Online and in-person engagement events
Take part in one of the Department for Education’s online or in-person engagement events.
Overview of Proposed SEND Reforms
The Government has announced major changes to the SEND system, which if approved are due to roll out over the coming years.
This page provides an overview of the proposed SEND reforms, explaining what the changes could mean and how you can share your views on the proposals.
The Government has set out proposals for future reform; they do not immediately change SEND law and the proposals are subject to a consultation period. Your child’s legal rights to support remain in place.
Consultation period – how to share your views
The Government is currently holding a public consultation on the proposed changes, which will close closes at 11:59pm on 18 May 2026. There will be other steps the Government has to go through to make these changes and the proposals could still change. This is why it is important that they hear from as many people as possible during the consultation.
You can read the full proposals here.
Once you have read the proposals, you can share your views by attending one of the online or in-person engagement events they’ve organised or responding online, via email, or by post.
Post
Share your views in writing by post to:
SENDAP Reform, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT
Key proposals
Below, we have explained some of the key proposals in the Government’s consultation document, SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First.
The following summary reflects the content of SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First. It does not reflect Kids’ views on the proposals.
You can click the links below to go directly to each proposal.
1. Four levels of support
Support for children and young people with SEND is proposed to be split into four distinct levels of support, which would apply to children aged 0-25 across early years settings, schools and colleges:
- Universal Support: Support that every child should receive, such as inclusive classrooms, high-quality teaching, and a safe and respectful school culture.
- Targeted Support: Extra help organised by the school, like reasonable adjustments, small group work, or changes to the curriculum. The support is described as mainly being within the classroom but may involve a support base if a school has one.
- Targeted Plus Support: More specialist help from professionals like Speech and Language Therapists, or support from an Inclusion Base (see below).
- Specialist Support: For children with the most complex needs, who may need specialist provision, proposed Specialist Provision Packages (SPP) are to form the basis of what is in the child’s Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) See point 3 below for more detail.
Children and young people could move between different levels of support whenever needed. They would not have to go through them in order. At the Targeted, Targeted Plus and Specialist levels, there would be a legal duty on schools to produce an Individual Support Plan for every child with SEND (see point 2 below). In this new system children at the ‘Specialist provision’ level would receive an EHCP.
2. Individual Support Plans (ISPs)
Proposals state that every child or young person with SEND will have an Individual Support Plan (ISP). The school would have a legal duty to produce the ISPs – not the local authority.
An ISP should be a simple digital document that shows:
- What your child finds difficult
- The support they are getting
- How they are progressing
The proposals state that:
- Schools would be legally required to create ISPs for all children and young people with SEND
- ISPs would be reviewed at least once a year, and parents would be a part of that review
- They would be developed by schools, together with parents and young people
- Ofsted would check how well schools and colleges are using ISPs
- ISPs would support transitions between settings (for example, between a nursery and primary school or primary to secondary) by sharing key information about the child or young person ahead of time with the next setting
3. EHCPs and Specialist Provision Packages
Specialist Provision Packages (SPPs) are described as packages of support designed by a national panel of experts. Proposals suggest there will be around seven types of packages covering different types of needs, and children could get support from more than one if needed.
An EHCP would:
- Give children and young people a legal entitlement to the support in their Specialist Provision Package
- Be created by the local authority, with parents and education settings
- Be reviewed at each key stage
Children with EHCPs would also have an ISP which explains their day-to-day support.
Only children with the most complex needs would have an EHCP. There is no exact definition of ‘complex needs’ in the proposals but they state their intention to consult with parents and experts to ensure all children with the most complex needs are covered by all the specialist support packages.
4. Experts at Hand: more specialists in mainstream settings
The proposals describe a new team of specialists called Experts at Hand in each local area that would bring more specialist professionals into early years settings, schools and colleges. Education staff should be able to ask these teams of specialists for advice, guidance and input into the support for children with SEND.
This may include:
- Speech and language therapists
- Educational psychologists
- Specialist teachers
- Health professionals
This support would be available at the Targeted Plus and Specialist levels of support.
