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SEND Reforms Delayed: 17 Things to Know About What Happens Next

The big shake-up of SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) support in England is running late again. Ministers had been expected to publish their response to the SEND consultation this autumn. On 4 November 2026, Education Secretary Lucy Powell told MPs the bill and the full response will now come “very early in the new year”. This matters to you because the plans would change how schools support pupils with SEND, but for now the current law still applies.

1. What has been delayed

Three things are now due early in 2027. The first is the draft law on SEND reform. The second is the government’s full response to the SEND consultation. The third is a set of national inclusion standards (rules on what good support looks like in every school). Powell said specialist provision packages (set support plans for pupils with the most complex needs) will come out at the same time.

2. What Lucy Powell told MPs

Powell spoke to the Education Select Committee (a group of MPs who check the work of the Department for Education, or DfE) on 4 November 2026. It was her first hearing since she became education secretary. She said the government wanted to take the time needed to get the reforms right. She described them as a chance to fix a system that is not working for parents or children. She also said alternative provision (education for pupils outside mainstream school) should become more of an outreach service that comes into schools.

3. Why the timing has slipped

The people in charge have changed since the plans came out. Andy Burnham became prime minister in 2026 and moved Lucy Powell into the DfE in place of Bridget Phillipson. Powell took up the job in July 2026. News reports say Whitehall sources expect the response in the new year, but the DfE had not confirmed a firm date. Some reports ask how much of Phillipson’s original package will survive.

4. The timeline so far

  • 22 October 2025: the government delayed the plans from autumn 2025 into 2026.
  • 23 February 2026: the schools white paper (a policy plan), Every Child Achieving and Thriving, came out with a SEND consultation.
  • 13 May 2026: the King’s Speech named an Education for All Bill to change SEND law.
  • 18 May 2026: the consultation closed.
  • 4 November 2026: Powell said the bill and response will come early in 2027.

5. The layers of support that were proposed

The plans set out four layers, a bit like a ladder of support. A pupil can start on any layer and move between them as needs change.

  • Universal: good everyday teaching that most pupils need.
  • Targeted: extra help such as small-group work or pre-teaching key words.
  • Targeted Plus: more specialist help, an inclusion base, or a short placement elsewhere.
  • Specialist: for the most complex needs, in mainstream or special schools.

6. What would happen to EHCPs

An EHCP (education, health and care plan) is a legal document. It sets out the support a child must get. Under the plans, EHCPs would be kept for pupils with the most complex needs. Pupils in Year 3 and above now would keep their EHCP until at least age 16. Younger pupils would be reassessed when they move from primary to secondary school. The government has promised these changes would not start before September 2030. The DfE expects EHCP numbers to keep rising for a while, then fall back to about today’s level by 2035.

7. Individual support plans for many more pupils

Schools would write an ISP (individual support plan) for pupils who need targeted help. Pupils with an EHCP would also have an ISP. The DfE says ISPs would be digital and easy to use. These would start from 2029, so you do not need to write them yet. Schools Week reported that around 1 in 8 pupils could move from an EHCP to an ISP between 2030 and 2035.

8. More inclusion in mainstream schools

The white paper wants more pupils with SEND to thrive in mainstream schools. Every school must now publish an inclusion strategy (a plan for how it will include pupils with SEND). The deadline for the first one is 31 December 2026. A new “experts at hand” service, worth £1.8 billion, aims to bring specialists such as speech and language therapists and educational psychologists into schools. Tes reports that some councils running this service have struggled to recruit.

9. Inclusion bases in schools

An inclusion base is a space in a mainstream school where some pupils get extra support. The DfE published guidance in June 2026. It is non-statutory, which means schools do not have to follow it by law. There are two types: support bases that schools set up, and specialist bases that councils set up. The government wants every secondary school to have one. The guidance says a qualified teacher should run the base and it must never be used as a punishment.

10. The money on the table

  • Inclusive Mainstream Fund: the white paper promised £1.6 billion over three years. The DfE says it is worth over £500 million a year, with £400 million for schools.
  • Your school’s share: a £3,000 lump sum plus a per-pupil rate. Primaries get £16 per pupil and secondaries £14, plus more for pupils who start behind.
  • Building work: £3.7 billion of capital (building) money up to 2029-30 for new specialist places, inclusion bases and changes to buildings.
  • Spending rules: the fund cannot pay general running costs. You can carry unspent money forward, but must use it by 31 March 2028.

11. How many pupils have SEN

DfE figures from June 2026 show over 1.8 million pupils in England have SEN (special educational needs). Of these, 538,547 pupils in schools have an EHCP. That is 6% of all pupils, up from 5.3% a year earlier. Another 1.3 million pupils (14.8%) get SEN support without an EHCP. Autism is the most common main need for pupils with an EHCP.

12. EHCP numbers are still rising fast

In January 2026, 718,838 children and young people up to age 25 had an EHCP. This is a wider group than school pupils, so the number is higher. It was up 12.5% on the year before. Councils issued 110,708 new plans in 2025. Only 46.1% of new plans were issued within the 20-week time limit.

13. Council debts and the “statutory override”

Many councils spend more on high needs (SEND support) than they get. The statutory override is a rule that keeps these debts off councils’ main accounts. It now ends in March 2028. In February 2026, the government said it would cover 90% of councils’ SEND debts built up to the end of 2025-26. Councils get this through a new High Needs Stability Grant if the DfE approves their local SEND reform plan. The October 2026 Budget repeated the 90% promise, but the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility, the official forecaster) noted no promise covers later debts.

14. What stays the same for now

Nothing in the proposals is law yet. The Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice (the official guidance schools and councils must follow) still apply. You can still ask your council for an EHC needs assessment (the check that decides if a child needs an EHCP). Families can still appeal to the SEND Tribunal (an independent court for SEND disputes). The government has also promised no changes to EHCPs before at least September 2030.

15. What parents, campaigners and unions are worried about

  • Parents’ rights: IPSEA, a legal advice charity, fears ISPs may be hard to enforce and that “complex needs” is not clearly defined.
  • Workload: school leaders’ unions warned of too much change at once. ASCL said an average secondary school could have about 200 ISPs.
  • Funding: the NASUWT teaching union says any plan needs guaranteed money for staff and specialist support. It would welcome a pause if its concerns are met.
  • Uncertainty: ASCL has said schools must be told how long any delay will last and why.

16. What SENCOs and school leaders can do now

  • Publish your school’s inclusion strategy by 31 December 2026. Ask governors or trustees to check it.
  • Spend your Inclusive Mainstream Fund on proven inclusion work. Keep clear records of what you spent and why.
  • Keep running EHCP reviews and requests under the current law and Code of Practice.
  • If you plan an inclusion base, read the June 2026 DfE guidance first. Build strong whole-school support before you open one.
  • Ask your council how the “experts at hand” service works locally and how to book support.

17. What teachers and parents can do now

  • Teachers: focus on strong everyday teaching for all pupils. Use the DfE’s new SEND training materials and ask your SENCO (special educational needs co-ordinator) for help.
  • Parents: if you think your child needs an EHCP, you can still ask for an assessment now. Do not wait for the reforms.
  • Parents: ask your school to share its inclusion strategy and explain how it supports your child.
  • Everyone: watch for the bill and consultation response early in 2027. Check gov.uk rather than social media for the real detail.

Find out more

Details correct at 8 November 2026 based on DfE statistics, GOV.UK guidance, the February 2026 schools white paper and reporting by Tes, Schools Week and others, and may change. Always check the latest guidance.

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