Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many children with special educational needs are in independent schools.

The department publishes annual figures on pupils with special educational needs (SEN) based on the January school census data. The most recent published figures, for January 2024, are available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england. The publication includes a breakdown of SEN by school type which is attached and available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/df44ab22-0874-49af-b4bb-08dccb80a395.

Pupils with SEN may have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have SEN support in school without an EHC plan. The total number of pupils with SEN is the sum of these two groups.