The 2026 SEND reform consultation closed on 18 May 2026. Its proposals are important, but they are not a new set of statutory school duties for this term. Schools should keep using the current SEND framework and check official announcements for any confirmed changes and implementation dates.
For schools, the sensible response is to separate three things: what is already required, what the reform documents propose, and what a better record system would help staff do regardless of the final law.
What has the government proposed?
The government published Putting children and young people first alongside Every child achieving and thriving. The documents describe a proposed new national approach to inclusion, earlier support and clearer accountability across education, health and care.
The proposals include stronger expectations for mainstream inclusion, a more consistent offer, clearer support routes and changes to how education, health and care services work together. They also describe a possible Individual Support Plan (ISP) for children who need additional support but do not have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
Those are proposals. The consultation response, legislation, regulations and later guidance will determine what becomes a legal duty and when.
The current SEND Code of Practice: 0 to 25 years still sets the working expectations for schools in England. That includes the graduated approach of Assess, Plan, Do, Review, the involvement of children and parents, and the requirement to provide support that is different from or additional to the school’s ordinarily available provision.
What should schools not assume?
There are three common overreactions to reform announcements.
First, a proposal is treated as if it is already law. That can lead to staff being told to use a new form or promise a new entitlement that does not yet exist.
Second, every new phrase is added to the school’s paperwork. The result is more fields, more duplicated entry and no clearer decision about what support a pupil needs.
Third, leaders wait for the final legislation before fixing obvious weaknesses in their current process. A school does not need to know the final name of a national plan before it makes current support, review decisions and pupil voice easier to find.
Use a simple status label in internal briefings:
- Current: a duty or process the school follows now.
- Proposed: an idea in the consultation or white paper.
- Local: an arrangement that depends on the local authority, integrated care board (ICB), trust or school.
- Unknown: a detail that requires later regulations or guidance.
That distinction is especially useful when discussing Experts at Hand and the proposed local SEND inclusion formula. Both are connected to the wider reform direction, but neither removes the need to apply the current framework correctly.
What can schools improve now?
Keep one clear support story
A pupil’s support story should show the barrier, the outcome being worked towards, the provision agreed, who will deliver it, the evidence considered and the review decision.
This is more useful than collecting documents by meeting date. A folder of reports may prove activity happened. It does not necessarily show what changed because of it.
The SEN support plan guide for teachers sets out a practical structure. Keep the plan short enough for staff to use, but specific enough that another adult can act on it without a verbal briefing.
Make pupil and family views part of the decision
A pupil or parent view should affect the plan, not sit in a separate box that nobody revisits. Record what the person said, what it means for the support decision and any disagreement that needs to be followed up.
Do not tidy away uncertainty. If a pupil describes a problem differently from a professional report, preserve the difference and explain how staff will check it. Agreement is not the only useful outcome of a review.
Review support when the evidence changes
The Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle is not a calendar exercise. A review should answer whether the support is helping, whether the pupil’s needs or context have changed, and what the school will do next.
A clear decision might be to continue with a small adjustment, stop a support that has not helped, try a different approach, or request specialist advice. “Continue as before” is only useful when the evidence and reason are recorded.
Improve continuity across staff changes
Reform will not fix a handover problem that exists inside one school. If information is spread across a SENCO inbox, old Word documents, a shared drive and a teacher’s personal folder, the next adult still has to reconstruct the current position.
Start with the five pupils most likely to be affected by a class change, long-term absence or transition. Check whether a new member of staff could find the current plan, recent review decision, provision and next date without asking the previous owner.
What should leaders ask when the final policy arrives?
When new guidance is published, ask:
- Is this a legal duty, national guidance, funding condition or local expectation?
- Which pupils and settings does it cover?
- What record must the school create, and who owns it?
- How should the pupil and family be involved?
- What happens when the school, family and local area disagree?
- What is the review or appeal route?
- What data must be shared, with whom and for how long?
- Which current process can be retired rather than adding another layer?
If a change does not answer those questions, it is not ready to become a new school workflow.
Where MeritDocs fits
It supports the record-keeping problem that exists under the current framework as well as under any later reform.
The school still decides what provision is appropriate and staff still review the evidence. MeritDocs gives schools a governed workflow for plans, documents, versions and exports, so the SEND record stays connected to the work.
A practical reform-readiness check
Before the next consultation response or implementation update, review:
- current SEN support plans and whether teachers can use them;
- the visibility of review dates and next decisions;
- pupil and family views in active records;
- links between specialist advice and classroom provision;
- the difference between ordinarily available provision and additional support;
- handover records for changes of class, staff or setting;
- the provision map and major cost pressures;
- the list of processes that could be removed if a better one is introduced.
This work does not assume the consultation will be accepted unchanged. It makes the school’s existing process easier to trust while the policy position develops.
FAQs
Has SEND reform become law in 2026?
No. The 2026 documents contain proposals and consultation material. Schools should continue to follow the current SEND Code of Practice and existing statutory duties unless and until new law and guidance take effect.
Is an Individual Support Plan already required?
Not as a new national statutory form created by the 2026 consultation. The consultation proposes changes to support and planning. Schools should not present an ISP as a current legal requirement without later guidance confirming that position.
Should schools rewrite all SEND paperwork now?
No. Fix the parts of the current workflow that are plainly weak: unclear ownership, missing review decisions, stale versions, poor handover and support that cannot be connected to evidence.
Where should a SENCO start?
Use a current pupil journey as a test. Ask whether staff can find the barrier, support, pupil view, latest evidence and next decision quickly. That will reveal more than a new reform glossary.
Status note: Published 8 September 2026. This article distinguishes current requirements from proposals, consultations, announced funding or inspection changes. A proposal or announcement does not create a new statutory duty until the relevant legislation, regulations or official guidance is in force. Check the linked official sources below for the confirmed implementation date and current position.