SEND White Paper 2026 Published: "Every Child Achieving and Thriving" Overhauls England's SEND System

The government's landmark SEND White Paper 2026, titled Every Child Achieving and Thriving, was officially laid before Parliament on Monday, February 23, 2026 ET — delivering the most sweeping overhaul of special educational needs and disabilities policy in a decade. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called the Schools White Paper a "once-in-a-generation" blueprint to transform outcomes for the 1.7 million disabled children and young people in England.

What the SEND White Paper 2026 Actually Says

The government schools white paper is backed by a landmark £4 billion investment designed to make every school truly inclusive and transform outcomes for children with SEND. The white paper sets out the government's vision for schools and SEND reform to support every child to achieve and thrive, aiming to shift children's school experience from narrow to broad, ensure those who have been sidelined are included, and take children and communities from withdrawn to engaging with schools.

EHCP Reform: A New Four-Tier Structure Takes Shape

EHCPs are not abolished under the SEND White Paper 2026, but their role is significantly narrowed. Around one in eight children with SEND who currently receive the highest level of support will transition to new plans between 2030 and 2035, and the proportion of children on the current highest level of support is projected to start falling each year from the end of the decade. No child with a special school place when the reforms start being introduced in 2029 will lose it.

The Council for Disabled Children welcomed the commitment to retain statutory EHCPs for children and young people whose needs cannot be met through the new model, and noted parents will welcome the legal requirement for schools to create Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for all children with SEND.

The £4 Billion SEND Funding Breakdown

The Experts at Hand service will create a bank of specialists — including SEND teachers and speech and language therapists — in every local area, which schools can draw down from on demand regardless of whether children have an EHCP.

Bridget Phillipson's Vision for Government Schools SEND Reform

Phillipson said: "The SEND system designed ten years ago for a small number of children is now broken. Today's plans will take children with SEND from sidelined and excluded to seen, heard and included." The Schools White Paper also commits to all schools joining academy trusts, with local authorities and local area partnerships gaining the power to set up their own trusts, framing inclusion as inseparable from structural school reform.

Laura Trott and Opposition Fire Back

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott sharply challenged the government schools white paper, demanding families receive "cast-iron guarantees" that no child with an EHCP would lose support and questioning whether the funding is genuinely new money, pointing to the £6 billion SEND deficit held by councils.

NASUWT General Secretary Matt Wrack said the investment was "barely a drop in the bucket" of what was necessary, arguing years of underfunding mean the funding cannot drive real improvement in schools.

Parent Groups and Campaigners Respond to the SEND White Paper

Reaction from SEND families remains deeply divided. Marsha Martin of Black SEN Mamas fears the reforms could erode both children's and parents' legal rights, saying it "almost seems as though what they are putting in place might stand to exacerbate the issues that we currently have." A petition calling for the protection of disabled children's rights gathered more than 132,000 signatures ahead of publication.

The Council for Disabled Children struck a more measured tone, noting that a consultation launched alongside the white paper is an opportunity to clarify accountability details, ensuring families have clear routes to action where ambitions are not delivered.

Key SEND White Paper 2026 Timelines at a Glance

• 2026: SEND White Paper consultation opens
• 2029: ISP reforms begin rolling into mainstream schools
• 2030–2035: Transition period during which EHCP numbers are projected to fall
• Target: Halve the disadvantage gap between pupils within two decades

The SEND White Paper 2026 now enters a formal consultation period, with the government inviting responses from parents, educators, and sector bodies before legislation is brought forward.