Where SEND money goes
What the council pays for independent school places, education outside school and an average EHC plan, who it pays, and the SEND contracts it plans and awards. For the High Needs budget and the deficit, see Money.
Placements in independent special schools
Independent and non-maintained special schools charge fees, which the council pays from the High Needs Block. In June 2026, in answer to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the council said it had 82 children and young people in these schools in 2025-26, against 39 in 2022-23. What it spent on them rose from £1,904,643 to £5,505,726 a year.
Children placed in independent or non-maintained special schools
Financial years, April to March, from the council's FOI answer.
| Item | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children and young people placed | 39 | 54 | 70 | 82 |
| Total annual spend | £1,904,643 | £3,068,604 | £4,354,070 | £5,505,726 |
| Average annual cost per placement | £48,837 | £56,826 | £62,201 | £67,143 |
Source: London Borough of Waltham Forest, FOI response: independent placement costs, cost of EHC plans and annual reviews (council ref. 11191281) (June 2026), pages 1 and 2. The council did not say how many of these placements followed a SEND Tribunal order, as answering would exceed the FOI cost limit. It does not record what it spends on tribunals.
Other figures show the same rise, though they don't match exactly. The council's January returns to the DfE recorded 60 plans in independent or non-maintained special schools in January 2024, 66 in January 2025 and 75 in January 2026. Those are counts on one day, while the FOI figures cover a whole year. In its spending returns, the council's top-up funding for independent and non-maintained special schools was £2.03 million in 2022/23, £2.55 million in 2023/24 and £4.58 million in 2024/25 (DfE, Education, health and care plans: Education, health and care plans as at January each year (downloaded 2026-10-25); DfE, LA and school expenditure: LA expenditure on schools, other education and community - unrounded data (downloaded 2026-10-25)). That is the special schools part of the top-up line in the spending table above, which also covers independent and non-maintained early years, primary, secondary, alternative provision and post-16 places (£7.68 million in all in 2024/25). In 2021/22 and 2022/23, the council recorded exactly the same amount against secondary schools and special schools on this line. Treat the split between them with care.
New places cost more than the average. For the 21 new independent special school places it commissioned in 2025-26, the average annual fee was £78,370 and the median was £80,303. The council buys each place case by case ("spot purchasing"), not through a framework with agreed prices (London Borough of Waltham Forest, FOI response: new placements commissioned for children with EHC plans, 2025-26 (council ref. 11913497) (May 2026), pages 1 and 2). The council's SEND Sufficiency Plan puts the average cost of an out-of-borough independent or special school place at about £60,000 a year (London Borough of Waltham Forest, SEND Sufficiency Plan 2025-30 (in the Schools Forum pack, 10 December 2025) (December 2025), p. 59).
Education outside school
What the council spent in 2025-26 on education otherwise than at school (EOTAS), and on interim or home tuition for children waiting for a school place. How many children this covers is on the places page.
| Item | 2025-26 |
|---|---|
| Total spend on EOTAS packages | £2,980.106 Printed as '£2,980.106'. With 200 packages at an average of £14,900, this is probably £2,980,106. The council says it removed therapy payments, laptop contributions and ABA provision while at school from the figures. |
| Average annualised spend per EOTAS package | £14,900 |
| Total spend on interim or home tuition pending placement | £2,130,875 |
Average cost of an EHC plan
The council told the same FOI request that it spent £43,460,956 on provision in EHC plans in the most recent financial year, not counting independent school placements. With 3,601 plans, that is an average of £12,069 a plan.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Spend on provision in EHC plans, excluding independent placements | £43,460,956 The question asked for spend including direct payments, top-up funding to schools and commissioned services. |
| EHC plans maintained at the end of the year | 3,601 |
| Average annual cost per EHC plan | £12,069 |
The response doesn't say which year these figures are for. The council reported 4,022 plans in March 2026 (London Borough of Waltham Forest, Corporate Impact Framework dashboard, up to March 2026 (July 2026), p. 30), and its January 2026 return to the DfE counted 3,946. 3,601 is closer to the 3,663 it reported in January 2025, so the figures may be for 2024-25. Treat the average as a rough guide.
Payments to suppliers
Each month the council publishes every payment of £500 or more it makes to suppliers. These are the payments it coded to its SEND services. They show who the money goes to. They don't cover everything the council spends on SEND: payments under £500 and staff pay aren't listed.
