Fixing SEND: Good Education for Everyone

Education Education Education has always been so important to Labour governments and me particularly as a teaching assistant for 7 years.

The SEND system has been failing since austerity and covid and the 2014 changes did not work as planned. That’s why we are reforming the school system so that young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities get earlier support when they need it.

After 18 months of extensive consultation with families, schools, experts, and government departments, we have published the Schools White Paper, a serious and thoughtful attempt to put things right for the long-term.

We’re investing billions over the next 3 years to lay the groundwork for these wider changes. Stand out measures include:

• £1.6 billion for targeted support in early years, schools, and colleges.

• £1.8 billion for an “Experts at Hand” service, giving every school access to specialists such as speech and language therapists.

• £200 million to ensure every teacher receives SEND training.

• £3.7 billion to expand Inclusion Bases, improve accessibility, and create new special school places.

There’s a lot of misinformation, so I want to reiterate that…

• Every child with SEND will have a legal right to an Individual Support Plan (ISP) or an EHCP.

• Existing EHCPs will remain protected.

• Any transition to ISPs in mainstream schools will not begin until 2030 and only at natural transition points.

• No child in a special school will be required to move to mainstream.

• Tribunals will remain available as a last resort.

A public consultation on the Paper is open until 18 May 2026.

To take part, follow this link: SEND reform: putting children and young people first - GOV.UK

I will also be engaging with families and professionals through round tables to gather local perspectives. If you would like to take part, please contact my office by emailing jayne.kirkham.mp@parliament.uk or calling 01872 300 353