Children in England to get support more quickly under SEND overhaul, minister says

Bridget Phillipson said the government's SEND white paper will speed access to support so some help can begin within weeks, and that eligibility for Education, Health and Care plans will be focused on the most severe needs.

Bridget Phillipson, the minister responsible for the SEND review, has pledged that the government's planned overhaul will deliver support faster than the current system and will be introduced as part of a long-term transition. The white paper setting out the reforms is due to be published shortly and is described as a decade-long shift to make SEND provision more integral to schools. Officials say the reform aims to address delays and inconsistencies in the current system. Campaigners and some parents have expressed concerns about how changes to legal entitlements will affect families when children move between school phases. Key points: - Phillipson said support would begin within weeks rather than months, and that the government will publish detailed proposals in the white paper. - The reforms will give every child with SEND an individual support plan, government sources confirmed. - The threshold for issuing an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) would be raised so EHCPs are reserved for the most severe and complex needs, while new lower-tier plans still provide additional support and legal rights. - Government sources said children who already have an EHCP would not lose them, but campaigners worry that some children reaching secondary school will face reassessment under stricter criteria. - Parents would retain legal routes for appeals under existing equalities laws and through tribunals, and officials said the changes are not presented as cost-cutting but as a reallocation of spending. Summary: The reforms are presented as aiming to speed up access to support and to integrate SEND provision more closely with schools, while changing which needs qualify for EHCPs. The next formal step is publication of the government white paper, after which the department plans a phased, multi-year transition.