Government announces SEND reforms and EHCP changes in White Paper

23rd February 2026 • My Family Our Needs

The UK government has published its long-awaited Schools White Paper, setting out ambitious changes to the SEND system in England with EHCP reforms, alongside a £4 billion investment to make mainstream schools more inclusive.

The publication – delayed from late 2025 to early 2026 – marks a turning point in official policy after years of campaigning from families, charities and educators.

The package, framed as generational reforms to end a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, includes substantial new funding and structural changes aimed at improving support for children with additional needs, including early and tailored support in every school and community.

Key new funding and support commitments

A £4 billion package for mainstream schools to make the system more inclusive, including investment in training for adaptive teaching styles.
A £1.6 billion ‘inclusive mainstream fund’ over three years, channelled directly to schools and early years settings to fund targeted and small-group interventions tailored to individual needs
£1.8 billion for an ‘experts at hand’ service, giving schools access to specialist support such as SEND teachers, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, whether or not pupils have an EHCP.
Investment in specialist teacher training, new community support hubs, and the creation of 60,000 new SEND places.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the reforms are ‘fiercely ambitious’ and aims to make tailored support available ‘without families having to fight’.

EHCP changes and structural alterations

Currently, parents face long waits to access support for their children, and the Department for Education (DfE) said demand for EHCPs has more than doubled since 2014.

Individual Support Plans (ISPs) will be introduced as a baseline legal plan for all pupils with SEND with multiple tiers of support. Children will not need to have a diagnosis to access these.
- A four-tier approach will be adopted. Most children will receive SEND support at Tier 1 (whole-class teaching), Tier 2 (school-led targeted support) or Tier 3 (specialist-led targeted support), with EHCPs becoming Tier 4 plans.
By 2035, EHCPs will be reserved for only the most complex needs. Children who currently have an EHCP will keep them until they reach the next stage of their education.
Reassessment of current EHCPs will begin from 2030 onward. Children in year three or above currently will keep their EHCP until at least age 16, and those in year two or below will be reassessed when they transition to year seven.

These changes, if implemented, mean that around one in eight children with SEND who currently receive the highest level of support will transition to new plans between 2030 and 2035.

The Government has estimated that while the percentage of pupils with an EHCP is predicted to keep rising until 2029/30, it will drop to around 4.7% by 2034/35 from 5.8% currently.

When the new legislation comes into effect, children with EHCPs will be reassessed at the end of their education phase and it will be decided whether they need a specialist provision package. If they do, a new EHCP will be developed.

Regardless of whether they have a new EHCP developed, the child’s school will have a statutory duty to draw up an ISP.

Ministers emphasize that no child with a current special school place will lose it, and that changes will be phased in carefully to avoid disruption.

What happens next?

The White Paper launches a 12-week public consultation, during which families, charities, unions and professionals can respond to the proposals before they are turned into draft legislation.

Assessment for the new system will start in September 2029, with no changes to current support before ‘at least September 2030’.

Ofsted will monitor how schools are implementing ISPs, and where they are not meeting standards it could lead to new school management.

The reforms will also introduce a fast-track route alongside the NHS for a specialist provision package and EHCP for children under five who have been identified as having the most complex needs.

Existing SEND law remains unchanged until Parliament passes any new legislation, meaning current legal protections around EHCPs and support entitlements still apply during the consultation period.

Government minsters say the reforms are designed to shift SEND support from reactive to proactive, bringing specialists into everyday school life and ensuring that most children with additional needs receive help as soon as they need it.

Share your feedback until 18 May 2026 on the White Paper here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/

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