Bridget Phillipson unveils SEND overhaul with new funding, ISPs and inclusion standards
bridget phillipson has set out sweeping reforms to England’s special educational needs and disabilities system, combining new funding, fresh documents called individual support plans and tighter rules on who will qualify for education, health and care plans. The package matters now because it redraws eligibility to 2035, introduces reassessments from September 2029 and attaches billions in new spending and services.
Bridget Phillipson spent Sunday and Monday unveiling Department for Education changes
bridget phillipson spent Sunday and Monday unveiling the Department for Education’s sweeping changes to the SEND system, presenting an optimistic, inclusion-focused message and a pledge of increased spending on SEND provision. In the speech delivered on Monday she finished with the line: "Our moment calls for courage. Because before us sits a once-in-a-generation chance for change. " She framed the reforms as a move to identify needs early and meet them consistently for 1. 7 million children currently classified as having SEND.
New investment package: £4 billion, Inclusive Mainstream Fund and Experts at Hand
The government announced a landmark £4 billion investment to make every school more inclusive, including a new Inclusive Mainstream Fund of £1. 6 billion over three years to be provided directly to early years, schools and colleges. In addition, a new "Experts at Hand" service will be funded with £1. 8 billion over three years to create a bank of specialists such as SEND teachers and speech and language therapists in every local area that schools can draw on on demand, regardless of whether children have an EHCP.
The package is described as sitting alongside a record increase for high needs of £3. 5 billion in 2028 to 2029, over and above Autumn Budget 25 funding, and follows commitments including training for every teacher and 60, 000 new specialist places. A new generation of Sure Start-style family hubs will each have an in-house SEND practitioner.
Redrawing EHCP eligibility: the 2035 goal and September 2029 reassessments
A central change is that, by 2035, only children with the most complex needs will qualify for education, health and care plans, or EHCPs. EHCPs are legal documents that identify a pupil's needs and set out what support they should receive, and local authorities are responsible for ensuring EHCPs are followed. The government says children who already have an EHCP, or who have been assessed as needing one, will keep them until they finish whichever phase of education they are in, and will then be reassessed starting from September 2029.
For example, pupils who are now in Year 2 will undergo reassessments when they reach Year 6. Until 2015 the proportion of pupils with EHCPs was relatively stable at 2. 8%; since then it has nearly doubled to 5. 3%. The government expects the proportion to grow in the foreseeable future while the reforms roll out, but hopes the changes will slow that rate of growth and see it fall back to the current level by 2035. Parents will still be able to apply for EHCPs, which will be delivered by local authorities, and challenge decisions at tribunal.
Individual support plans, inclusion standards and tiers of support
The reforms introduce individual support plans, or ISPs, for pupils with SEND who do not have EHCPs. ISP stands for "individual support plans" and these documents will set out a child's needs, what support they should receive and what it hopes to achieve. The government described ISPs as "flexible" plans that set out what the child needs day to day, as opposed to an EHCP, which is the framework giving them legal entitlement to support.
The package also creates new national inclusion standards and a system of layers of support labelled "targeted", "targeted plus" and "specialist" to clarify what schools and communities should provide.
Politics, pressures and the debate over diagnosis and provision
The national conversation around SEND has been fractious. The reforms come amid concerns about the demonisation of disabled and vulnerable children and their parents and a visible debate over so-called "overdiagnosis" of conditions such as autism and ADHD. One recent call-out on a social platform sought a "mum who’s concerned her child’s school budget is being spent on pupils with special educational needs" and asked: "more important things you feel the school should be spending money on? For example … computers, sports equipment etc?" The fee offered for that contribution was £150.
Part of the reform rationale is to reverse a trend from the coalition years when, between 2012 and 2019, the number of children with SEND in mainstream schools fell by almost a quarter while the number attending special schools increased by nearly a third. The reforms promote mainstream inclusion and say they aim to end the postcode lottery of SEND support so more children, regardless of need, can attend their local school. The proposals also acknowledge a government worry that without change demand will grow to a point it cannot be met and reiterate a promise that children will get support "when they need it, as routine and without a fight. "
