Title

Following months of delay, the much-anticipated Schools White Paper has been unleashed, setting in train the reform of services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).Central to the strategy in the long-term is bolstering inclusion in mainstream schools, therefore reducing the need for children to have statutory education, health and care plans (EHCPs).Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said: ‘Children with SEND must be able to attend their local mainstream school and have their needs met by highly trained teachers, leaders and support staff, driving the highest standards for all.'While consultation on the proposals is still live, work to overhaul the system is already under way. One of the most eye-catching – and warmly welcomed – announcements was of a High Needs Stability Grant, which will cover 90% of SEND deficits held by each council.Key to the reforms is the proposal for schools to have ‘experts at hand' – providing mainstream schools with access to specialists in areas such as occupational therapy, educational psychology and speech and language therapy. However, this is proving to be a sticking point for councils tasked with submitting final reform plans in two months' time. Guidance on how ‘experts at hand' will work was promised to follow in the spring, but has yet to emerge. And while the Government will invest £1.8bn over three years for this element of reforms, it has yet to announce allocations for individual authorities.This is conditional on submitting a ‘local SEND reform plan' to the Department for Education for approval by 19 June. Councils will learn if they have passed muster in September, with decisions on funding to follow in October. Plans are to be drawn up by local area partnerships, including schools, health, early years settings and post-16 providers, and will be led by councils.The plans must set out how they will shift to an ‘inclusive and sustainable local SEND system' following five principles of being ‘fair', ‘effective' and ‘shared', and meeting needs ‘early' and ‘locally'.Key to the reforms is the proposal for schools to have ‘experts at hand' – providing mainstream schools with access to specialists in areas such as occupational therapy, educational psychology and speech and language therapy.However, this is proving to be a sticking point for councils tasked with submitting final reform plans in two months' time. Guidance on how ‘experts at hand' will work was promised to follow in the spring, but has yet to emerge. And while the Government will invest £1.8bn over three years for this element of reforms, it has yet to announce allocations for individual authorities.Executive director at consultancy IMPOWER, Jeremy Cooper, said: ‘Government are keen to see early plans as quickly as they can and to therefore enable change to start as soon as possible. On the other side, there is lots of the detail that hasn't been confirmed yet.‘Councils face a dilemma – do we get fully stuck into SEND reform now or do we wait for all of the details?'Members and officers have also raised concerns with the Local Government Association (LGA). A report to its health and wellbeing committee stated: ‘Clarity on how this funding is being spent will be vital to ensuring confidence in these new arrangements.‘Timescales need to be kept under review to ensure they are realistic and there will need to be sufficient funding and support to build capacity now and ensure the transition to the new system is effective.'The report added: ‘We are concerned that experts at hand could unrealistically raise expectations as to the level of support that will be available, particularly given the time it will take to embed these proposals in local areas.'Cooper concurred, citing the delays in releasing the White Paper: ‘The SEND reforms have been a long time coming and have built anticipation – so now they are here they are already driving change in behaviours and expectations that can't be ignored.'The LGA has also raised the issue of a shortage in specialists such as therapists and psychologists. Cooper said this made the need to begin preparations as soon as possible even more pressing: ‘At some point, there will be a scrabble for all available expertise to help drive the change. Those who wait for all the details will start off behind and get further behind.'To complicate matters, Cooper said directors of children's services (DCSs) are facing a ‘maelstrom of change initiatives'. SEND reform will be jostling for prioritisation with changes to Integrated Care Boards, ‘Families First' support, ‘Best Start in Life' services and other reforms.Cooper added: ‘Waiting for Whitehall to explain all of the overlaps is not an option. A critical task right now is for DCSs to get a grip on how it all joins up locally.'The Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) has urged ministers to work with them to overcome the challenge.Chair of ADCS' inclusive education policy network, Heather Sandy, said ‘As government embarks on what will be a complex reform programme, it is crucial that co-production is prioritised, there is shared ownership of plans both locally and nationally, that implementation is done in partnership and that we maximise every opportunity to join up all the different reform programmes and funding pots to deliver meaningful and lasting change.'The LGA expects the capacity to lay the groundwork for reform will be even further stretched by a spike in demand for EHCPs in the coming years as parents rush to secure statutory specialist support before provision is wound down. This, in turn, would drive higher home-to-school transport costs, already an unsustainable burden for some councils.Cooper said securing buy-in across the council was therefore necessary to ensure DCSs and their teams would receive the support they need. He told The MJ: ‘Getting corporate engagement, support and backing for SEND reform is essential to starting well.‘Furthermore, lots of the early activity requires a step up in engagement with others – parents and carers, schools, health colleagues. This all takes time, so the sooner you start the better.'

Title

SEND

Moving SEND mainstream

By Martin Ford | 16 April 2026

Popular articles by Martin Ford

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING

Popular articles by Martin Ford