On 23 February 2026, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson laid before Parliament a schools white paper titled Every Child Achieving and Thriving - the most significant shake-up of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support in England since the Children and Families Act 2014. The reforms are sweeping and the timeline is long for the families and professionals who navigate this system daily.
A System Under Pressure
The case for change is hard to argue with. Councils currently hold an estimated £6 billion in high needs deficits, and demand for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has more than doubled since 2014. Meanwhile, over 70% of children in England's schools with additional needs - more than a million children - currently have no legally enforceable rights to support. Too many families describe fighting at every turn just to get their child the help they're entitled to.
The government's stated ambition is to shift support from reactive to proactive: catching needs earlier, bringing specialists into everyday school life, and making help available without the battle.
The Big Shift: Individual Support Plans
The centrepiece of the reforms is the introduction of Individual Support Plans (ISPs). Every school, nursery and college will have a legal duty to create an ISP for every child with SEND, reviewed regularly as a child's needs change. Crucially, children will not need to have a diagnosis to access these plans.
ISPs will cover barriers to learning, day-to-day provision, reasonable adjustments, and intended outcomes. They are developed with parents and reviewed at least annually. Both ISPs and EHCPs will be digital, accessible to parents and teachers in one place - though the exact platform is still to be confirmed.
What Happens to EHCPs?
This is the question most families are asking - and the answer requires careful reading. EHCPs are being retained and will offer a wider legal entitlement beyond the ISP for more intensive or complex support than schools can routinely provide. The government has been clear that no child loses support overnight.
A triple lock of transitional protections means:
- Every child with a special school place in 2029 will keep it if they want it until they finish education.
- Transition for children with an EHCP in mainstream who would be better supported via an ISP will only begin from 2030.
- ISPs will be in place for any child transitioning from an EHCP before they move to the new system - so there is no break in support.
In practice, children in Year 3 or above currently will keep their EHCP until at least age 16, and those in Year 2 or below will be reassessed when they transition to Year 7.
A Four-Tier Model
The reforms replace the current two-tier system (SEND Support and EHCPs) with a layered structure:
- Tier 1 - Whole-class quality teaching for all
- Tier 2 - School-led targeted support
- Tier 3 - Specialist-led targeted support (with an ISP)
- Tier 4 - EHCPs, reserved for the most complex needs
The expectation is that the EHCP rate, currently around 5.3%, will return to roughly that level by 2035 as more needs are met earlier in the mainstream system.
The Funding
The reforms are backed by a £4 billion package for mainstream schools, including:
- A £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund channelled directly to schools and early years settings
- £1.8 billion for an Experts at Hand service giving schools access to educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and specialist SEND teachers
- £750 million per year in capital funding to adapt school buildings
The Timeline
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 2026/27 | Inclusive Mainstream Fund begins flowing to schools |
| 2028 | National Inclusion Standards published; Experts at Hand service fully operational |
| September 2029 | EHCP assessments begin under the new system |
| September 2030 | First cohort begins transitioning from EHCPs to ISPs |
| 2035 | Full transition to new system; ISPs the standard for most children |
Reasons for Caution
Not everyone is celebrating. Critics note that while ISPs carry a legal requirement, they may not carry the same legal enforceability as an EHCP - meaning parents who disagree with an ISP face the school complaints process rather than the SEND Tribunal. Contact, together with over 100 charities in the Disabled Children's Partnership, has been clear: reform must strengthen support and safeguard children's existing rights, not weaken them.
The consultation on these proposals remains open until 18 May 2026. Until Parliament passes new legislation, existing SEND law remains unchanged, meaning current legal protections around EHCPs and support entitlements still apply.
For families, SENCOs and SEND professionals, now is the time to read the detail, respond to the consultation, and hold the government to its promise that this generation of children will not have to fight for the support they deserve.
Sources
- Department for Education, Every Child Achieving and Thriving - SEND White Paper, February 2026. Available at: gov.uk
- DfE Education Hub, What the SEND reforms mean for children, young people and families. Available at: educationhub.blog.gov.uk
- Contact (formerly Contact a Family), SEND Reform - Our Position. Available at: contact.org.uk
- My Family Our Needs, SEND White Paper 2026 Summary. Available at: myfamilyourneeds.co.uk
- Schools Week, Schools White Paper: The Key SEND Reform Policies. Available at: schoolsweek.co.uk
- Institute for Fiscal Studies, SEND Funding Analysis. Available at: ifs.org.uk
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