Children with current highest level of SEND support set to fall from 2030

Mainstream schools will receive direct funding to support SEND children as part of a £4 billion package, to make the system more inclusive, ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker reports

Around one in eight children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who currently receive the highest level of support will transition to new plans between 2030 and 2035, the government has estimated.

The projections are set out as part of a raft of reforms to the SEND system in England to make it more inclusive, signalling a shift away from a model that has seen a growing number of children attend expensive specialist schools.

The Schools White Paper, published on Monday, was originally set to be published in autumn 2025, but was delayed to allow a further period to test SEND reforms.

What has been announced on SEND?

Spending on support for children with SEND has ballooned in recent years amid rising demand, leading to spiralling costs for councils and large deficits.

The government wants a more inclusive system, with the white paper pledging to provide “inclusive mainstream alongside high-quality specialist provision” through schools which are “equipped and funded to support children with SEND to achieve and thrive in inclusive mainstream settings, working together with high-quality specialist provision”.

Mainstream schools will receive direct funding to support SEND children as part of a £4 billion package, to make the system more inclusive, including investment in training for adaptive teaching styles.

Some £1.6 billion over three years will be provided to early years, schools, and colleges through an “inclusive mainstream fund”.

While another £1.8 billion over the same period will go towards creating an “experts at hand” service, made up of specialists such as SEND teachers and speech and language therapists in every area.

What are the changes to EHCPs?

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson promised education, health and care plans (EHCPs), a legal document setting out the support children with SEND are entitled to, will stay “for children with the most complex needs will stay”.

The white paper sets out to change the current legal rights of children with less severe needs and instead establish a new tiered structure for supporting SEND children, based on the level of their need.

Making a speech at a school in Peterborough, Phillipson said: “Forget the misinformation you might have heard.

“EHCPs for children with the most complex needs will stay, guided by nationally defined and evidence-based specialist provision packages.”

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.

ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent reports from Peterborough, where the Education Secretary announced the Schools White Paper on Monday, including reforms to the SEND system

Around one in eight children with SEND who currently have the highest support will transition to new plans between 2030 and 2035, the government has estimated, as part of sweeping school reforms.

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.

The policy documents propose a new plan with legal footing for all children with SEND called individual support plans (ISPs), which have multiple tiers of support – targeted and targeted plus. Children will not need to have a diagnosis to access these.

Children with the most complex needs will still have EHCPs, which will underpin new specialist provision packages.

Assessments for the new system, which will be consulted on for 12 weeks, will start in September 2029 with no changes to current support before “at least September 2030”.

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.

What is the reaction from parents?

The government's major overhaul of the SEND system comes at a point of tension for many families who feel let down by authorities and are increasingly apprehensive of what's to come.

ITV News has been following Tesse Elliott-Hoogstraten, Tom Elliott and their daughter Bo for the past few years as they navigate the SEND system.

From the age of five, Bo struggled to cope at a mainstream school, suffering daily panic attacks, meltdowns and lashing out. Now aged 11, her parents have battled for years to get her the right support.

Watching the Education Secretary's speech from their home in Leeds, Mrs Elliott-Hoogstraten said she believes her daughter "would be worse off" under the new changes and worries that her need won't be recognised under the new tiered system.

"She's very intelligent but she's also got some quite complex needs, and with the demand avoidance that I'm not sure it is going to be recognised, so Bo will be worse off," she said.

Mr Elliott is also critical of the changes, and raised concerns over the funding, adding that he doesn't feel the proposals will be deliverable in time for it to benefit children like Bo who have "already been failed" by the SEND system.

Tesse Elliott-Hoogstraten and her husband Tom Elliot, whose daughter Bo has special educational needs, watched the Education Secretary's speech from their home in Leeds

Meanwhile, Michelle Bromley, from Accrington, who is a mother to three children with SEND, was cautiously optimistic about the announcements today.

She told ITV News: "Specialist places in a mainstream school that can hold the correct facilities sounds good in theory, but it sticks to a 'one size fits all' education system.

"I’m a believer in needing lots of different education options. Can one type of school provide different options?

"In terms of investing from early years, giving educational psychologists more funding and less paperwork, in terms of ECHPs, sounds positive.

"A framework here for assessing needs can be good, but I do think flexibility in just listening and providing what’s needed is great. Getting stuck in frameworks in assessment can be frustrating."

Can parents challenge a decision on SEND support?

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

Schools watchdog 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.

No child with a special school place when the reforms start being introduced in 2029 will lose it, the white paper adds.

If parents want to challenge decisions made about ISPs, they can complain through the usual school complaints process. The DfE has said it will invest to improve this process.

If the complaint cannot be resolved at this level, the complaint should be considered by a panel that has not previously been involved with the complaint, which includes SEND experts.

Appeals about ISPs cannot be made to tribunals. Families can appeal to tribunals against decisions about whether their child meets the new thresholds for an SPP and EHCP.

What's the reaction from charities and unions?

Cathy Wassell, CEO of Autistic Girls Network, is among those concerned about the Schools White Paper, describing the expected government announcements as "a betrayal of the very principle of inclusion".

“This White Paper represents a targeted strike on an invisible population," she told ITV News.

"By drastically reducing support at the secondary level, the government is creating a cliff-edge for thousands of neurodivergent young people who have spent their primary years ‘masking’ their distress just to survive.

"Autistic girls often spend primary school masking their struggles. They only get identified when they hit the 'secondary crash.'

"Slashing support now is like removing a life jacket just as the child is pulled into the deep end," she added.

Some teaching unions have also been critical of the reforms, arguing that teachers' voices have been "conspicuously absent" from the decision-making.

Matt Wrack, general secretary of NASUWT The Teachers’ Union, said: "Teachers are already expected to be social workers, counsellors and security guards, and now it seems they may be required to fill other gaps in the system without adequate support.

"Teachers have many talents, but they cannot overcome a decade of systemic underfunding or growing SEND needs with a bit of extra training."

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However, others have welcomed the reforms and could have the potential to be positive for schools and families.

Amanda Allard, Council for Disabled Children, said: “We welcome the commitment to retain statutory EHCPs for children and young people whose needs cannot be met through this new model.

"We know that many parents will welcome the legal requirement for schools to create Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for all children with SEND.

“At the same time we know they will be concerned to understand how accountability will work. The consultation launched today is an opportunity to clarify those details ensuring families have clear routes to action where these ambitions are not being delivered.”

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