The SEND White Paper Is Here. What SENCOs Actually Need to Know.

The White Paper landed yesterday. By now, there's no shortage of commentary.

Reactions have ranged from cautious welcome to significant concern, sometimes from the same organisations in the same statement. The Council for Disabled Children welcomed "the scale of vision" while noting that parents "will be concerned to understand how accountability will work". The British Dyslexia Association said they were "delighted" about statutory footing for SEN support while warning that the accountability framework "needs to be strengthened".

Here, we want to look at what's actually being proposed, what remains uncertain, and what's worth considering now. Much of this will land on SENCOs to implement, so the details matter. And the details are more nuanced than either "this will fix everything" or "this is terrible".

What the White Paper actually says

The White Paper, titled "Every Child Achieving and Thriving", frames this as "generational reform". The government's stated aim: an education system where "high standards and inclusion work together as two sides of the same coin".

The layered support model

The reforms introduce a tiered system built on a strengthened universal offer:

• The universal offer establishes a new baseline for all mainstream settings: high-quality adaptive teaching, early support, accessible environments, and strong family partnerships. The White Paper states: "We are not asking teachers to teach differently or to work harder. We are giving them the resources they need and reforming the system so that they do not have to fight against it".
• Targeted support (including Targeted Plus) provides structured, evidence-based interventions within mainstream, drawing on a new "Experts at Hand" service where needed. Every child at this level will have an Individual Support Plan (ISP).
• Specialist support is for children with the most complex needs. New "Specialist Provision Packages" will define nationally consistent, evidence-based support and form the basis of future EHCPs.

Individual Support Plans

ISPs are a new statutory requirement. Schools will record and monitor SEN and provision through digital ISPs for all children receiving targeted or specialist support. The DfE describes these as "interactive, accessible and available in digital format".

Workload implications aren't yet clear. For schools already using robust provision mapping, ISPs may formalise existing practice. For others, this means significant new documentation. How ISP systems will integrate with existing MIS, and who maintains them, are questions the consultation should address.

The White Paper doesn't specify how ISPs relate to existing SEN Register processes or Assess-Plan-Do-Review cycles. What happens to current IEPs or support plans will need clarifying. In practice, this will fall to SENCOs, at least initially.

EHCPs: what's changing

EHCPs will be retained for children with the most complex needs, but will be created after specialist package and placement decisions rather than beforehand. From 2029, existing EHCPs will be reviewed against new thresholds at transition points, with particular implications for Year 6 to Year 7 handovers. Children currently in Year 3 or above will retain their EHCP until at least age 16. The government estimates around one in eight children currently with EHCPs will transition to ISPs between 2030 and 2035.

How Annual Review processes will change during transition isn't detailed. For SENCOs managing current caseloads, clarity on whether AR cycles continue unchanged until threshold review will be important.

The investment

The package includes £1.6bn for an Inclusive Mainstream Fund over three years, flowing directly to schools; £1.8bn for the "Experts at Hand" service, creating a national pool of speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, and wider professionals; over £200m for workforce SEND CPD; and £15m to build the evidence base for national inclusion standards.

The timeline

A 12-week consultation runs alongside the White Paper, closing 18 May 2026. Implementation runs: aligning to best practice from 2025–26, preparing for reforms from 2026–27, and full implementation from 2028–29. Transition arrangements extend to 2035.

Where the proposals align with good practice

Several elements have drawn cautious welcome.

Earlier intervention

The White Paper addresses the problem of support arriving late. The Council for Disabled Children welcomed "the scale of vision contained in the White Paper which has the potential to create an education system that fully values children and young people with additional needs and their families". The emphasis on children receiving support "as soon as needs are identified, not after a long fight" speaks directly to failures in the current system.

Statutory footing for SEN support

The British Dyslexia Association said they were "delighted to see the proposals around putting SEN support on a statutory footing; this is what parents and carers of dyslexic children have been asking for". The legal requirement for schools to create ISPs addresses a gap where support without an EHCP had no formal structure.

