The total population of Dorset is 378,508 (2019 mid-year estimate), this includes 74,765 children and young people aged 0-19 representing 20% of the total population (89,573 aged 0-24).
We have 159 schools in Dorset:
- 1 All through School
- 36 First Schools
- 2 Infant Schools
- 2 Junior Schools
- 10 Middle Schools
- 80 Primary Schools
- 4 Pupil Referral Units
- 15 Secondary Schools
- 6 Special Schools
- 3 Upper Schools
There are 34 different languages spoken in Dorset schools.
5% of school age children are from black and minority ethnic communities compared to 35% nationally.
Early years age children – SEND profile (January 2020)
From school census data 2020/21 the most common primary need for children under 5 is speech, language, and communication needs (639 children, 10% have an EHCP in place) followed by Social, Emotional and Mental Health (102 children, 15% have an EHCP in place).
The majority of these children receive SEN Support.
In the January 2021 early years census, 78 children under 5 were able to access further support through Disability Access Funding in their local setting.
A total of 5,945 children accessed 2, 3 and 4-year-old early education funding.
In 2020-21, 205 children were supported to access early education and childcare through their early years setting applying for Early SEND Support funding.
29% of this cohort are boys who have communication and language needs and 7% are girls.
5% of the cohort are boys with PSED and 2.5% are girls
School Age children and Young People – SEND Profile Statistics (July 2021)
The profile of SEND and educational outcomes in Dorset shows that 9 4% of our children in Dorset Schools have an Education, Care and Health plan with a further 14% accessing SEN Support.
These figures are in line with the National profile for EHCPs at: 4%, the SEN Support national average is 12% meaning that Dorset is slightly higher in this regard.
The table shows how this picture has changed over time.
| Total SEN by area | 2015 to 2016 | 2016 to 2017 | 2017 to 2018 | 2018 to 2019 | 2019 to 2020 | 2020 to 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorset | 16% | 16% | 18% | 17% | 15% | 18% |
| South West | 15% | 15% | 16% | 15% | 16% | 17% |
| Nationally | 14% | 14% | 15% | 15% | 15% | 16% |
Gender
Children with SEND are more likely to be boys; 64% of Dorset SEND are boys (62% SEN Support and 73% EHCP) – this is in line with National and South West.
There are variations by primary need: for Autism Spectrum Condition it is 75% and for Speech and Language Difficulties it is 72%.
Free School Meals
18% of children are FSM Eligible in Dorset, 30% of SEN Support are and 36% of EHC.
As with Gender there are differences by primary need: 41% of SEMH children are eligible for FSM.
Deprivation
The Income deprivation indicator affecting children index (IDACI) splits all areas in the country into 10 deciles.
Whilst Dorset is amongst the least deprived areas in the country there are areas of deprivation within the county.
SEND children tend to come from areas with higher deprivation – 19% of PMLD children live in the 2 most deprived deciles, compared to 7% of non-SEND children; for SEMH children it is 13%
For our Post 16 learners at FE College or Specialist post 16 institutions the following applies:
- number 16-24 year old Dorset residents with EHCP learning at FE Colleges is325
- number 16-24 year old Dorset residents with EHCP learning at Special Post 16 institutions is 134
We celebrate the work of our sixth forms and colleges and are continuing to build on our strong relationships with them to look at how we can enhance their provision.
Areas of need
The first most common primary need in Dorset is Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) (28% of the EHCP cohort); the national average is 30%.
The second most common primary need is Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) at21% of the EHCP cohort; the national average is 14%.
The third most common primary need is Speech, Language and Communications needs (SLCN) - 16% of the EHCP cohort; the national average is 15%. Together these primary needs make up 65% of the cohort.
Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) are distributed more towards primary years, whilst specific learning difficulties are towards the older years.
Educational settings for children and young people with an EHCP
Dorset’s profile for education placements for our children young people is broadly similar to the profile in the South West.
