The picture in Devon

The 2017 Census reported approximately 204,000 young people aged 0 to 25 and approximately 140,760 children and young people under the age of 18 years old live in Devon. This is 18.3% of the total population in the area.

In spring 2019 there were 106,295 children attending Devon schools.  A further 1265 are known to be home educated (total 107, 560 children)

Devon has more children supported at both SEN support level and with an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) than seen elsewhere in the country.

In August 2019 there were:

• 20,137 children and young people who had an identified special educational need in Devon.
• 14,059 children were supported at school level, without the need for a local authority determined plan.
• 6078 children and young people had an Education Health and Care plan.
• 89.5% of children and young people with special educational needs attend a main stream school.

The top three categories of need for this cohort of young people, making up two thirds of the cohort, are:

• Social, Emotional and Mental Health difficulties (SEMH)
• ASD: Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Speech, Language and Communication needs (SLCN)

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Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

Over the course of the last four years the number of pupils in Devon with recognised special educational needs has risen by over 2500 to 6,078 pupils with an Education Health and Care plan in August 2019, from 3,572 pupils in January 2015 who had a statement of need. Of those plans created, the largest growth has been seen in primary school age which has increased from 1,395 to 1,868 over the period.

There has been an 850 pupil increase from January 2019 to September 2019.

The graphs below shows our monitoring of the requests received and the plans issued on time each month. The requests and plans issued, while showing a dip in actual numbers as of September 2019, do show that the improved productivity is having an impact. The dotted trajectory forecasted shows plans issued should match requests received by end of December 2019.

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Educational Outcomes

The educational outcome for children on SEN support and with EHCP are significantly better in Devon than the National Average, with Devon having 32% of pupils that are achieving a good level of development compared to 30% for England.

Funding

The funding gap however has not kept pace with the growth of ECHP and this misalignment has left a gap between the budget received from the Department of Education and the cost of delivering the requirements of the Code of Practice.