SEND Reform Explained: The Key Changes Parents Need to Know

There is a lot of discussion at the moment about changes to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities support in England.

BBC News recently summarised the Government’s proposed reforms, including changes to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), the introduction of Individual Support Plans, new levels of SEND support and a greater emphasis on inclusion within mainstream education.

For families, this can feel overwhelming.

There are new terms, new proposed systems and understandably a lot of questions:

Will my child lose their EHCP?

Will more children be expected to remain in mainstream schools?

What is an Individual Support Plan?

Who will still qualify for an EHCP?

And perhaps most importantly:

What does this mean for my child right now?

The first thing parents need to know is that these reforms are not yet the current SEND law.

The main SEND reform consultation closed on 18 May 2026. The Government is still considering the responses and has said that new legislation is not expected to come into effect until September 2029. Until then, the existing SEND system, legal duties and rights remain in place.

1. EHCPs Would Remain — But Fewer Children May Need One in the Future

One of the biggest proposed changes concerns EHCPs.

Under the future system, EHCPs would remain for children and young people who require what the Government is calling a Specialist Provision Package.

These packages would be nationally defined and aimed at children and young people with the most complex needs.

The Government’s intention is that more children whose needs can be met through mainstream support would receive that help without needing an EHCP.

By 2035, the Government expects the proportion of children with EHCPs to return to around the current level, rather than continuing to rise at its present rate.

This does not mean EHCPs are being abolished.

But it does mean that the future threshold for receiving one is expected to become more closely linked to whether a child requires a nationally defined Specialist Provision Package.

2. Individual Support Plans Would Be Introduced

One of the most significant new proposals is the introduction of Individual Support Plans, or ISPs.

Children receiving Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist support would have an ISP developed by their nursery, school or college.

The plan would set out:

• the child or young person’s needs
• barriers to learning
• support and interventions
• reasonable adjustments
• expected outcomes
• how support will be delivered day to day

The Government proposes that settings would have a legal duty to produce these plans and involve parents and young people in their development.

ISPs would be reviewed at least annually.

Children with EHCPs would also have an ISP.

The difference is important.

An EHCP would remain the statutory document securing specialist provision, while the ISP would describe how support is delivered in everyday practice.

3. SEND Support Would Be Organised Into New Levels

The Government proposes a new layered system of support.

Alongside a universal offer available to all children, there would be three further levels:

Targeted Support

This could include interventions or adjustments delivered within an ordinary mainstream setting.

For example:

• small-group intervention
• reasonable adjustments
• additional teaching strategies
• assistive technology
• structured support

Targeted Plus

This would provide more specialist support while the child remains within mainstream education.

Children may receive access to professionals such as:

• Educational Psychologists
• Speech and Language Therapists
• Occupational Therapists
• specialist teachers

Some children may also have access to specialist spaces within mainstream schools called Inclusion Bases.

Specialist Support

This would be for children and young people with the most complex needs.

They would receive a Specialist Provision Package, and this would form the basis of their EHCP.

The intention is that children should be able to move between levels as their needs change.

4. Specialist Provision Packages Would Become Central to EHCPs

Specialist Provision Packages are one of the biggest changes being proposed.

Rather than every local authority developing provision differently, the Government wants nationally defined packages describing the type of support children with particular complex needs should receive.

Draft categories currently include areas such as:

• profound and multiple learning difficulties
• significant executive functioning needs
• complex communication and learning needs
• social and emotional needs involving externalising behaviour
• social and emotional needs involving withdrawal or shutdown
• sensory impairment
• physical disability

The Government has stressed that these categories are still being developed and are not final or exhaustive.

It also acknowledges that children may need elements from more than one package.

That flexibility will be important.

Neurodivergent children rarely fit neatly into one box.

5. Mainstream Inclusion Is a Major Part of the Reform

The Government wants far more SEND support to be available within mainstream education.

