18, when the figure was 14 per cent.

In 2024-25, 82,294 students were identified as having SEND support without an education, health and care plan (EHCP) - an increase of over 4,000 from 2023-24.

Similarly, more students had EHCPs at the end of KS4. In 2023-24, 30,507 students had such plans, rising to 34,297 in the latest data.

Potential factors behind these trends could be an increase in children presenting with more complex needs, or schools proactively seeking EHCPs to secure the funding they need to deliver adequate provision.

Last year Margaret Mulholland, SEND and inclusion specialist at the Association of School and College Leaders, explained that for many schools, securing an EHCP had become the only viable route to essential additional funding and specialist services for pupils with significant needs.

Today Ms Mulholland said: “The increase in the number of KS4 pupils with special educational needs mirrors the rise we are seeing across the education system. There is no simple explanation for why this is, but a greater understanding and recognition of some conditions and a growing awareness of the support children may be entitled to are contributing factors.

“These figures only underline the importance of getting the SEND reforms right and building a sustainable system where all pupils get the support they need to thrive during their time at school.”  . . .