5. Inclusion bases: extra support within schools
The Government proposes that “Inclusion Bases will offer specialist support in mainstream schools and colleges so that more children get the opportunity to be educated in a local mainstream setting.” Some schools already have these; they are sometimes called ‘resourced provision bases’, ‘pupil support units’, or ‘SEN units’.
There would be two kinds of Inclusion Bases:
- Support Bases – run by schools and trusts to provide extra help
- Specialist Bases – run by the local authority for higher-level support
The Government proposes that every secondary school would eventually have an Inclusion Base, supported by an investment of £3.7 billion. These should offer flexible, specialist environments for children who need more targeted help.
6. National inclusion standards
There is a proposal to produce ‘National Inclusion Standards’ which are described as a new digital library to help educators understand:
- How to identify needs
- What good SEND support should look like
- What evidence-based approaches can meet different needs
These standards would be developed with children, families and professionals and should be updated every two years.
7. Early years support
Proposed changes in the early years include:
- New training for all early years staff
- SEND-focused services and a dedicated SEND specialist in every local area through Best Start Family Hubs
- Fast-track access to EHCPs for those identified with complex needs at a young age
8. Post-16 support and preparing for adulthood
The areas covered for young people transitioning to post-16 education and into adulthood include:
- Earlier planning (starting at least 12 months before leaving school)
- Supported Internships, apprenticeships and pathways into work or higher education
- Access to Experts at Hand in post-16 settings
- Support to continue up to the age of 25
9. Accountability
The Government has proposed the following changes to accountability systems:
- Schools to legally produce and review ISPs
- Ofsted to check how schools use ISPs
- Every school to publish an Inclusion Strategy
- Strengthened data monitoring to track how well schools and local areas are supporting children
- Parent voice to always be considered in local and national decision making
When will these changes happen?
These proposals are not finalised. We expect more details on specific processes to emerge after the consultation period.
- The Government is to invest in Experts at Hand, teacher training, Mental Health Support Teams, creating new places in special schools and places in inclusion bases, and funding to support mainstream schools to improve inclusion.
- New guidance on reasonable adjustments and update the SEND Code of Practice.
- Investment in strengthening the evidence base on effective support for children and young people with SEND.
- Government proposes to begin introducing ISPs
The law is expected to change in September 2029 at the earliest. Until then, all existing duties, rights, and funding routes will remain in place.
- The Government is to provide independent support and advocacy for parents, helping families understand the changes and navigate the transition.
- Children and young people with EHCPs should begin to be assessed for an ISP or Specialist Provision Package when they reach the end of their current phase of education (at the end of Primary or at the end of Secondary school).
- All children and young people who have a special school place in September 2029 will be able to stay in special school until the end of their education, unless they choose to move to a mainstream setting.
- There would be no changes to support received through EHCPs before at least September 2030. The transition to the new system would be phased, reflecting individual needs and circumstances. Children with EHCPs would begin to be assessed for ISPs at key transition points (end of primary, end of secondary, and Post-16) from September 2030 at the earliest.
- New funding structures should be in place to support early intervention
Useful links
If you’d like to find out more about the SEND reform proposals, here are some helpful links.
SEND Reform Proposals Landing Page
A full list of documents outlining the SEND reform proposals, available in a range of formats.
SEND Reform, Putting Children and Young People First – Full Document
This is the full consultation document outlining the Government’s SEND reform proposals.
SEND Reform, Putting Children and Young People First – Easy Read Version
This easy-read version explains the proposed SEND reforms using simpler language and images to help make the information more accessible.
SEND Reform, Putting Children and Young People First – Children and Young People Version
This version explains the proposed SEND reforms in a way that is designed to be easier for children and young people to understand.
Other helpful links
Here are some other helpful links to other organisations who have produced resources relating to the SEND reforms:
- Contact – support for parents and families
- National Autistic Society – autism-specific guidance
- IPSEA – advice on SEND law