Evidence of demand
The January 2021 school census showed that 17.6% of Manchester pupils have SEND (15,827 pupils). This was made up of 13.4% (11,987 pupils) who have their needs met at SEN Support level in a mainstream school and 4.3% of the school population who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan (3840 pupils). Of the 3840 pupils with an EHC, 52.7% attend a mainstream setting and 47.3% attend a special school.
There has been significant growth in the number of children with an EHCP, increasing from 1912 in 2010, to 3840 in 2021. This growth has resulted in increased demand for places in a specialist setting in Manchester and can be expected to continue given the established data trends.
National data from 2020, published by the Department for Education, states that 3.3% of all pupils in schools in England have an EHC, a rise from 3.1% in 2019. A further 12.1% of all pupils have SEN support, without an EHC, up from 11.9% in 2019.
Southern Cross School serves the whole of the city and provides specialist education for children with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs aged from 9 to 16 years.
Due to the increased demand for the type of specialist education Southern Cross School provides, it has been necessary for the Local Authority to create additional capacity across a number of specialist settings. In the case of Southern Cross School, it has not been possible to create additional capacity at its existing site due to land and accommodation constraints.