It has committed funding for:

• additional specialist places
• Inclusion Bases within mainstream schools
• increased access to therapists and specialist professionals
• staff SEND training
• additional Educational Psychologists
• stronger mental health support

The proposals include at least £3 billion for specialist places and Inclusion Bases between 2026/27 and 2029/30, £1.6 billion through an Inclusive Mainstream Fund and £1.8 billion for the new Experts at Hand service.

The principle is that children should receive help earlier, rather than families having to wait until needs escalate before specialist support becomes available.

That ambition is welcome.

But inclusion cannot simply mean placing more children in mainstream schools.

Inclusion only works when the right:

• staffing
• expertise
• environment
• funding
• therapeutic input
• curriculum adaptations
• training

are actually available.

A mainstream placement is not automatically an inclusive placement.

6. National Inclusion Standards Are Planned

Another proposed change is the introduction of National Inclusion Standards.

These are intended to set out what children and families should reasonably expect from mainstream settings.

The aim is to reduce the current variation between schools and local authority areas.

At present, what one school considers ordinary SEN Support may look very different from what another school provides.

National standards could help create greater consistency.

The Government plans for these standards to define what good ordinarily available provision should look like and to support earlier identification and intervention.

For parents, this could be significant.

Families should not have to move schools or local authorities simply to access basic inclusive practice.

7. More Specialists Would Work Directly With Mainstream Schools

The Government is proposing a national programme called Experts at Hand.

The idea is to bring professionals such as:

• Educational Psychologists
• Speech and Language Therapists
• Occupational Therapists
• specialist teachers

closer to mainstream settings.

The Government has committed £1.8 billion over three years to this programme.

If delivered effectively, this could address one of the biggest problems families currently experience:

waiting.

Many children wait months for specialist input while their difficulties increase.

Earlier professional support could potentially prevent some children from reaching crisis.

But this will depend heavily on workforce capacity.

There is little value in creating a new route to specialist support if the specialists themselves are unavailable.

8. A Fast-Track Route Is Proposed for Some Children Under Five

The Government also proposes a faster route to a Specialist Provision Package and EHCP for children under five whose complex needs are identified early.

The intention is for health services and local authorities to share information more effectively so that young children with clearly identified complex needs can receive support sooner.

This could be a positive development.

Some families currently spend a large part of the early years gathering evidence for needs that professionals already recognise.

However, safeguards will be important for children whose needs are less obvious initially.

Some autistic and neurodivergent children may:

• mask
• develop difficulties later
• appear to cope in early years
• struggle more once academic and social demands increase

Early identification must create an additional route into support rather than becoming the only route.

9. Existing EHCPs Are Not Suddenly Being Removed

This is one of the most important messages for families.

The proposed reforms are being introduced gradually.

The Government says new legislation is not expected to come into force until September 2029.

There will be no changes to support currently received through EHCPs before at least September 2030.

Children already in specialist placements in September 2029 would also be able to remain there until the end of their education unless they choose to move.

From September 2029, children with existing EHCPs would begin moving through the new system at transition points, such as:

• primary to secondary
• secondary to post-16

At those points, their needs would be considered under the new framework.

This is therefore a long-term reform programme, not an overnight removal of EHCPs.

10. Parents Would Still Have Routes to Challenge Decisions

The Government says parents would continue to have routes to challenge decisions, including access to the SEND Tribunal in relevant circumstances.

It also proposes greater use of mediation to resolve disagreements earlier.

This area will require particularly close attention when legislation is eventually published.

Families understandably want reassurance that independent legal redress will remain meaningful.

A system can only work fairly if families can challenge decisions when they believe a child’s needs have not been properly recognised.

Why Are These Changes Being Proposed?

The Government argues that the current SEND system is too focused on securing EHCPs before children can access the support they need.

It wants more resources and specialist expertise available earlier within mainstream education.

The aim is for families to receive support without repeatedly having to navigate lengthy statutory processes.

That is an understandable objective.

