SEND Reform in England: What parents need to know-Without the spin

SEND Reform in England: What Parents Need to Know — Without the Spin

Right now, families of children with SEND are being asked to trust a system that feels increasingly uncertain.

With a Schools White Paper on SEND reform looming, many parents are asking the same questions:

Will my child still be protected?

Do EHCPs still matter?

Why does it feel harder to get help, not easier?

This blog is written plainly and honestly — not from a policy desk, but from lived experience alongside families navigating the system as it exists today.

The Law Has Not Changed (Yet)

First, an important truth that needs saying clearly:

Your child’s legal rights still stand.

The Children and Families Act 2014, the SEND Code of Practice, and associated regulations remain in force. That means:

Children still have the right to an EHC needs assessment where there may be special educational needs.

Once an EHCP is issued, the local authority has a legal duty to secure the provision written in it.

Parents and young people still have the right to appeal decisions, including refusals to assess, refusals to issue, and disputes over provision or placement.

No White Paper can quietly remove these rights. Any change to the law would require Parliamentary process. That has not happened.

But — and this matters — how the law is being applied is already shifting.

Why Parents Are Feeling Uneasy

The anxiety families are feeling isn’t imagined. It’s coming from what’s happening on the ground.

Across the country, parents are reporting:

Longer delays before assessments are agreed

Increased pressure to accept “early support” or “school-led plans” instead of statutory routes

Schools being positioned as the gatekeepers to formal support

EHCPs being framed as a last resort rather than a legal tool

The message families often receive — quietly, indirectly — is: “Let’s see what we can do without involving the local authority.”

That can sound reasonable. Until it isn’t.

Because informal support has no legal weight.

It cannot be enforced.

It cannot be appealed.

And it often disappears when budgets tighten or staff change.

Reform in Practice: What’s Already Changing

Even before the White Paper is published, reform language is influencing behaviour.

Responsibility Is Being Shifted

Local authorities are increasingly pointing to schools.

Schools are pointing to internal resources.

Parents are left holding the worry — and the paperwork.

What used to be a clear duty is becoming blurred.

Safeguarding and Welfare Are Being Pulled In

In the last year especially, more families are seeing:

Attendance teams

Welfare officers

Safeguarding processes

These roles are important. But they are not substitutes for education.

When unmet SEND need leads to distress, anxiety, or school avoidance, the response should be appropriate provision — not scrutiny of parenting or family life.

The Part That Still Haunts Me

Some cases don’t leave you.

In the past year alone, I’ve supported families where:

Children were clearly struggling, but assessments were delayed

EHCP provision existed on paper but wasn’t delivered

Safeguarding processes were used instead of fixing education

Parents were made to feel demanding for asking for lawful support

Those cases haunt me not because families wanted too much —

but because children were left unprotected while responsibility was passed around.

When accountability shifts, children fall through the gaps.

Let’s Be Clear About Accountability

Under current law:

Local authorities remain responsible for identifying needs and securing provision.

Schools cannot override statutory duties.

Welfare and safeguarding processes cannot replace education.

When a child cannot attend school because their needs are unmet, that is not a parenting failure.

When behaviour escalates due to unmet need, that is not a discipline issue.

When families are exhausted, it is not because they haven’t tried.

It is because the system is under strain — and children are carrying the weight.

What Parents Can Do Right Now

Hold onto the law. Rights still exist — use them.

Keep records. Emails, plans, reviews, missed provision — all of it matters.

Question informal alternatives. Ask what has legal force and what doesn’t.

Seek independent advice early. Clarity protects families from drifting into years of unmet need.

Final Thought

Reform is not automatically bad.

But reform that weakens accountability is dangerous.

Children do not need fewer protections.

They need systems that work before crisis, not after trauma.

Parents are not asking for perfection.

They are asking for honesty, clarity, and a system that doesn’t make them fight just to be heard.

And right now — those voices matter more than ever.