The latest SEND reform consultation is not just another policy paper. It is a signal about where the system is heading.
The consultation, SEND reform: putting children and young people first, proposes a system built around ordinary provision, clearer layers of support, and more consistent records. The exact detail still needs to be settled. But the direction of travel is clear.
For schools, that means the old habit of keeping the useful information in a SENCO folder, a few email threads, and a bit of staff memory will become even harder to defend.
> The practical question is no longer whether a school does good SEND work. It is whether the school can show, quickly and clearly, what support is current, what is ordinary, what is additional, and who owns the next step.
What the consultation is proposing
The glossary in the consultation points to several new or reworked ideas:
Ordinarily Available Provision
Individual Support Plans
Inclusion Bases
layered support terms such as Targeted, Targeted Plus and Specialist
a stronger emphasis on inclusion at mainstream level
The consultation also says the goal is to support children who can thrive in mainstream education to do so, while protecting and enhancing EHCPs for the most complex needs.
That matters because it suggests schools will need to explain support in a more consistent way, not just a more generous way.
Why this matters to school records
Many schools already do good work. The problem is that the record of that work is often fragmented.
A pupil's support might live in:
a current plan
an older version of the same plan
a meeting note
a parent email
an intervention log
staff memory
a spreadsheet no one fully trusts
That is manageable until someone asks for the current position. Then the school has to reconstruct the story.
The consultation points in the opposite direction. It suggests that schools will need records that are current, coherent, and easy to explain.
MeritDocs keeps SEND documents in one searchable hub, so staff can filter by pupil, see what is current, and export when needed. That makes it easier to keep the live record visible instead of rebuilding it for every meeting.
What SENCOs should do now
You do not need to rewrite everything this week. But you do need to get ahead of the shift.
Start with four checks:
1. Can staff describe ordinary provision without guessing?
If a teacher cannot say what normal support looks like for common needs, the school is not ready for a more explicit inclusion model.
2. Is there one current record per pupil?
If the school has several versions of the same support plan, the next step is not more planning. It is version control.
3. Can you see the next action instantly?
Every live record should show who is doing what next, and when.
4. Would a new member of staff understand the pupil in two minutes?
If not, the information is too scattered.
The record changes schools should expect
The consultation language suggests more emphasis on:
ordinary support before specialist escalation
a consistent structure for recording support
clear links between support, evidence, and outcomes
fewer hidden assumptions about who knows what
That does not mean every school needs a huge new system.
It does mean that patchwork systems will struggle. Shared drives, old Word documents, inboxes, and handwritten notes can keep a school moving for a while. They are much less good at giving staff one dependable version of the truth.
MeritDocs is built for that problem. It keeps SEND documents in one searchable hub, so the current plan, review date, and exportable record are all in one place.
What to say to staff and leaders
The simplest internal message is this:
ordinary support must be visible
current records must be easy to find
review dates must be obvious
follow-up must have an owner
the school should be able to explain its position without a treasure hunt
That is a useful message even if the final reform package changes.
A short practical summary
If the consultation leads where it appears to be going, schools will need to do three things well:
define ordinary provision clearly
keep one current support record per pupil
show evidence of what was done, when, and why
Schools that already do this will be in a stronger position. Schools that rely on memory and scattered files will feel the pressure first.
FAQ
Is the SEND reform consultation final policy?
No. It is a consultation. Schools should treat it as a live signal of direction, not a completed rulebook.
Does this mean EHCPs are going away?
No. The consultation says EHCPs should be protected and enhanced for children with the most complex needs.
What is the biggest day-to-day change for schools?
Probably the need to make ordinary provision and current records easier to see, explain, and update.
What should SENCOs do first?
Check the live record. If the school cannot find the current support quickly, the system needs tidying before anything else.
The schools that will cope best are the ones that can show their current picture without hunting. That is why one dependable record matters so much. MeritDocs helps schools run this properly by keeping SEND documents in one place, with current information easier to find, review dates visible, and exports straightforward.