Government White Paper Education reshapes SEND: key changes, political fallout and the spending gamble

The government white paper education framing of the new SEND reforms lands with multiple major changes that matter to parents, schools and local authorities: a shift toward individual support plans (ISPs), new tiers of support, a plan to restrict EHCP eligibility to the most complex needs by 2035, and reassessments beginning in September 2029. This package promises altered entitlements, fresh funding commitments and an immediate political debate about accountability.

Government White Paper Education: the headline reforms and legal framework

The government has published plans to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England. The reforms introduce individual support plans (ISPs) alongside new support tiers labelled "targeted", "targeted plus" and "specialist", and introduce national inclusion standards intended to change day-to-day delivery.

EHCPs remain a distinct legal instrument: they identify a pupil's needs and set out the support to which a pupil is legally entitled, with local authorities responsible for ensuring EHCPs are followed. The big structural change is a commitment that, by 2035, only children with the most complex needs will qualify for EHCPs.

Who keeps EHCPs and how reassessment will work

Children who already have an EHCP, or who have been assessed as needing one, will keep them until they finish their current phase of education — for example, primary or secondary school. At that point, starting from September 2029, those pupils will be reassessed. For clarity, pupils who are now in Year 2 will undergo reassessment when they reach Year 6.

Parents will still be able to apply for EHCPs. EHCPs will be delivered by local authorities, and parents will retain the right to challenge decisions about support at tribunal. The proportion of pupils with EHCPs is expected to grow in the short term while reforms roll out, but the government hopes the rate of growth will slow and that the proportion will fall back to its earlier level by 2035.

ISPs, inclusion standards and the stated intent

ISPs — individual support plans — will be used for pupils with SEND who do not hold EHCPs. These documents will set out a child's needs, the support they should receive and the intended outcomes. ISPs are described as flexible plans that identify day-to-day needs, distinct from an EHCP's role as the statutory entitlement framework.

New national inclusion standards aim to embed more consistent identification and support across mainstream settings, reflecting a policy emphasis on inclusion and earlier, consistent intervention.

Spending commitments, inclusion drive and wider schooling debate

The education agenda has been presented alongside a 10-year plan described as generous in places but not without critics. The plan highlights an inclusion-first approach and substantial near-term spending: £1. 6bn allocated over the next three years to ensure needs in mainstream schools are "identified early and met consistently", and £1. 8bn set aside for speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and wider professionals to work in schools.

A further element is a new generation of Sure Start-style family hubs, each intended to host an in-house SEND practitioner. The plan is framed as trying to control rapidly rising SEND costs by investing now to avoid greater expense later, and it is presented as a once-in-a-generation opportunity for change.

Political reactions, historical context and public debate

Public debate around SEND reform is occurring against a wider national conversation in which some voices have pushed an "overdiagnosis" narrative about conditions such as autism and ADHD. One recent outreach effort used social media to invite a parent concerned about school budgets and offered £150 for participation in media work that questioned spending priorities.

Commentators note the government's stated belief in mainstream inclusion as an answer to past trends: between 2012 and 2019, the number of children with SEND in English mainstream schools fell by almost a quarter while special school attendance increased by nearly a third. That history is cited as context for the move back toward inclusion and for the expectation of pushback from schools with a strong focus on discipline and attainment.

Parliamentary controversy and a parallel accountability debate

Separately, MPs are debating a Liberal Democrat-led attempt to compel ministers to release documents about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as a trade envoy. The government will not oppose release of those files. Labour trade minister Chris Bryant has confirmed government support for the motion to publish files relating to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as a trade envoy in 2001.

In parliamentary remarks, the minister framed the publication motion as owed to victims of "horrific" abuse perpetrated by Jeffrey Epstein and others, and criticised those who enabled or turned a blind eye out of greed, familiarity or deference. He described personal and third-party accounts portraying Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as self-aggrandising, self-enriching, rude, arrogant and unable to distinguish public from private interest, and recalled an instance in which Mountbatten-Windsor insisted on attending an event by helicopter, noting that such behaviour is neither a crime nor simply defined as arrogance.

Ministers have warned that documents which could prejudice an ongoing police investigation will not be published until that investigation concludes, and that many relevant records exist only in hard copy, which will slow publication. The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats raised concern about repeated ministerial updates being needed; the minister committed to updating the House as often as possible and sought to manage expectations about the timeliness of releases. He also emphasised the priority of achieving proper justice for victims even if some disclosed material is politically embarrassing.

Another MP opening the debate declared that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had shamed the country and the royal family and argued MPs had been barred from raising criticism of him for too long, criticising an outdated tradition that restricts discussion of the royal family in the House of Commons and has had damaging consequences.

What to watch next

• Reassessment timetable starting September 2029 and its impact on pupils currently holding EHCPs.
• Rollout details for ISPs, national inclusion standards and the new support tiers: "targeted", "targeted plus" and "specialist".
• Implementation of the funding commitments and the placement of SEND practitioners in family hubs.
• Progress on publication of historical files related to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, mindful of the ongoing police investigation and paper-only records.

Recent updates indicate this is a fast-moving policy package with political and practical implications; details may evolve as reassessments begin and as parliamentary processes around document release continue.