On Monday 13 April 2026, MPs debated the government’s SEND White Paper in the House of Commons. On Tuesday, the Education Committee heard evidence from teaching unions, local authorities, and SEND families. This week marks a critical moment for every UK parent whose child has special educational needs, has an EHCP, is waiting for one, or might need one in future.
The government is calling it a “generational reform.” SEND charities and families are divided on whether it strengthens or erodes existing rights. The consultation closes on 18 May 2026, which means parents have just over a month to have their say.
Here is what is actually happening, what the proposed reforms say, what the timeline looks like, and how you can make sure your voice is heard.
What Is the SEND White Paper?
On 23 February 2026, the Department for Education published the schools White Paper titled “Every Child Achieving and Thriving.” Alongside it came a consultation document called “SEND reform: putting children and young people first.” Together, these set out the government’s proposed changes to how children with special educational needs and disabilities are supported in England.
The reforms are backed by a £4 billion investment package over three years. This breaks down into: £1.6 billion for an Inclusive Mainstream Fund (direct funding to early years settings, schools, and colleges for small-group interventions), £1.8 billion for an Experts at Hand service (creating local banks of specialists like SEND teachers and speech and language therapists), £200 million for Best Start Family Hubs with dedicated SEND support, £200 million to help local authorities transition to the new system, and £3.7 billion in capital investment to create 60,000 new specialist places and deliver Inclusion Bases.
The consultation is open until 11.59pm on 18 May 2026. After that, the government will review responses and the reforms will need to pass through Parliament before any changes become law. EHCP assessments under the new system are expected to start from September 2029, with the first cohort transitioning from September 2030. Until then, the current SEND system remains fully in place.
Why Is This Happening Now?
The current SEND system was introduced in 2014 under the Children and Families Act. Over the past decade, the number of children with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has risen sharply, as have financial pressures on local authorities. Many councils now have significant deficits related to high needs spending.
Parents have reported an increasingly adversarial system, with tribunal cases rising year on year and waiting times for EHCP assessments often exceeding the statutory 20-week limit. In January 2025, the Public Accounts Committee stated that the SEND system “is reaching, or arguably has already reached, crisis point.”
Currently, around 1.7 million school pupils in England have identified SEN (19.6% of all pupils). About 638,700 children and young people have Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) as of January 2025, according to official DfE statistics. The number of EHCPs has increased by 166% since 2015, when there were just 240,000. The number has increased by 10.8% in the last year alone. Many parents report fighting for years to secure the support their children are legally entitled to.
What Are the Main Proposed Changes?
1. Inclusion Bases in mainstream schools
Every secondary school, and an equivalent number of primary schools, will have an Inclusion Base. These are described as “calm, specialist-supported environments for interventions and regulation.” The intention is to help more children remain in mainstream settings rather than being sent to specialist provision. This will be delivered through the £3.7 billion capital investment.
2. Dual role for special schools
Special schools will take on an outreach role, supporting mainstream schools with expertise and resources. The government says this will mean the specialist knowledge currently concentrated in special schools can reach more children.
3. Experts at Hand specialist service
Local authorities and Integrated Care Boards will jointly commission “banks” of specialists (educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, SEND teachers) that schools can access on demand, regardless of whether a child has an EHCP. This is backed by £1.8 billion over three years.
4. Individual Support Plans (ISPs) as a legal duty
Schools, nurseries, and colleges will have a new legal duty to produce a digital Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child with identified SEND. This is a significant change. ISPs will be drawn from a national framework of evidence-based interventions, designed to ensure support is in place quickly without bureaucratic delays. A child’s school will have a statutory duty to draw up an ISP regardless of whether the child has an EHCP.
5. EHCPs retained with a “triple lock” of protections
This is where there has been confusion in some of the coverage. EHCPs are NOT being abolished. The White Paper retains them and includes what it describes as a “triple lock” of transitional protections. No child currently holding an EHCP will lose existing support before the new system is fully in place. Changes to EHCPs will not begin until September 2030, and only as children naturally transition between educational phases (end of primary or end of secondary). No child with a current special school place will lose it when reforms start being introduced in 2029.
However, the threshold for EHCPs is expected to change, with plans becoming focused on children with the most complex needs. The government estimates that around 1 in 8 children who currently receive the highest level of support will transition to new plans between 2030 and 2035.
Appeals: Families can still appeal to the SEND Tribunal against decisions about whether their child meets the thresholds for an EHCP. However, appeals about ISPs cannot be made to tribunals. Complaints about ISPs would go through the school complaints process, with an independent SEND expert on the panel.
6. Accountability reforms
Ofsted will inspect all settings on their SEND inclusion and support quality. Schools will be required to publish an Inclusion Strategy that parents can scrutinise. Complaints panels must include an independent SEND expert.
