Key takeaways
New support layers aim to boost inclusion
Targeted, Targeted Plus and Specialist support reshape mainstream provision.
ISPs and inclusion strategies raise requirements on schools
Schools must publish plans and review digital support annually.
National standards and training will drive consistency
Government aims for clearer guidance, stronger skills and earlier resolution.
The government has finally released the long-awaited white paper, ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ which sets out the significant reforms the government is seeking to introduce to the schools and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system. The message was clear, the answer moving forward is greater inclusion and collaboration. The changes will be significant, but over a decade. It did not announce the death of the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), but made clear its scope of coverage is being reserved for the most complex cases.
To supplement the white paper, a separate consultation document to drill further on what changes to the SEND system are being proposed. The white paper and SEND consultation document are essential reading for the sector, however, at 120 and 132 pages respectively, it is by no means a short read. We consider here the key SEND reforms that have been announced and of which you should be aware.
Layers of support
The starting point for the Department for Education (DfE)’s new layered system is the universal offer for all children. This will be an inclusive environment with high quality and adaptive teaching methods at its heart in all mainstream school settings. The DfE hopes that this will allow for commonly occurring needs to be consistently met within mainstream provision. These layers will be guided by the National Inclusion Standards (further below).
Beyond this, for children who need additional support to access their education, the DfE is looking to restructure the levels of support on offer to children with SEND with the introduction of two additional layers of support. These layers will sit below a ‘specialist’ level where a pupil will be in receipt of an EHCP. The aim – making mainstream more inclusive and prepared to meet greater levels of need.
The new layers which have been introduced are:
Targeted
Targeted Plus
Specialist
‘Targeted’ support will be developed between school and parents. ‘Targeted Support’, the next layer up, will involve greater input from education and health professionals. It is envisaged that children in the ‘Targeted Support’ layer may also be support in school with access to a ‘Support Base’.
The top ‘Specialist’ layer will be for those children with the most complex needs and will be supported by an EHCP. These children will be in receipt of a specialist provision package. To demonstrate the expected populations between the layers, the white paper includes a diagram which illustrates a narrowing toward the ‘Specialist’ layer.
This marks a greater shift to numbers of children with SEND being educated in a mainstream setting and will be accompanied by a range of enhanced funding and support systems for teachers to assess and support children. It is hoped that the introduction of the new ‘Targeted’ and ‘Targeted Plus’ layers will allow plans to adapt with children as they move through education and as their needs emerge and adapt.
Individual Support Plans
ISPs will be developed by school for children who are at all layers of support – even for children who are in receipt of an EHCP. It is hoped that the ISP will stop barriers to learning and capture any reasonable adjustments required by the child along with intended outcomes. The ISP will be digital and will need to be reviewed at least once a year. This will put an increased work level of SEND teams within schools, so forward planning will be needed in the development and review of ISPs.
Inclusion strategy
A duty will be placed on schools to publish their inclusion strategy which details how resources are used to benefit children within their schools, and how barriers will be removed for learning to support inclusion. This will presumably sit alongside the SEND information report already required. Senior leaders and trust executives should proactively consider how schools will meet and develop these strategies and convey them in a publishable form to allow parents, Ofsted and members of the public to understand how the school is demonstrating accountability for inclusion in response to the reforms. Ofsted (and other inspectorates) will consider on inspection how embedded the inclusion strategy is, and report on a school’s inclusion as part of its assessment.
National Inclusions Standards
The aim is to have consistency across England in how mainstream schools will broaden their inclusion. The timescale for these – ‘by 2028.’ The NIS are being viewed by government as part of the foundation for reform. Resources will be provided through the NIS to enable educators to understand more about areas of development and to apply knowledge to identify barriers.
Reasonable adjustments
This is not a new duty and has applied as an anticipatory duty on schools to support their disabled pupils. The proposals seek to put a greater focus on this, and to supply practical guidance, following consultation with the EHRC, on how this duty sits alongside the reforms for inclusion.
Training
Much sooner than the other proposals, a new package of training will be made available to support all staff across the sector. Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos) will also have their roles reviewed with the aim to enable them to use their knowledge more strategically in the delivery of the school’s requirements for its SEND population.
Dispute resolution
At present, the First Tier Tribunal deals with appeals against refusal to undertake statutory needs assessments, to maintain an EHCP or on the content of specified sections of an EHCP. In addition, it has jurisdiction to deal with alleged claims of disability discrimination in schools. The proposals are seeking to make this the venue of ‘genuine last resort’, accepting that there needs to be a means to allow parents and young people the right to challenge, but in a proportionate way. To achieve this, the government proposes to invest in mediation and school complaints processes. Independent scrutiny on the SEND related complaints will highlight need for intervention. We need more detail here as to what is envisaged and if there will be a requirement to utilise complaints processes and mediation before exercising the right to go to the tribunal.
What next?
The DfE will work with the wider education sector to implement the reforms in a sequenced, phased and manageable way. The changes required will include wide ranging changes to existing legislation, new legislation, statutory guidance and regulators. Expect implementation in three overlapping phases;
Phase 1 – academic year 2026/28 – investing in mainstream inclusion.
Phase 2 – academic year 2028/29 – supporting families as the system transitions.
Phase 3 – academic year 2029 onwards – full implementation of the special provision packages.
As we have already seen from other attempts to reform education (remember the Schools Bill?), the picture from where things stand now until parliament has its opportunity to scrutinise can change. We will continue to keep you updated as the legislative picture changes.
We are holding a free webinar on SEND and addressing in more detail the proposals for reform. Please join us on 25 March at 12:30.
This article was co-authored by Trainee, India Hall.
