Government announce SEND reform in schools white paper

The government has today announced its plans to reform the special education (SEND) system, to ensure the government supports all children “from birth to the workplace” the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said, as she talked about the government plans for changing the system at a school in Peterborough.

The government have introduced their much anticipated schools white paper, titled ‘Every child achieving and thriving’, which outlines the changes the government plans to bring in, to tackle the issues of a SEND system that many have criticised for costing too much and delivering too little for those who need to access it.

One of the key policy changes that has had much speculation prior to its announcement today, is what the government would attempt to do in relation to education health and care plans (EHCPs), a legally binding document that sets out the extra support children with special educational needs are entitled to.

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The number of children with EHCPs is estimated to have doubled over the past decade, with the cost of SEND support continuing to rise to levels the National Audit Office warned would be ‘financially unsustainable’ in 2024, while also not being deemed to currently deliver better outcomes for the children and young people accessing support.

The Department for Education states that over 70 percent of children in schools with additional needs do not currently have access to legally enforceable rights to ensure their support, which would equate to over one million. The policy changes announced in the schools white paper show the government plans to deal with the rising cost of EHCPs and clear need for more support by introducing a system of ‘Individual Support Plans’ (ISPs) for all children with SEND.

EHCPs will be kept for the most complex SEND cases, providing a wider legal entitlement beyond the new ISPs.

The government expects that they will build a more inclusive environment across all schools, with transitions between EHCPs and ISPs coming into effect after the changes to schools have been developed, beginning in 2030. Children currently on an EHCP will keep them until they reach the next stage of their education, where reassessments will happen from 2029.

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Announcing that EHCPs would be kept for complex cases, Phillipson stated that plans would be “guided by nationally defined, and evidence-based specialist provision packages”.

With changes planned to take place over the next decade, the Education Secretary explained that altering the system would be done “carefully”, building a larger inclusive system first so that it could be ready in advance of the larger changes put forward.

The government is making a £4 billion investment into SEND over the next three years, with funding to be spent on schools and more specialist teachers. Phillipson also announced that the government plans on how to reach their manifesto target of recruiting 6500 new teachers would be set out today, while acknowledging that teacher retention was also improving.

Under the new changes to the SEND system, the government expects the number of children on the highest level of SEND support in schools to begin falling.

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