We have 41% of our children and young people with SEND accessing education in mainstream settings, compared with 43% in the South West and 40% nationally.
A further 34% are placed in special schools compared to 31% in the South West and 36% nationally.
13% of our young people are in receipt of education throughFurther Education colleges compared to 16% in the South West and 17% nationally
Dorset currently has 3% accessing Alternative Provision which is a higher profile when compared with the South West at 1% and the national profile at 1%
our Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) cohort currently stands at 2% and is below the South West average at 4% and national average at 2.5%.
The remaining percentages constitutes those who are either within Early Years Provision or being Electively Home Educated or Educated Elsewhere.
The profile for these placements follows national and South West trends.
This means that a focus is needed to reduce the number of children and young people in alternative provision through an increase in focus on inclusive education in our mainstream settings.
We must also focus on ensuring that more of our young people can access Further Education in their communities to support their future plans.
Educational Outcomes for children and young people with SEND (data is 2019 due to delays from COVID Education data sets)
Nationally and in Dorset children and young people with SEND do not achieve academically in line with their peers across all phases of education.
This is a key area of focus for the Council. The information below provides an overview of Dorset’s current educational outcomes:
- at the end of reception year 4% of EHCP children achieve a ‘Good Level of Development, this compares to 5% nationally. Positively 38% of our SEN Support children achieve this level, compared to 29% nationally
- for the year 1 phonics assessment the pattern is similar. 13% of EHC children in Dorset (20% nationally) and 52% of SEN Support (48% nationally) achieve a pass
- at Key Stage 1 both groups outperform the national picture, in Maths for example 18% of EHC and 40% of EHC achieve the expected standard; compared to 14% and 36% nationally
- at Key Stage 2 All Dorset children tend to underperform compared to the national, and this is also true for SEND children. Progress from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 is below average and 20% of SEND children achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, compared to 20% nationally
- Key Stage 4 based on centre assessed grades at LA level were released for 2020.
These are detailed below in the table showingpercentage achieved for Any SEN at Grade 4 our higher and then provides the percentage achieved for our EHCP and SEN support cohort.
% of 2020 grade 4 or higher in GCSE English and Maths by support type, Dorset
No SEN support79%
Any SEN support 31%
SEN state EHC support 12%
SEN support 37%
% of 2020 grade 4 or higher in GCSE English and Maths by support type, South West
No SEN support79%
Any SEN support 35%
SEN state EHC support 15%
SEN support 41%
% of 2020 grade 4 or higher in GCSE English and Maths by support type, nationally
No SEN support78%
Any SEN support 33%
SEN state EHC support 14%
SEN support 40%
Whilst non-SEN children achieved grade 4 or higher in GCSE English & Maths in line or higher than the national this is not matched by SEND pupils.
Key stage 5 performance (based on SEND status in year 11) based on the percentage of 19 year olds qualified to Level 2 with English & Maths shows that all SEN children overall outperform the national (37% compared to 31%), although this is driven largely by good performance of SEN Support children: EHC children in Dorset achieved 12% compared to national 15% have the highest rates of exclusion (DfE, 2016).
Exclusion Data for Children with SEND
The next tableshows the exclusion levels for children and young people with SEND in Dorset. Please note that this data covers the COVID period where many of our SEND children and young people were not at school and therefore this affects the numbers significantly.
Dorset permanent exclusions between 2017 and 2020 by status
No SEN support
2017 to 2018 = 32
2018 to 2019 = 38
2019 to 2020 = 12
EHC support
2017 to 2018 = 5
2018 to 2019 = 8
2019 to 2020 = 8
SEN support
2017 to 2018 = 26
2018 to 2019 = 39
2019 to 2020 = 14
Total exclusions by support type
EHC 4 (21%)
SEN 14 (74%)
No SEN (1 (5%)
It is clear from the information above that more must be done to support inclusive practice for our SEND children and young people as they are disproportionately over represented when compared with children without SEND.
