Current demand
Lincolnshire County Council has a statutory duty under section 14 of the Education Act (1996) to ensure that there are sufficient school places available to meet the needs of all children living in our county. This includes securing provision for children and young people with SEND.
Requirements for educational sufficiency are also placed on local authorities by the Children and Families Act (2014) and the SEND Code of Practice (2015). The Code of Practice provides that “all CYP are entitled to an appropriate education, one that is appropriate to their needs, promotes high standards, and the fulfilment of potential.”
Lincolnshire County Council has a statutory duty to arrange suitable education for children who cannot attend mainstream provision due to various reasons such as exclusion, illness or other circumstances. This duty is outlined in section 19 of the Education Act 1996, which requires local authorities to ensure that children of compulsory school age receive full-time education.
It is therefore imperative that the SEND and AP partnership has a robust and deliverable strategy which is responsive to changes in need and demand, and which meets the sufficiency needs of the local community.
The demand for SEND and AP places has grown significantly over the last 10 years. Nationally, there are currently over 1.7 million pupils with SEND in England which equates to almost 20% of the school population. This is broken up into:
- 5.3% of pupils having an education, health and care plans (EHCP) – approximately 482,600 pupils
- 14.2% of pupils at SEN support level – approximately 1,284,300 pupils
The numbers are significantly higher than 2024, particularly at EHCP level, where there was an 11.1% increase for children and young people with EHCPs, doubling the number since 2016. 56.2% of pupils with EHCPs are being educated in mainstream settings, a slight increase from last year.
Since 2020, Lincolnshire has seen a 77% increase in the number of maintained (EHCPs), rising from 5,119 to 9,081 in August 2025. This growth reflects a mix of local needs, improved practice in early identification of need, and wider pressures on the SEND system.
In 2023-24 Lincolnshire saw a further increase in the number of exclusions that Lincolnshire schools were issuing; 8.4% increase following a 89.9% increase in 2022-23. In 2024-25 there was a 7% decrease in the issuing of permanent exclusions, which is very positive and a strong indication of the steps being taken by settings. However, Lincolnshire continued to issue high numbers of exclusions, indicating that our schools are continuing to resort to issuing exclusions as a way of managing behaviour.