SEND Reform
23/02/26 – Publication of the schools white paper, ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving‘, including major reforms to SEND. Reforms include:
- delivering inclusive mainstream education, backed by an Inclusive Mainstream Fund of £1.6 billion over 3 years to ensure needs are identified early and met consistently, alongside a statutory duty on nurseries, schools and colleges to record and monitor SEN and provision in an Individual Support Plan (ISP)
- expanding access to multi-agency support in mainstream, creating a new £1.8 billion Experts at Hand service of speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and wider professionals to get support to children early, alongside new partnerships between special schools, alternative provision and mainstream settings to meet a wide range of needs confidently
- introducing new Specialist Provision Packages to set out nationally defined, evidence-based support for children with the most complex needs, forming the basis for future EHCPs, and ensuring families receive clearer, more consistent entitlements
- investing £3.7 billion from now until 2030 to make buildings accessible, create new special school places, and tens of thousands of new places in inclusion bases in mainstream settings. This investment will also deliver high-standard special and alternative provision places for children with complex needs
05/06/26 – Local areas prepare new Experts at Hand teams. Guidance published for local areas on Experts at Hand teams, and appointment of Expert Panel for National Inclusion Standards and Specialist Provision.