How schools can prepare for the upcoming SEND reform

In February the UK government announced its plans for major changes to the current Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in schools. The announced changes highlight the need for better, more streamlined support throughout mainstream schools. This article will discuss the changes schools need to be aware of, and how they can best prepare for the upcoming SEND reform.

What is the SEND reform looking to resolve?

A key change to the existing policy highlighted by these documents is the shift in treatment of SEND provision as a parallel system to mainstream education, instead looking to embed inclusion within all school settings.

This change aims to tackle several growing concerns with the current SEND process, hoping to simplify the current stressful and length procedure that parents and pupils need to endure in order to get support. The new simplified plan should help to make the process less adversarial and rebuild trust between parents and schools.

Additionally, while the government has currently committed 4 billion pound to make mainstream schools more inclusive, the long-term changes aim to reduce cost for schools and local authorities.

What is changing?

The DfE have announced several key changes to SEND education:

A universal offer

The Department for Education’s new system will start with a universal offer for all children.

This will set a “new baseline” for mainstream schools. DfE expects most children to have their needs met under this tier and teachers will be trained to meet these expectations.

It will include inclusive leadership and governance planning, evidence-based support and strong partnerships with families and wider services.

Reduction in Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP)

The main point of discussion from these announcements is the change to Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP). The government has announced that by 2035, only children with the most complex needs will qualify for EHCPs, with the shift in this strategy to start in 2030.

In response to concerns, the DfE has explained that an EHCP is not the “golden ticket” to get support and plans now are to give support and intervention earlier without the long wait.

Under the new changes, pupils with SEND will be categorised under three tiers of support: Targeted, Targeted-plus, Specialist, with only pupils under the Specialist tier they get an EHCP.

While it is not a guarantee that every child with a current EHCP will be able to keep it, it’s been reinforced by the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson that the plan of the new system is to provide more support quicker for all pupils.

More specialist support in mainstream schools

To be able to provide specialist support early, the DfE is set to introduce the Experts at Hand programme. This service is set to increase the support available in mainstream schools, colleges and nurseries by offering access to specialist expertise. This includes occupational therapy, educational psychology, and speech and language therapy support.  

The government pledged to give around £1.8 billion over the next three years for local areas to design and implement the new Experts at Hand offer develop this new service, which will be based on the needs of education settings, children and young people in their local area. 

The aim of this programme is to provide better access to specialist support, which will reduce the number of children needing an EHCP in order to access the support they need because it will be readily available to them. 

How schools can prepare for the SEND reform

The new SEND reform is layered and complex, but one thing is clear: the aim is to provide children and young people with accessible specialist support as early as possible. As more gets revealed and the plans are set in motion, schools should be prepared to enhance their current SEND provision, starting with recruiting more SEND qualified support staff.

Inspire ATA can help schools to source and hire the ideal candidate for them through our bespoke staffing solutions for schools. Through our unique recruitment model, we will recruit and employ an apprentice on behalf of your school for the duration of their apprenticeship, reducing the admin pressure on your organisation. Once the apprentice completes their programme your school can choose to keep them on full time with no finder fees to Inspire ATA, making this an efficient and risk-free way to recruit new staff.

Inspire ATA has a bespoke SEND Level 3 Teaching Assistant programme, aimed at enhancing the SEND skills available in schools.

To learn more about how Inspire ATA can help your school prepare for the upcoming SEND reform, book a discovery call with a member of the Inspire ATA team.