An Unstoppable Train

An Unstoppable Train

By Hannah Adams

Published: 21 Jul 2026

In February, the government published its long-awaited White Paper on reform of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) system. Families face significant delays in securing the support their children require at school, whether due to Local Authority decision-making or tribunal waiting times. Parents and schools agree the system isn’t working but while reforms were widely anticipated, the proposals fall short of addressing these systemic issues.

Under the Children and Families Act 2014, parents have clear and important legal rights:

• To request an assessment of your child’s Education, Health and Care Needs
• To secure an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) where your child has special educational needs and requires provision that is not ordinarily available within a mainstream school
• A child with an EHCP has a right to legally enforceable provision
• To request a specific school or college be named in the EHCP and to appeal decisions to the SEND Tribunal

However, the White Paper falls far short of resolving current difficulties and appears to weaken these protections.

Under the proposed reforms:

• The right to an EHC needs assessment and plan will change and will be restricted to children and young people with ‘complex needs’ that haven’t yet been defined
• The right to provision based on a child’s individual needs will change to standardised Specialist Provision Packages (SPPs) into which individual children may not easily fit. We do not know whether these packages will be sufficiently detailed or legally enforceable, potentially making it harder for parents to challenge inadequate provision.
• Some children who currently have EHCPs or would be entitled under the current law, may be moved to Individual Support Plans (ISPs). Unlike EHCPs, these would not be legally enforceable, leaving parents reliant on school complaints processes, hugely increasing pressure on schools and teaching staff.
• Parents will lose the right to appeal the name or type of placement, alongside reduced powers for the SEND Tribunal to order a specific placement

The current law is clear on children’s right to an education that meets their individual needs and parents’ rights to challenge decisions and have their appeal heard by a Tribunal. Whilst the present situation, with delays and families having to fight for support, is chaotic and unfair, the law itself does not need fundamental change.

The answer cannot be to remove legal rights to an education that meets a child’s needs. Instead, there must be stronger enforceability and greater accountability for Local Authorities to ensure compliance with existing duties.

Unfortunately, it seems likely that reform will continue in a direction which dilutes those protections. The law has not yet been changed, however, and it will be more important than ever for families to secure early identification of SEN and to pursue EHCPs with clearly specified, legally enforceable provision.