SEND reforms in England

What do the proposed SEND reforms mean for you?

On Monday 23 February the Government published a White Paper about education, which included a set of proposals covering the reform of the SEND system in England - SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First. (Wales and Northern Ireland are unaffected by these proposals). It’s important to note that the proposals are still in their consultation phase, currently some of them lack detail, and these should become clearer once the consultation is complete.

At Shine we are taking the time to understand what the proposals will mean for our members. The aim of this survey is to understand your concerns and thoughts about the proposed reforms, and enable us to consider how we can best support you as they come into effect. We plan to use our member feedback to inform our response to the proposals.

The survey should take around 20 minutes to complete (it isn't that long, but there are several open questions for you to give more detail around your thoughts if you wish).

Closing date: 24 April 2026

Page 1: About you and your child

Questions about proposed Individual Support Plans (ISPs)

The reforms propose that every child with SEND will have a legally required Individual Support Plan (ISP) created by the school with involvement of the child and parents.

2. What concerns, if any, do you have about ISPs replacing the current SEN support processes in schools?

3. How could the government provide assurance for families that an ISP will be high-quality and contain essential information?

Questions about the new support layers

The government is proposing that if a child is identified as having Special Education Needs, they receive support through one of 3 layers: Targeted, Targeted Plus, and Specialist Support Packages.

1. How clear are you about the difference between the different layers of support?

2. How confident are you that your child's needs could be met under the Targeted or Targeted Plus support layers (without an EHCP)?

Very confidentSomewhat confidentNot confidentUnsure

3. Do you think the proposed Specialist Provision Packages for those with the most complex needs would improve support compared with the current EHCP system?

YesNo

Any further comments you'd like to add?

4. The EHCP system will develop under the proposals - the EHCP will guarantee the provision within a Specialist Support Package, with the day-to-day provision captured in the ISP. What does the government need to do to ensure that these proposals work effectively?

5. If your child currently has an EHCP, what are your concerns if this plan were to be removed under these proposals?

6. How do you think the government can ensure that children within different layers are best supported?

Early Intervention and ‘Experts at Hand’

The reforms promise earlier access to education psychology, SALT and multi-agency professionals including OT and Physio.

1. How important is improved access to specialists (e.g. Speech and language therapists, educational psychologists) for your family?

Extremely importantImportantSomewhat importantNot important

1a. Why?

2. How confident are you that the Experts at Hand model will reduce waiting times?

Very confidentSomewhat confidentNot confidentUnsure

2a. Why?

3. What experts do you feel would benefit your child, and in what way?

Inclusion and Mainstream Support

1. How do you think all education settings can best support the mental health and wellbeing of young people?

2. The government has refreshed the ‘areas of development’ used to identify a child’s SEN - see the image below for these. Do you think that this is a useful framework to discuss your child's needs?

YesNo

Any further comments?

Diagram illustrating the proposed areas of development

3. How can the government best support transition for young people with SEND, so that they are well supported into post-16 provision, including further education, higher education, training or employment?

4. The government is proposing an increased development of Inclusion Bases within mainstream schools. If there was an inclusion base in your child's school, what professionals, skills and support structures do you think would be helpful?

Thank you!

That's all the survey questions answered, thank you for providing your invaluable feedback.

If you have questions or need support regarding the SEND proposals, or with any other education concerns, please do contact us on 01733 555988 or firstcontact@shinecharity.org.uk.