Government Overhauls SEND System with Four-Tier Support Model
Billions in funding and new Individual Support Plans aim to integrate more children into mainstream schools by 2035
Image: Matt Weston / AI
Callum Smith
The government has launched a comprehensive overhaul of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system, deploying a multi-billion-pound investment to transition more children into mainstream education by 2035.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson characterized the ten-year-old status quo as broken. She detailed a landscape where parents engage in exhaustive battles for entitlements that exist only on paper.
This transition terminates the 2014 reforms. Critics of the previous decade's policy argue those measures fueled a confrontational culture between families and local authorities.
The idea of overhauling the provision with this level of investment is ridiculous.
Projections indicate 270,000 fewer young people will hold Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) by 2035. This represents a one-third reduction compared to current trajectories.
The government committed an additional £4 billion in funding to drive this structural shift. This financial package includes a provision to write off 90% of the SEND deficits currently held by local councils.
Assessments under the new criteria commence in September 2029. Officials confirmed that no changes to existing support will occur before September 2030.
The full transition of one in eight current EHCP holders is scheduled for completion by 2035. Labour officials stated that investment in speech and language therapy will deliver support without a legal fight.
The Schools White Paper dictates that more young people will receive support through universal and targeted layers. This replaces the current reliance on specialist plans.
Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, noted that limiting EHCPs to the most complex cases relies on mainstream schools becoming genuinely inclusive.
Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza called on the government to confirm no child will lose their existing EHCP during the shift.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) argued the reforms ensure more children get help sooner. They intend to reserve EHCPs for only the most complex cases.
Conservative shadow education secretary Laura Trott stated she would oppose any support being withdrawn. She questioned how ministers would plug a £6bn black hole in the sector.
Union leaders expressed immediate skepticism regarding the scale of the funding. NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack called the idea of overhauling the provision with this level of investment ridiculous.
The National Education Union warned that the government must not place more expectations on schools without providing real additional resources.
Pepe Di’Iasio of the Association of School and College Leaders described the plan as a huge ask. He stated it requires massive training and expanded provision.
In Birmingham Northfield, MP Laurence Turner reported that thousands of families remain locked into an exhausting process. He highlighted a severe shortage of autism-specialist places within the Birmingham area.
The government’s strategy introduces Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for pupils who do not qualify for the top-tier EHCPs. Officials stated they want children to switch between support layers as needs change.
Some parents expressed concern that the changes could worsen access to education rather than improve it. May Race, a parent of a neurodivergent child, stated that many children would not benefit.
The new plans will take children with SEND from being sidelined to being seen and heard.
Race further noted a lack of acknowledgment for those unable to attend school due to trauma. The government expects the volume of EHCPs to continue increasing until a peak in 2030.
Following that peak, the reviews beginning in 2029 will systematically reduce the total number of specialist plans over the following five years.
Bridget Phillipson emphasized that starting support early is crucial to the success of the four-tier model. She claimed the new plans will take children with SEND from being sidelined to being seen and heard.