Payments over £500 by SEND service
Financial years, April to March. Service names are the council's own.
| Service | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Central Expenditure High Needs | £15,866,802 1,042 payments | £20,093,605 2,508 payments |
| Provisions Team Short Breaks and Home School Transport | £4,827,778 231 payments | £4,896,437 271 payments |
| Assistant Director SEND Services | £831,186 38 payments | £848,666 29 payments |
| Education Psychology Service | £126,842 7 payments | £130,720 8 payments |
| SEND Staffing | – | £4,560 1 payment |
| Total | £21,652,608 1,318 payments | £25,973,987 2,817 payments |
"Provisions Team Short Breaks and Home School Transport" covers both short breaks for disabled children and transport to school, and the reports don't split them. Legal fees are coded to the council's legal service, so the cost of SEND Tribunal cases can't be picked out.
Source: London Borough of Waltham Forest, Council transparency: spending over £500 (downloaded 2026-10-25). Copy used here: spend_send_payments.csv.
Largest suppliers paid from SEND services, 2025/26
The 15 largest of 302 suppliers received 54.0% of the money. Where a supplier was paid from more than one service, the one it received most from is shown.
| Supplier | Service | Paid | Payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| HATs Group Limited | Provisions Team Short Breaks and Home School Transport | £3,477,599 | 21 |
| Waltham Forest College | Central Expenditure High Needs | £1,349,869 | 4 |
| Kedleston School London Limited | Central Expenditure High Needs | £1,124,714 | 42 |
| Woodcroft School | Central Expenditure High Needs | £1,040,308 | 34 |
| J B Riney & Co Ltd | Central Expenditure High Needs | £813,866 | 5 |
| Vibe Teacher Recruitment | Central Expenditure High Needs | £806,905 | 862 |
| Transitional Care Ltd | Central Expenditure High Needs | £792,681 | 6 |
| Whitefield Schools and Centre | Assistant Director SEND Services | £713,335 | 12 |
| Witherslack Group Ltd | Central Expenditure High Needs | £678,457 | 19 |
| Acorn Care & Education Ltd | Central Expenditure High Needs | £641,079 | 26 |
| Rowden House School Limited - t/as Edgewood School | Central Expenditure High Needs | £626,968 | 3 |
| National Teaching & Advisory | Central Expenditure High Needs | £529,252 | 157 |
| New City College | Central Expenditure High Needs | £497,862 | 4 |
| St. John's R.C. School | Central Expenditure High Needs | £473,414 | 3 |
| Aston Group | Central Expenditure High Needs | £460,441 | 3 |
Supplier names are as the council publishes them. The reports don't say what each payment was for. Going by the suppliers' names, as well as school and college places they include building work, agency staff and tuition. The council withholds the names of individuals: 64 payments worth £80,370 in 2025/26 are listed as "REDACTED PERSONAL DATA".
Source: London Borough of Waltham Forest, Council transparency: spending over £500 (downloaded 2026-10-25). Copy used here: spend_send_payments.csv.
Why only these years: the reports from September 2023 onwards use the council's current finance codes, and earlier reports can't be matched to these services. From April 2026 the reports list far fewer payments for every service, not just SEND: 549 a month on average, against 1,344 in 2025/26. We have left 2026/27 out until the council explains the change.
SEND contracts
Councils publish notices when they plan, tender and award contracts. These are the council's notices that mention SEND services, from Contracts Finder and Find a Tender.
Planned or not yet awarded
Notices published since October 2024 with no award notice yet.
| Published | Contract | Stage | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-21 | Children's Short Break Services | Planned | £5,095,000 |
| 2026-10-05 | Case Management System Review - Preliminary Market Engagement Wider contract that includes SEND work | Planned | £207,720 |
| 2026-05-29 | Tuition Packages | Planned | £8,000,000 |
| 2026-05-29 | Short Breaks | Planned | £7,500,000 |
| 2026-05-29 | In borough bus transport | Planned | £3,200,000 |
| 2026-05-29 | Provision of Special Educational Needs or Disability (SEND) support to school's services | Planned | £3,000,000 |
| 2026-05-01 | School Improvement and Governance Service Wider contract that includes SEND work | Planned | £1,351,776 |
| 2025-07-24 | Market Engagement - Healthy Child Programme (0-19 years), Best Start Service and Family Centre Services Wider contract that includes SEND work | Planned | £24,000,000 |
Contracts awarded
Values are as published. Many cover several years, some include VAT and some don't, and a planned value can change before the contract is awarded. A framework's value is the most that can be spent through it, not what is spent. Notices are picked out by words in their title or description, so a few SEND contracts may be missing. Where only the description mentions SEND, the contract is marked as a wider one, and only part of its value is for SEND.
Source: Contracts Finder and Find a Tender (downloaded 2026-10-26). Copy used here: contract_notices.csv.