Will the SEND reform “actually” work? : A perspective from England to Oxfordshire
As the government looks to tighten eligibility criteria for EHCPs and budget cut, how will these changes impact children with SEND and the schools that support them?
The government is considering reducing the number of EHCPs (Education, Health, and Care Plans) in England, proposing to limit them only to children categorised with the most “specialist” needs by 2035.
An EHCP is a legal document that identifies a child’s specific needs and determines support details.
Parents, schools or professionals, such as speech therapists, apply to the local authorities for an assessment. The authorities commission experts to evaluate the needs of both the child and their family.
If it’s determined that the required support exceeds what the mainstream school can provide, they will draw up the EHCP. However, if an application is turned down after the assessment, the authorities may only produce a written report, such as recommendations that have no funding or legal binding.
Pupils currently holding EHCP will retain access until September 2029; however, after the end of primary school, they will be reassessed.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stated that these plans aim to make mainstream schools more inclusive and “deliver better life chances for children”, according to the BBC coverage.
What is the ISP?
The alternative plan for those who do not qualify for an EHCP is the introduction of an ISP (Individual Support Plan). This plan will be made for individual needs through consultations between teachers and parents. The reform divides SEND support into three tiers: targeted, targeted plus, and specialist.
Targeted support involves an individual support plan, while Targeted Plus involves engagement from professionals.
Dr Rachel Falkner, a Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University in Education/SEN/Inclusion, who also worked as a teacher and a SEND coordinator, notes that the final form of ISPs remains uncertain.
While schools in Oxfordshire currently use a one-page “pupil-profile” to summarise a child’s strengths, needs and teaching strategies, there are cases in other counties like Buckinghamshire where templates can reach over 14 pages.
She noted that if the documentation is too extensive, it will inevitably increase the workload of teachers. The key challenge lies in determining what format these plans should take.
The increasing demand for EHCPs
Looking at the Department of Education statistics, 18.2% of pupils now have an EHC plan or receive SEND support, an increase from 17.1% the previous year. Primary schools have seen the largest spike, with an additional 21,000 pupils receiving plans since 2024.
It is clear that local authorities are failing to keep up with the exploding demand for EHCPs, and there is no choice but to implement reforms. The Oxfordshire council revealed in the budget report for 2024 that the council is relying on SEND reforms to avoid going bankrupt.
Under the current statutory obligations, local authorities are required to allocate extra high needs funding to schools with SEND units. However, compared to the original funding of £6000 to £10000 per place, the additional allocation is only £539 per pupil.
Is Funding enough?
While the newly introduced ISP might be effective in helping the Council save money on EHCPs, an important question remains: Is the government’s overall school funding actually enough?
The Department of Education data from 2016/17 to 2026/27 compares the normal cash funding per pupil (ages 5-16) with the real-term value adjusted for inflation.
This reveals that, although the government’s website indicates a continuous increase since 2011, per-pupil funding has grown only by a mere £790 over the last decade.
With rising costs, the government’s outlook on funding for children with SEND feels very optimistic.
Staff Shortages and Training Gaps
Beyond the lack of funding, schools are facing a severe shortage of support staff, particularly Teaching Assistants (TAs).
Each school is staffed with a SENCO (Special Educational Needs Coordinator), a lead who holds a national professional qualification in SEND. While all teachers learn the basic knowledge of special education, the government is now pushing for additional mandatory training.
In contrast, there is currently no such requirement for TAs. Dr Rachael pointed out that TAs’ hours for supporting children are being cut due to increasing pressure on school budgets.
According to the NFER study, support staff make up more than half of the school workforce, and this continues to grow year on year. This is largely a result of increasing numbers of secondary school students and rising demand for special educational needs and disabilities support.
Furthermore, the data from NFER shows that 74 per cent of senior leaders in primary school stated that recruiting teaching assistants is “difficult or very difficult”.
I really like the aspiration, but I fear the implementation
Dr Rachael told Hybrid that anxiety toward the SEND reform is increasing among parents.
“The head of SEND in Oxford is saying there are now 9000 EHCPs in Oxfordshire. Parents worried that the legal protection of a document will be lost. And I know on things like “SEND jungle”, which is a parent forum, there’s been a lot of concern on that as well.”
However, it might be too early to conclude because, with the implementation still some way off, the plans remain subject to change depending on the future, she added.
“Children still need assessing, but if it’s not such a costly process—if the schools had more money upfront—they would be able to support those children, so they perhaps wouldn’t need an EHCP,” she explained.
“Research shows that one of the best ways of improving things is training teachers well so that they feel confident to support different children.”