Number of children with special educational needs rises to 1.24m in England

More than 1.2 million schoolchildren – around one in seven – have a special educational need, official figures show.

The number of youngsters in England with a special need (SEN) has risen for the first time in seven years, according to Department for Education (DfE) statistics.

Boys are more likely to have an SEN than girls, and the most common is moderate learning difficulties.

The latest statistics show that, as of January this year, around 1.24 million pupils had an SEN, compared with around 1.23 million at the same point in 2016.

This is the first annual increase since 2010, the figures show.

It means that around 14.4% of schoolchildren in England – about one in seven – have a special need. This proportion has remained stable, government statisticians said.

Of those with an SEN, the vast majority are on SEN support, the data shows, while 242,185 youngsters have a specific SEN statement or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

An EHC plan is a legal document setting out a child or young person’s needs.

Moderate learning difficulty is the most common type of need overall, with more than a fifth (22.7%) of those with an SEN having this type of need.

The figures also show that special educational needs are more common in boys, with 14.6% on SEN support compared with 8.1% of girls.

In addition, 4% of boys have an SEN statement or EHC plan compared with 1.6% of girls.

SEN support is most common among 10-year-olds, the data shows, while statements and EHC plans are most common at the age of 15.

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