Ellen Broomé, CEO of the British Dyslexia Association, noted encouragement about "the focus on inclusion in mainstream classrooms. When teachers are supported to recognise and respond to commonly occurring needs such as dyslexia, children do not have to struggle in silence or fall behind before help arrives".

Direct funding and expert access

The Local Government Association welcomed the aspiration that "every child can get the support they need without parents and carers necessarily having to apply for a statutory plan". The Inclusive Mainstream Fund flows directly to settings rather than via LA high needs budgets.

The "Experts at Hand" service aims to get educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, and other professionals supporting children earlier. The British Psychological Society welcomed government investment in the EP workforce, while noting that "even more investment will be needed to level the playing field for all communities across the country". What's less clear is the access mechanism: how schools will request support, response times, and how this integrates with existing LA services.

Workforce investment

The £200m+ for SEND training recognises that evidence-based SEND knowledge needs distributing across the workforce. The BDA noted that "funding alone will not change school culture, so it is good to see even more focus on training and upskilling classroom teachers and support staff in mainstream settings, supported by easier access to specialists".

For SENCOs, the whole-school responsibility framing could be significant. The White Paper defines inclusion as "all staff supporting the learning, wellbeing and safety needs of all children", positioning SEND as everyone's job rather than one person's. If this translates into colleagues who genuinely share the load, it could reduce the pressure currently falling on individual SENCOs.

What remains uncertain

Accountability for ISPs

This is the concern raised most consistently. IPSEA's CEO Madeleine Cassidy has stated that the White Paper must clarify "which parts of the new approach are legally enforceable, how public bodies will be held accountable for failures, and how parents' rights to challenge decisions will be protected".

The Council for Disabled Children acknowledged that while parents will welcome ISPs, "they will be concerned to understand how accountability will work".

The British Dyslexia Association echoed this: "We remain concerned that the accountability framework around SEN support needs to be strengthened to make sure all children and young people receive the support they require, and that parents and carers can challenge schools when it is not being provided".

ISPs are school-created documents. Without the statutory weight of EHCPs, what recourse do families have when support isn't delivered? This is the question the consultation needs to address. It also shifts accountability more directly to schools, and in practice to SENCOs, rather than sitting with the LA.

EHCP threshold changes and transition

The transition arrangements will matter enormously. The National Autistic Society said they are "deeply concerned that reforms to EHCPs and the SEND Tribunal may risk autistic young people missing out on the school place that is right for them". Cerebra stated it "fears that these reforms will make access to EHCPs much harder, leaving schools to decide what provision a child needs".

Marsha Martin, founder of Black SEN Mamas, voiced a concern shared by many parent groups: "It almost seems as though what they are putting in place might stand to exacerbate the issues that we currently have. All we have actually asked for is that there is better adherence to the laws by local authority and that local authorities are held to account".

Capacity and workforce

The universal offer expects more from mainstream settings. The National Autistic Society observed that "simply acknowledging that 'things are bad' and then delegating the blame for failings to already overwhelmed and underfunded school staff will not solve anything".

NASUWT's Matt Wrack was direct: the new funding is "barely a drop in the bucket" compared with what is needed, and "teachers cannot overcome a decade of systemic underfunding or growing SEND needs with a bit of extra training".

The LGA acknowledged the challenge: "For improved mainstream inclusion to be successful, all settings need to be empowered and resourced to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, with a workforce that has the capacity and right skills".

Specific needs at risk of being overlooked

The British Dyslexia Association noted that "without a specific focus on literacy-related needs, there is a risk that children with dyslexia remain overlooked within broader reforms". They continue calling for a national dyslexia strategy "to ensure consistent early identification, evidence-based support and accountability across England".

Cathy Wassell, CEO of Autistic Girls Network, raised concerns about late identification: "Autistic girls often spend primary school masking their struggles. They only get identified when they hit the 'secondary crash'." She warned that reducing support at this point would be counterproductive.

Practical implementation

Beyond policy debates, practical questions remain. How will schools access the Experts at Hand service: streamlined referrals or another bureaucratic process? Will digital ISP systems integrate with existing MIS platforms? Will schools have flexibility in spending Inclusive Mainstream Fund money, or will it be tightly prescribed?