What Concerns Have Been Raised?
The proposals have received a mixed response. Many educators and some advocacy groups welcome the investment and the recognition that mainstream schools need more capacity to support children with SEND. The focus on early intervention is broadly supported.
However, significant concerns have been raised by SEND families, legal experts, and charities:
The £4 billion investment, when spread across three years and thousands of schools, represents relatively modest per-school increases. Special Needs Jungle has noted that “£1.6 billion is a big number on paper” but when spread across tens of thousands of settings over three years, the per-school increase “wouldn’t be enough to pay for more than a few hours a week of teacher time” and “wouldn’t even be enough by itself to pay for an extra teaching assistant.”
ISPs do not have the same legal weight as EHCPs and appeals about ISPs cannot be taken to the SEND Tribunal. This is a significant concern for families who have previously relied on Tribunal appeals to secure support. While ISPs become a statutory requirement, the enforcement mechanisms are weaker than current EHCP rights.
The National Education Union has said that “reform cannot be done on the cheap” and has warned about whether mainstream schools have the capacity to deliver true inclusion even with additional support.
The County Councils Network has warned that by 2030/31, SEND pupil numbers requiring home-to-school transport alone could reach 311,000, with annual costs of £3.4 billion. They question whether local authorities have the financial capacity to deliver the reforms.
Disability Rights UK has emphasised that reforms must “protect and enhance rights, rather than diminish them” and has called for genuine co-production with affected families.
Contact, along with over 100 charities in the Disabled Children’s Partnership, has called for a “legal guarantee of support for every child with SEND” and said “reform must strengthen support, not weaken it.”
What Does This Mean If Your Child Has an EHCP?
If your child currently has an EHCP, nothing changes immediately. The reforms will not begin transitioning existing plans before 2030. Your child’s current EHCP remains legally binding and all rights and provisions continue.
When transitions do begin in 2030, they will only happen at natural points (end of primary, end of secondary). The White Paper commits that no child currently holding an EHCP will lose existing support before the new system is fully in place. No child with a special school place when reforms start in 2029 will lose that place.
However, if the reforms pass as proposed, the threshold for EHCPs is expected to change. Children who currently receive the highest level of support may transition to different plans between 2030 and 2035.
What If You Are Trying to Get an EHCP Now?
The current EHCP system remains in place during the consultation period and beyond. If you are currently pursuing an EHCP assessment for your child, continue with the process as normal. You have statutory rights to request an assessment and to appeal decisions through the SEND Tribunal. Tribunal appeals currently succeed for over 90% of families who pursue them, according to Ministry of Justice data.
Given the uncertainty around the reforms, some SEND solicitors are advising families to pursue EHCP assessments sooner rather than later if they believe their child needs one.
What About Home Educated Children?
The White Paper does not specifically address home educated children with SEND. EHCPs for home educated children will continue to be issued under current rules during the consultation period. However, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill (currently passing through Parliament separately) contains significant changes to home education that do affect children with SEND.
If you home educate a child with an EHCP or additional needs, both the SEND White Paper consultation and the Children’s Wellbeing Bill require your attention.
How to Respond to the Consultation
This is the most important part of this post. The consultation closes at 11.59pm on 18 May 2026. You have just over a month to make your voice heard.
You can respond at the government’s Citizen Space portal: search for “SEND reform: putting children and young people first” on GOV.UK or visit consult.education.gov.uk.
You do not need to respond to every question. Focus on the areas that matter most to your family. Draw on your real experience. The government has specifically said they want to hear from parents and carers.
If you are unsure what to write, SEND advocacy organisations including IPSEA, SOS!SEN, Special Needs Jungle, Contact, and Disability Rights UK have published guides to help parents respond. The Christine McGuinness-backed #SENDTheTruth campaign is also coordinating parent voices.
What Happens Next?
After 18 May, the government will review responses. A revised draft will be produced. The proposals will then need to pass through the full parliamentary process. This means the final system may differ significantly from what is currently outlined.
This is why your voice matters now. The proposals are not yet law. They can still be changed.
Resources for Parents
Read the White Paper: “Every Child Achieving and Thriving” at GOV.UK
Respond to the consultation: “SEND reform: putting children and young people first” via Citizen Space
Get legal advice: IPSEA (ipsea.org.uk) offers free legal advice to families of children with SEND
Connect with other parents: Special Needs Jungle, SOS!SEN, Contact, and Disability Rights UK provide community and support
If you are in the process of pursuing an EHCP or appealing a decision, speak to a SEND solicitor or advocacy organisation now rather than waiting.
For more on what’s changing for UK families this year, see our guides to the two-child limit removal and the full April 2026 money changes.
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