Changes to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system have been announced, as part of the schools white paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving.
Around 1.7 million children in England have SEND – which is roughly one in five children in schools across the country.
That is why we’re setting out new changes to make sure every child, including those with SEND, are getting the right support that they need and deserve.
Here's what it means for you and your child.
How is the system being changed?
We are creating a simple, logical system to meet the needs of all children and young people with SEND.
This starts with a universal offer of support which every child will benefit from, across all schools. This includes high-quality adaptive teaching, calm environments, and early help when needed.
We expect most children will have their needs met through this offer. But for children and young people with additional needs, there will be three further levels of support:
- Targeted - Structured support such as speech and language support in small groups or help with managing sensory needs. This will be recorded in their digital Individual Support Plan, developed by schools and in partnership with parents.
- Targeted Plus – More specialist support from education and health professionals, including Speech and Language Therapists and Educational Psychologists. This will be delivered in partnership with our ‘Experts at Hand Offer’. This will also be recorded through their Individual Support Plan.
- Specialist – Children with complex needs will get comprehensive, specialist support through a Specialist Provision Package and EHCP in a mainstream or specialist setting. The detail day to day support they will receive will be recorded in their Individual Support Plan.
What is an Individual Support Plan?
Under changes to the SEND system, every child with additional needs will have a new Individual Support Plan.
An Individual Support Plan is a digital record of your child's needs, the day-to-day support your child will have, and how it will be given. Both teachers and parents will be able to access this record.
Every school, nursery and college will have a legal duty to create an Individual Support Plan for every child with SEND. It will be reviewed regularly as your child's needs change, to make sure it is still suitable for your child.
But what is happening to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)?
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) will stay in place for children who need more support than is routinely available in mainstream schools. However, we are making changes to make the system work better.
We will introduce digital EHCPs which will include information such as personal care help for a child with a physical disability.
Every child with an EHCP will also have an Individual Support Plan, which will set out the practical, day-to-day support the nursery, school or college will provide and how it will be delivered.
Parents, carers and a child’s teachers will all be involved in the plans being developed – so everyone has a say in what support they have and how it is given.
Will my child lose their EHCP?
No child is losing support they need. An assessment will be made – in three years’ time, after significant investment – of whether children’s needs can be better met with an Individual Support Plan.
This does not apply to children in special schools. For children in mainstream, we’re talking about children who are seven years old or younger today – everyone else will keep their existing EHCP until at least 16.
Will teachers be trained to help support my child?
Yes. Every school, college and nursery will be expected to train their staff to adapt their teaching for children with special educational needs.
This is backed by £200 million of funding in a new training programme, to make sure that every teacher knows how to support every child in their classroom and give them the help they need – not just specialist staff.
What is an inclusion base? How will that help?
An inclusion base is a dedicated space in a mainstream school that can offer specialist teaching or targeted support for children and young people with additional needs.
The government has set an expectation that in time, every secondary school will have an inclusion base, alongside the same number of places in primary schools.
These bases will be flexible spaces that serve different levels of need. They could be used for small group work such as reading and writing, or for children struggling with a busy school environment. They may also be usedor for more specialist spaces such as for teaching an adapted curriculum – what children learn at school – or for 1-2-1 personal care.
Over £3.7 billion of funding will create 60,000 specialist places in nurseries, schools and colleges. This will include creating more inclusion bases.
What are Experts at Hand? What specialist support will be there for my child?
Children in mainstream settings who need support from specialists will be supported through a new programme called Experts at Hand.
The new Experts at Hand service will increase the support available in mainstream schools, colleges and nurseries by offering access to specialist expertise. This includes occupational therapy, educational psychology, and speech and language therapy support.
We are giving around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local areas to design and implement the new Experts at Hand offer develop this new service, which will be based on the needs of education settings, children and young people in their local area.
With better access to specialist support, it means that many children will no longer need an EHCP to access the support they need because it will be readily available to them.
When will these changes happen?
These are major changes and moving to this new system won’t happen overnight.
We will work with schools, local authorities and families to implement these changes – backed by £7 billion more funding for SEND support in 2028-29 than 2025-26.
No changes to the support given by EHCPs will begin before September 2030.