The SEN2 survey is a statutory data collection that takes place every January. You must complete a statutory collection by law unless there’s a good reason not to.
The survey collects information on all statements of special educational needs (SEN) that local authorities have issued during the previous calendar year. Since September 2014, the SEN2 survey also collects information on education, health and care (EHC) plans.
The information collected via the annual SEN2 survey form provides the major source of data collected on children and young people with statements of special educational needs or Education, Health and Care Plans (EHC Plans). It is the only source of data on statements and EHC Plans issued by individual Local Authorities (LAs) . This is different from data on the number of pupils with statements and EHC Plans in schools, collected as part of the School Census.
Without this information it would be very difficult for Ministers, Parliament, central and local government, pressure groups and the public at large to monitor government policies and their effectiveness, and to see how many children and young people with statements and EHC plans there are in individual LAs.