The white paper a month on: Amaze CEO, Sally Polanski, shares some initial responses to the proposals

The government’s new white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, and associated SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First Consultation sets out a wide-ranging vision for the future of SEND support in England. You can read our summary of the main proposals on our blog post The Schools White Paper: What you need to know 

“Since the white paper was published on 23 February, we have been busy digesting the proposals and meeting with other SEND organisations, including the local parent carer forums, to share understanding and concerns. The complexity of the proposals and the lack of detail in some areas means it’s hard to formulate a comprehensive response at this stage: however, key themes and questions are beginning to emerge. 

“The most important thing to stress is that nothing is changing right now. The white paper outlines proposals that will need to go through a lot of stages before they become law – beginning with a 12-week consultation period that is open now. Your child’s existing rights to SEN support and their EHCP remain fully in place for now. 

“We are positive that the government seems to recognise that the current SEND system forces too many families to “fight” for their child’s basic rights. The white paper promises earlier, more flexible help, an “expansion in children’s rights”, and a new legal duty on schools to produce an individual support plan. Stronger rights should reduce what can be a postcode lottery of support and protect families whose voices can go unheard. 

“However, we share the SEND community’s concerns about which children and young people will be eligible for an EHCP in future. The white paper proposes that EHCPs will eventually be reserved only for children with the most complex needs, and assessments introduced at certain key transition points, such as the move to secondary school. But we know that children’s needs don’t fit a set timetable – they can fluctuate – and we think it is vital that EHCPs remain open to any child whose needs cannot be met by an individual support plan, at whatever their stage. We also think that introducing assessments at certain transition points risks adding more anxiety and uncertainty to families’ lives. We are pleased, however, to see that the white paper proposes a new fast-track route to EHCPs and specialist support for children under five with identified complex needs. 

“The proposals commit to investment across all ages and stages of education – early years, schools and post-16 – which is a welcome signal that real SEND reform must be about investing upfront, not cutting costs. £1.6 billion for inclusion and £1.8 billion for expert services are significant investments, though serious questions remain about whether this will be enough to ensure the reforms are deliverable in practice. 

“The focus on mainstream inclusion, earlier intervention and ‘Experts at Hand’ is encouraging, but these commitments need to be backed by enforceable frameworks so that every child can access specialist input, high quality teaching and family support. We are certain that this part of the proposals will only succeed if more educational psychologists, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and specialist teachers can be trained and recruited.  

“The white paper says that children with existing EHCPs will not transition to the new system until at least 2030, and only at education transition points. This means schools could be running multiple frameworks simultaneously for many years. We worry that this complexity risks causing confusion, delays, and uneven support.  

“As the 12-week white paper consultation gets underway, we are not getting the sense of much hope amongst a tired SEND community and over-stretched services. Amaze is positive about the principle of the proposals, if not always the detail. For example, we agree that expanding access to specialist expertise and embedding inclusive practice in mainstream schools should bring about welcomed improvements, but only if this is accompanied by strong legal protections, especially in relation to access to EHCPs and the SEND Tribunal, and if the reforms are properly resourced.”

We held a webinar about the SEND reforms on 25 March. Parent carers heard more about the proposals and the timeline for change, and how to share their views easily. We will share a video of the webinar soon. You can also read the presentation from the webinar on the Schools White Paper.