• For primary SENCOs: The White Paper emphasises early identification through strengthened links with Best Start Family Hubs and early years settings. For schools with nursery provision, this creates new interface points; for those receiving children at Reception, clarity on what documentation arrives with children will matter. Managing parent conversations when needs are first identified (explaining what an ISP means versus an EHCP) will require careful communication, and primary SENCOs typically carry more of this direct parent contact alongside limited non-contact time. How ISPs relate to existing provision maps and IEPs isn't specified. Year 6 transition planning needs clarity on what documentation transfers.
• For secondary SENCOs: Managing ISPs across larger cohorts and multiple departments presents different challenges. How subject teachers engage with ISPs, and who chases them when they don't, needs working through. The White Paper doesn't address how ISPs relate to exam access arrangements, nor the interface with behaviour policies for pupils whose SEMH needs present as dysregulation. Post-16 transition adds complexity: sixth form versus college pathways, and different FE systems. EHCP reviews at transition points could create additional pressure at an already challenging time of year.
• For headteachers and SLT: The White Paper is light on Ofsted implications, though the new inspection framework will reportedly reflect inclusion expectations. Budget planning needs to account for how Inclusive Mainstream Fund allocations work. Governing bodies will want clarity on accountability: if ISPs create school-level responsibility, what does that mean for complaints processes and potential legal exposure? Performance management conversations may need to reflect the expectation that all teachers deliver adaptive teaching effectively. For MATs, consistency across schools needs consideration.

These are questions the consultation needs to address.

The tension at the heart of this

These reforms sit at a genuine policy tension, visible in the range of reactions. The Council for Disabled Children welcomed "the scale of vision" while noting parents' concerns about accountability. The British Dyslexia Association welcomed statutory footing for SEN support while warning about oversight gaps. Organisations hold both perspectives simultaneously. That's not confusion; it's honest engagement with complexity.

On one side: every child deserves legally enforceable support tailored to their needs. On the other: a system must work for all children, including those who never receive diagnoses or fight through statutory processes.

The White Paper names this directly: "For too long, support for children with additional needs is late, rigid and locked behind bureaucratic statutory processes, rather than easily available, provided early and flexibly to meet children's needs as they evolve over time".

Both positions are held by people who care about children. The tension doesn't resolve neatly. The government's revised reform principles (Early, Local, Fair, Effective, Shared) frame the intended direction. Whether they translate into lived reality depends on implementation, funding, and capacity.

Within hours of publication, commentary polarised. Neither "landmark reform" nor "erosion of rights" captures the full picture. The proposals contain elements that could genuinely help and elements that carry real risk.

Special Needs Jungle's advice to parents applies equally to professionals: "Do not feel pressured into responding to the consultation immediately. Take your time, use the resources we will be putting out".

Practical considerations

The consultation

Professional perspectives matter, and SENCO perspectives specifically. The 12-week window (closing 18 May 2026) asks about ISPs, threshold criteria, workforce development, and accountability. These are the areas where stakeholders have raised the most significant concerns, which means they're the areas where input is most needed.

The consultation asks how ISPs should work in practice, what accountability mechanisms should exist, and how the transition from EHCPs should be managed. These questions have direct operational implications.

Share the consultation link with colleagues and families.

Workforce capability

Regardless of how policy settles, the direction is clear: more expectation on mainstream settings, more demand for SEND knowledge across the workforce. The White Paper states that "all early years, school, and college staff will be able to access national, evidence-based training on SEND and inclusion".

The National Autistic Society's call for "all school staff to have autism training, so they understand autistic children's needs and provide the right support" reflects a broader point. The phrase "whole-school responsibility" appears throughout the White Paper. SENCOs know that shared responsibility still needs someone to coordinate it. But schools where all staff have foundational SEND knowledge are different to work in. The gap between "this is everyone's job" as something people say and something that actually happens narrows when colleagues feel confident in their own practice.

Platforms like STEPS support this: structured online SEND training that all staff can access, building confidence in areas like autism awareness, communication needs, and adaptive teaching strategies. Free access is available until September 2026.

