Proposed SEND reforms in England
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Shine's response to the government's proposed SEND reforms in England
On Monday 23 February the Government published a White Paper about education, which included a set of proposals covering the reform of the SEND system in England - SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First.
Wales and Northern Ireland are unaffected by these proposals.
The consultation is now open for the public until the 18 May 2026. You can find the link for this here: SEND reform: putting children and young people first - Department for Education - Citizen Space
The proposed changes to the SEND system are understandably causing concern amongst families, young people, and professionals among our Shine community. It’s important to note that the proposals are still in their consultation phase, currently some of them lack detail, and these should become clearer once the consultation is complete. Once they are turned into legislation, this isn’t expected to come into effect until September 2029. At this point any young person with an EHCP will have their needs assessed at the next transition point (primary to secondary school, or secondary school to a post-16 provider) and they will move on to the proposed Specialist Provision Package system which will underpin the reformed EHCP system, or move to support being provided through an Individual Support Plan. If the young person is at a special school or college, they will be able to continue with this placement if they wish.
Contact has created a really useful guide that explains the contact of the schools' white paper and the proposed SEND reforms. The information in the documents is lengthy so a lot of organisations, such as Shine, are taking time to digest it. As Contact does this, they’re adding additional information to this webpage, so it provides some useful explainers as to what the proposals include. The Government have also created a group of Easy Read versions of the reforms SEND reform and within this is a resource specifically designed for young people explaining the proposed reforms.
At Shine we are taking the time to understand what the proposals will mean for our members. This will enable us to ensure our response best reflects the views of our community and enable us to consider how we can best support you as they come into effect. We will be putting out a survey for members to complete to share your concerns and thoughts, in addition we will be putting on a session for young people in our FIRE program to discuss their lived experiences and opinions. We plan to use our member feedback to inform our response to the proposals.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01733 555988 or email firstcontact@shinecharity.org.uk if you have any questions or need support regarding the SEND proposals or with any other education concerns.