Many parents would welcome a system where their child received appropriate support automatically rather than having to fight for it.

But this raises an important question:

Will the support genuinely be available without an EHCP?

That is where many families’ concerns lie.

The concern is not simply about owning a document called an EHCP.

It is about the legal protection behind it.

For many families, the reason they pursued an EHCP was because support promised informally was not consistently delivered.

The Difference Between a Promise and an Entitlement Matters

Parents often hear:

“We already support your child.”

“We can do that through SEN Support.”

“There is no need for an EHCP.”

Sometimes that works.

Sometimes it does not.

The strength of an EHCP is that specified special educational provision carries statutory duties.

That is why families will understandably want to know how enforceable future Individual Support Plans, National Inclusion Standards and Targeted support will be.

A system that reduces the number of children needing EHCPs can only succeed if the alternative support is:

• available
• properly funded
• specific
• consistent
• accountable
• enforceable

Otherwise, families may simply find themselves fighting over a different document.

What Is Positive About the Proposals?

There are several aims within the reforms that could make a real difference if implemented well.

Earlier identification.

More specialist professionals in mainstream schools.

Greater consistency across England.

Clearer expectations of schools.

Better SEND training.

More therapeutic input.

Faster support for young children.

Less reliance on parents having to understand complex legal processes before their child receives help.

These are all things families have been asking for.

The question is how they will work in practice.

Where Should Families Remain Cautious?

The areas NLH will be watching particularly closely include:

• how “complex needs” will ultimately be defined
• who qualifies for a Specialist Provision Package
• how individualised those packages will remain
• whether ISPs have sufficient legal protection
• whether schools receive enough funding and staffing
• whether therapists and Educational Psychologists are genuinely available
• how children who mask or have less visible needs are identified
• how parental preference around placement is protected
• what appeal rights will look like under the final legislation

These details will determine whether reform improves families’ experiences or simply changes the terminology.

What Should Parents Do Right Now?

For now, the answer is simple:

Continue using the current SEND system.

If your child needs SEN Support, ask for it.

If SEN Support is not enough, continue reviewing it through assess, plan, do, review.

If you believe your child may need an EHC needs assessment, you can still request one.

If your child already has an EHCP, the local authority still has a duty to secure the special educational provision specified within it.

If you disagree with a decision that currently carries a right of appeal, those existing rights remain.

Do not allow anyone to tell you:

“There is no point applying because EHCPs are changing.”

That is not the current legal position.

Until new legislation comes into force, the current duties, rights and funding arrangements remain.

The NLH View

Most families I speak to are not asking for complicated systems.

They are asking for their child to be understood.

They want support to arrive before crisis.

They want schools to have the knowledge, staffing and resources to meet need.

They want professionals to work together.

They want their child’s voice heard.

And when a child requires something significantly different or additional, they want certainty that it will actually be provided.

There is much within these proposals that could move the system towards earlier and more consistent support.

But families are also right to ask difficult questions.

An inclusive mainstream system needs more than new terminology.

It needs investment.

It needs skilled people.

It needs accountability.

And it needs to recognise that inclusion will look different for every child.

For some children, inclusion will mean being properly supported within their local mainstream school.

For others, it may mean an Inclusion Base.

For others, specialist education will remain essential.

And for some children, different arrangements may be required altogether.

The goal should never be to fit every child into the same system.

The goal should be to build a system flexible enough to meet the child.

As these reforms develop, NLH will continue breaking down the changes, separating proposals from current law and helping families understand what they mean in practice.

Because regardless of what a support plan is called, every child should have access to an education that they can safely access, participate in and thrive within.

Neurodiversity Learning Hub
Educate. Advocate. Navigate.

Supporting families with practical SEND information, guidance and advocacy.

This article reflects the SEND reform proposals in England as of 23 October 2026. The Government consultation closed on 18 May 2026 and its response and further legislation are still awaited. The proposals may therefore change. Current SEND legislation and existing legal rights remain in force.