School places and children out of school
Whether there are enough specialist school places for children with EHC plans, how fast the council expects demand to grow, and how many children are not in school at all.
Specialist places in the borough
In May 2025, the council reported 805 places at Waltham Forest's 4 special schools, with 817 pupils on roll. Mainstream schools had another 174 places in resourced provision (94 primary and 80 secondary), and no SEN units. Neither number changed between 2022/23 and 2024/25, while the number of EHC plans the council maintains kept rising (see EHC plans).
Special schools in Waltham Forest, May 2025
Places reported by the council, and pupils on roll from the school census. Special schools can take pupils from other boroughs, and some Waltham Forest children go to special schools elsewhere.
| School | Places | Pupils on roll |
|---|---|---|
| Whitefield School | 355 | 368 |
| Lime Academy Hornbeam | 285 | 295 |
| Joseph Clarke School | 100 | 109 |
| Belmont Park School | 65 | 45 |
| Total | 805 | 817 |
Source: DfE, School capacity: Special school capacity - school (downloaded 2026-10-25); DfE, School capacity: Specialist provision capacity in mainstream schools - national, regional, local authority (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Special school places filled
Pupils on roll in state-funded and non-maintained special schools in the area, as a share of the places the council reported each May. Over 100% means more pupils than places.
Show the numbers
| Area | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 95.3% | 101.1% | 101.5% |
| London | 100.7% | 102.6% | 105.8% |
| England | 102.7% | 104.3% | 106.7% |
| Similar areas | 99.3% | 100.5% | 104.9% |
The DfE publishes these as Official Statistics in Development: the collection is new and may change.
Source: DfE, School capacity: Special school capacity - school (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Forecast demand for specialist places
Each council forecasts how many children living in its area will have an EHC plan and need a specialist place. Waltham Forest forecasts 1,025 children in 2025/26, rising to 1,418 by 2029/30. That is growth of 38.3%, against 26.7% in London, 22.3% in England and 24.3% in similar areas. It is 6th of 32 London boroughs (1st = fastest growth).
Forecast growth in pupils needing a specialist place (2025/26 = 100)
Each council's forecast of pupils living in its area, in Reception to Year 11, who will have an EHC plan and need a place in specialist provision: special schools, SEN units and resourced provision, independent and alternative provision. Shown as an index, where 2025/26 = 100, so councils of different sizes can be compared.
London boroughs, 2029/30
- 1Havering
- 2Lewisham
- 3Harrow
- 4Lambeth
- 5Brent
- 6Waltham Forest
- 7Greenwich
- 8Kensington and Chelsea
- 9Croydon
- 10Ealing
- 11Westminster
- 12Tower Hamlets
- 13Enfield
- 14Bexley
- 15Sutton
- 16Islington
- 17Southwark
- 18Barnet
- 19Kingston upon Thames
- 20Richmond upon Thames
- 21Wandsworth
- 22Merton
- 23Hillingdon
- 24Redbridge
- 25Hammersmith and Fulham
- 26Hackney
- 27Bromley
- 28Barking and Dagenham
- 29Newham
- 30Haringey
- 31Camden
- 32Hounslow
Compare with similar areas, 2029/30
Waltham Forest is 3rd of 11 with its similar areas (1st = fastest growth). How similar areas are chosen.
- 1Lewisham
- 2Harrow
- 3Waltham Forest
- 4Croydon
- 5Ealing
- 6Southampton
- 7Barnet
- 8Hillingdon
- 9Redbridge
- 10Haringey
- 11Hounslow
Show the numbers
| Area | 2025/26 | 2026/27 | 2027/28 | 2028/29 | 2029/30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 100.0 | 113.7 | 120.4 | 127.3 | 138.3 |
| London | 100.0 | 108.8 | 118.3 | 120.3 | 126.7 |
| England | 100.0 | 106.8 | 112.6 | 117.4 | 122.3 |
| Similar areas | 100.0 | 107.6 | 113.6 | 118.8 | 124.3 |
Source: DfE, School capacity: Local authority specialist provision pupil forecasts - national, regional, local authority (downloaded 2026-10-25)
The DfE says these forecasts can't be set against the capacity figures above to work out a shortfall. The forecasts count children living in the borough in Reception to Year 11, wherever they go to school, including independent and alternative provision. The capacity figures count places in the borough's schools, including sixth forms, whoever fills them. The council doesn't report how many new places it plans.
Children out of school
Some children with SEND leave school because their needs aren't being met. The DfE doesn't publish home education or children missing education by SEN for each council. Across England, 16% of children electively home educated in autumn 2025 were on SEN support and 7% had an EHC plan, compared with 14% and 5% of all pupils (DfE, Elective home education).
EHC plans where the child is home educated
Plans where the setting recorded is elective home education, as a share of all plans the council maintains. Counted each January.
Show the numbers
| Area | Jan 2020 | Jan 2021 | Jan 2022 | Jan 2023 | Jan 2024 | Jan 2025 | Jan 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 0.8% | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| London | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| England | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.3% |
| Similar areas | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
Waltham Forest reported no plans for home-educated children in January 2025, after 25 the year before. In the same year, plans recorded as "other arrangements made by parents" rose from 5 to 22. This looks like a change in how cases were recorded, not a real fall. In Jan 2026 the council reported 11 plans for home-educated children.
Source: DfE, Education, health and care plans: Education, health and care plans as at January each year (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Children electively home educated, per 100 children
Children of compulsory school age whose parents have chosen to educate them at home, on the census day each term, for every 100 children living in the area. The DfE publishes this rate to one decimal place.
Show the numbers
| Area | Autumn 2022 | Spring 2023 | Summer 2023 | Autumn 2023 | Spring 2024 | Summer 2024 | Autumn 2024 | Spring 2025 | Summer 2025 | Autumn 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| England | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| Similar areas | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
About 450 Waltham Forest children were electively home educated in Autumn 2025. The DfE doesn't publish a London figure for this data, only Inner and Outer London. Numbers rise each spring and summer as children leave school during the year.
Source: DfE, Elective home education: Elective home education at census date (downloaded 2026-10-25)
Children missing education, per 100 children
Children of compulsory school age who are not on a school roll and not receiving a suitable education otherwise, on the census day each term, for every 100 children living in the area. Counts are rounded by the DfE.
Show the numbers
| Area | Autumn 2022 | Spring 2023 | Summer 2023 | Autumn 2023 | Spring 2024 | Summer 2024 | Autumn 2024 | Spring 2025 | Summer 2025 | Autumn 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltham Forest | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| England | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Similar areas | – | – | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
The DfE doesn't publish a London figure for this data, only Inner and Outer London. Waltham Forest's numbers are small, so the rate can move a lot from term to term.
Source: DfE, Children missing education: Children missing education at census date (downloaded 2026-10-25)