Current systems

The new inclusion strategy duty will require schools to articulate how they track provision and evidence impact. If your current systems for recording needs, mapping provision, and monitoring outcomes are robust, that's a solid foundation. If they could be stronger, starting now reduces future pressure.

The White Paper mentions digital ISPs and improved data systems. Details are sparse, but this likely means new platforms or significant changes to existing ones. If you've been meaning to audit your provision mapping, or whether current systems would translate to a more formalised ISP structure, the next twelve months offer time to do that without implementation pressure.

Quick answers to common questions

What is the SEND reform White Paper?

"Every Child Achieving and Thriving", published 23 February 2026, proposes reforms to the SEND system in England. A 12-week consultation runs until 18 May 2026.

What are Individual Support Plans (ISPs)?

New statutory documents that schools will create for all children receiving targeted or specialist support. They will be digital, interactive, and accessible. Questions remain about their legal weight compared to EHCPs.

What changes are being made to EHCPs?

EHCPs will be retained for children with the most complex needs, but the threshold will change. From 2029, existing EHCPs will be reviewed at transition points.

When does this take effect?

Nothing changes immediately. Implementation begins 2028–29, with transition arrangements extending to 2035.

What does this mean for SENCOs?

The White Paper doesn't specify how the SENCO role will change, but operational responsibility for ISPs, Experts at Hand referrals, and inclusion strategy documentation will fall to SENCOs, at least initially. For SENCOs already stretched across teaching commitments and limited SENCO time, this raises questions about capacity.

Key messages for your school

If you need to brief colleagues, governors, or parents, here are the essentials.

What's changing

The government proposes a new layered support system for children with SEND. Most children will be supported through a strengthened "universal offer" in mainstream settings. Children needing additional support will have Individual Support Plans (ISPs), new statutory documents created by schools. EHCPs will remain for children with the most complex needs, but the threshold will change.

New funding will flow directly to schools (£1.6bn over three years), and a new "Experts at Hand" service will provide access to specialists.

What's not changing yet

Nothing changes immediately. A consultation runs until 18 May 2026. Implementation begins 2028–29, with transition arrangements extending to 2035. Children currently in Year 3 or above with EHCPs will retain them until at least age 16.

For day-to-day classroom practice right now: nothing is different.

What staff need to know now

• For classroom teachers: The White Paper emphasises "high-quality adaptive teaching" as the foundation. This builds on what you're already doing: differentiating, scaffolding, and adjusting your approach to meet the range of needs in your classroom. The government has committed to national SEND training for all staff, though details and timelines aren't confirmed. When parents ask what this means for their child: we're waiting for consultation outcomes, but current support continues.
• For teaching assistants: Your role in delivering targeted interventions is central to the new model. ISPs will require clear documentation of what's being delivered and what's working.
• For pastoral and behaviour leads: The White Paper doesn't address how ISPs interface with behaviour policies or SEMH provision. Worth flagging in consultation responses.
• For all staff: The White Paper states: "We are not asking teachers to teach differently or to work harder. We are giving them the resources they need." Whether that commitment translates into practice depends on implementation.

For governors

The reforms propose shifting more accountability to school level. Questions worth raising: How will the governing body oversee ISP quality? What are the implications for complaints procedures? How will we know if Inclusive Mainstream Fund spending is effective?

Staff meeting talking points

• What do we already do well to support children with additional needs? How might ISPs build on this?
• Where do we feel stretched? Does the consultation ask about this?
• What training would help colleagues feel more confident with commonly occurring needs?
• How do we communicate with parents about SEN support? What works, and what could be clearer?

What you can do

The consultation is open until 18 May 2026. If you have views on how ISPs should work, what training is needed, or how accountability should function, this is the window to share them.

The White Paper proposes significant change. The consultation period is the opportunity to interrogate the details, particularly around accountability.

Whatever emerges, schools where staff have foundational SEND knowledge will be better placed to respond. The reforms expect more from mainstream settings. Investing in workforce confidence now makes sense regardless of where policy lands.

If whole-school SEND training is on your radar, STEPS offers free access until September 2026.

Explore STEPS →