Some £1.6 billion over three years will be provided to early years, schools and colleges through an “inclusive mainstream fund”.
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Education, health and care plans will be reserved for only the most severely disabled children in future, under a radical shake-up of the SEND system.
Children currently in year two and below will be among the first kids who will navigate a new system when it's implemented from 2029 onwards.
Ministers will change the law to reform the existing system of help for children with special educational needs (SEND) – as demand for specialist provision skyrockets.
Instead, schools will be legally forced to produce new plans for every child with SEND – in a bid to stop parents going to court to have to fight for a legally-binding plan which works for their child.
In the next four years, the government will pump another £4billion of funding into getting mainstream schools to help get them ready to support more SEND pupils.
It comes as School Standards Minister Georgia Gould was unable to confirm to Nick Ferrari whether those already on specialised educational plans would be removed as part of the overhaul.
The overhaul could see 270,000 fewer children receive educational health and care plans (EHCP) across England, once the plans are fully rolled out.
Children with current EHCPs will be reassessed when they go into secondary school to see whether it still meets their needs – or whether the new system – Specialist Provision Packages – would suit them better.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson today launched a 12 week consultation on the changes, which have been heavily discussed with MPs, charities and parents.
Sir Keir Starmer said the reform had been inspired by his late brother Nick, who he said was written off by the current system.
And he said that those with special needs shouldn't be able to experience the same opportunities and life chances that other kids could.
The plans – which form a key part of the schools white paper – have been kicked back repeatedly over fears the reform could spark a fresh backbench Labour rebellion.
But Ms Phillipson told LBC that she did want to save the government money – such as on shipping children off to schools hundreds of miles away.
She said she "hope we can bring costs down more quickly", but stressed the reforms were not about saving cash.
The new reforms will include:
The so-called ‘triple lock’ of support promises that no child will lose support that’s already in place.
It means that every child who already has a special place in 2029 will keep it until they finish education.
And transition will only begin from 2030 once the new system is in place – and kids move up to secondary school.
Ministers want to introduce three levels of support – targeted, targeted plus and specialist – for those with differing needs.
The reforms mean that EHCPs will be restricted in future for only the most disabled students – who will be assessed as needing the new Specialist Provision Package.
Others with lesser disabilities will not need an EHCP – and schools should have to provide help and support by law in mainstream schools.
But without the EHCPs, parents won't be able to get as many rights to challenge their child's education in court.
New ISPs will be in place for children who are transitioning – meaning there should be no break in support.
The extra funding will include £200million to train teachers in SEND teaching, £1.6billion in making schools more accessible for students, and £1.8billion for more specially trained experts across the country to feed into education planning, and more special needs school places.
But the Department for Education expects the government to write off billions of pounds of debts for the current special needs system ahead of the new reforms coming in.
The government had to secure £5billion of funds to write off these debts earlier this year.
Ministers expect to save some money on travel by not paying to send children far away where their needs can get accessed.
The Department for Education expects the number of ECHPs to continue to rise in the next few years – before falling to today’s levels in 2035.
EHCPs have already more than doubled since 2014 – from 240k to 640k – due to concerns that without them provision will not be made available for their children.
One in three children who need extra SEND support at some point in their education and ministers believe that too many families are fighting at the moment for their support.
DfE research shows that fewer than one in five children with SEND get a strong pass in English and Maths at GCSE.
And nearly one in three young people with SEND are not in education, employment or training – twice the rate of their peers.
Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari, Schools Minister Georgia Gould refused to deny that some kids may lose their support.
She said: “I think my job today is to talk about the investment that we're putting in place and to let people know those who currently have an ECHP will not lose their plan in this reassessment.”
When pressed further by Nick, Ms Gould could only confirm that children who are currently in a special school will have a guarantee to keep the exact level of support.
Some unions broadly welcomed the commitment to reform but NASUWT warned the funding was “barely a drop in the bucket” of what was necessary, while others said they would be scrutinising the details to see whether more was needed.
The Liberal Democrats urged ministers to go even further with their reform.
Munira Wilson MP, Liberal Democrat, Education, Children and Families Spokesperson, said: "The devil will be in the detail to ensure change is properly resourced with people and money, but also trust is restored with parents who are fearful of losing their rights and hard-won support for their children.
"I have listened to so many parents who have been fighting a losing battle to get the most basic level of support their children deserve – this is too important to not get right.
"I am pleased ministers have finally listened to Liberal Democrat calls for tighter rules on private SEND providers. They must go further with an 8% cap on profits and for SEND schools to be given Critical National Infrastructure status – to block any dodgy backroom deals.
“But we also need to ensure we identify children who need help much sooner. Too many are falling through the cracks. The Government needs to be more ambitious and look at universal screening."
A further £200 million will be invested in SEND outreach teams for communities, and another £200 million for local authorities to “transform how they operate in line with our reforms while maintaining current Send services”, the DfE said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer promised “tailored support” for families and an end to the “one size fits all system”.
“I’ve heard first hand the struggles and exhaustion faced by too many parents who feel they have to fight the system to get their child the support they need,” he said.
“But getting the right support should never be a battle – it should be a given.”
The Tories said the announcement lacked clarity, and that families should be given “cast-iron guarantees” that no child with an EHCP would lose support that parents have fought for.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “Despite today’s announcement, it remains unclear whether this is new money, and months on how the £6 billion Send black hole will be filled."
“This is not money you can find down the back of the sofa.”
Speaking to LBC on Sunday, Ms Phillipson said local authorities "are in the hands of" private organisations who provide social care and education services.
And she said the government is going to bring in "price bands to make it clearer what those providers can charge and so that local authorities are in a stronger position".
She recognised that while there are a lot of "really fantastic independent specialist schools", many of which are run by charities and others that do a brilliant job, the government is "spending a fortune" and the education quality is variable.
The Institute for Public Policy Research think tank said “no plan will be perfect” but that reforms to the system should not become the next “political flashpoint” in Westminster.
“The costs of delay are already being felt,” associate director Avnee Morjaria said.
“This must now be a moment for everyone to get behind a serious programme of reform.”
