Brief overview of the Schools White Paper in England
6 mins read
Tuesday 10 March 2026
Contact’s policy and helpline teams have been looking at the detail of the government’s Schools White Paper on reforms to the SEND system. Here they give an overview of the proposed changes.
In the coming days and weeks we will cover the biggest proposed changes in detail and set out some questions and concerns we have about the proposals, how we intend to respond to the consultation and ways you can get involved in that response. The 12 week consultation process ends on Monday 18 May and there is now an opportunity to shape the proposals.
It’s important to remember that throughout this process existing SEND law remains the same. If you are told something different, this is incorrect.
What we welcome
- A new duty on schools to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every child with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND)
Schools, nurseries and colleges will have a new legal duty to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for any child with a special educational need.
This means:
- Every child with SEND would have a digital plan of support, written by the school.
- Parents should be involved in producing the ISP.
- Each ISP must be reviewed annually.
Individual Support Plans would be produced for children getting school-based support in one of two levels – Targeted support and Targeted plus. These would replace the current SEN support. ISPs would also be produced for those who need Specialist Support alongside their Education, Health and Care Plan.
Targeted support provides structured support within mainstream settings, including small-group work or personalised materials. This is predominantly in the classroom but where appropriate in the school’s Inclusion Base.
Targeted plus provides better access to specialists like education psychologists and speech and language therapists through the government’s new Experts at Hand services. It may also include accessing Inclusion Bases within mainstream settings.
We welcome this because it should make support for children with special educational needs and disabilities clearer and more consistent at an earlier stage. However, we would like the government to go further in strengthening the duty to deliver what’s in the plan and for there to be a clear route for parents to challenge if that’s not happening.
- Better access to specialists, training and transparency
The White paper sets out:
- Each local area will have better access to specialists including speech and language, occupational and physiotherapists, under the government’s Experts at Hand service. Schools can then tap into those resources when needed.
- A new national training programme for teachers to help build more inclusive culture and classrooms in mainstream schools.
- More published information about SEND Tribunal outcomes, so families can see how local authorities are performing.
- A realistic timeframe – we welcome the commitment to build capacity for inclusion in mainstream schools before legal changes are introduced.
- A fast-track assessment process for under-5s with very complex needs.
We believe these steps could improve early support, as well as culture and accountability in schools.
What we are concerned about
- Changes to Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) rights and assessments
The White Paper says:
- Specialist Provision Packages will provide comprehensive, evidence-based packages of support for children and young people with the most complex needs. Only those children who have the Specialist Provision Packages (SSPs) will be given EHCPs.
However, there is no definition of complex needs in the White Paper which means we don’t know which children and young people will be eligible for SSPs and EHCPs. There is a concern the threshold for getting an EHCP could become higher, and this has understandably caused concern among parents.
- We are concerned the Specialist Provision Packages (SPPs) remove the individual and bespoke nature of the plans which is crucial to getting the right support for each child who have unique needs. There are also questions about who decides which “package” a child receives.
At the moment, it’s not clear:
- Whether families will still be able to request an EHC assessment at any time.
- Whether rights to annual reviews and appeals will stay the same.
- Fewer appeal powers and weaker routes to challenge decisions
Under the proposals:
- The Tribunal may have reduced powers.
- Parents may no longer be able to name a specific school.
- Annual EHCP reviews could be replaced with less frequent reviews.
We are concerned this could make it harder for parents to challenge decisions and secure the right support.
Gaps in the White Paper
- Mental health is not included as a focused area of development.
- EOTAS (Education Otherwise Than At School) is not mentioned.
- School transport is not addressed.
- Alternative provision arrangements are unclear.
- The importance of social care and health on supporting disabled children in schools does not feature strongly enough.
How to respond
Our Focus Groups are being held this week and are already giving us brilliant insights, thank you to all taking part. Unfortunately they are full. However you can respond to the consultation individually.
The government has published its consultation document and asks for comments from everyone with an interest.
You can take part online. You can also respond to this consultation via email at [email protected], or by post to:
SENDAP Reform, Sanctuary Buildings, Great Smith Street, London, SW1P 3BT
The consultation closes on 11:59pm on 18 May 2026.