SEND reform 2026: what it means for teacher training, EHC plans and your school

We’ll start with key proposals the DfE has made, before noting a couple of established elements.

What’s proposed

• Multi-tiered support model: schools would provide four categories of assistance: a new baseline ‘Universal offer’, for all pupils, followed by three tiers of support, ‘Targeted’, ‘Targeted Plus’ and ‘Specialist’, for those with increasing levels of need.
• EHCP reform: including the limiting of EHCPs to children with the most complicated needs by 2035, plus the provision of Individual Support Plans (ISPs) as a quicker, flexible alternative to EHCPs, for non-complex needs.
• Early intervention: a drive to provide support as soon as possible for those who need it, integrating the SEND system within the mainstream system in order to aid swifter, proactive interventions.
• Teacher training: schools could use their inclusive mainstream funding for adaptive teaching and evidence-based interventions (a £200 million programme to provide every teacher with training on SEND and inclusion was announced in February).

What’s confirmed

• Inclusive mainstream fund: schools will receive £400 million per year over the next three years, to help them move towards inclusive practices and provide easier and earlier support to children in need.
• Inclusion strategy: to aid accountability, schools have to develop and publish an inclusion strategy, i.e. a plan about the use of their funding for the embedding of inclusive practices.

“SEND must become the business of every front line professional in educational settings, with in-depth training at the start and throughout the careers of teachers, senior leaders and teaching assistants” said Helen Hayes MP in September 2025, as she heralded a report by the Education Select Committee which she chairs, about challenges related to SEND provision.

The white paper advances a plan for SEND expertise in schools to be spread well beyond Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs). Instead, all teachers would be required to have a good grounding in SEND knowledge and skills, with significant implications for schools and trusts. 

It is worth noting that the DfE is still consulting on the specific content of the mandatory training programme. According to education law firm Browne Jacobson, whole-staff SEND and inclusion training is expected from September 2026, ahead of mandatory requirements for new entrants through initial teacher training from September 2027. How much of this draws on existing CPD provision versus new content remains to be confirmed, but schools and MATs would be wise to audit their current SEND training landscape now rather than waiting for final detail.

CPD planning and staff development tracking 

A move towards a mandatory, nationalised approach to SEND training means teachers would require clear pathways to acquire fresh knowledge and skills. For example, about adaptive teaching, visual impairments, speech and language difficulties, and new assistive technology. For HR teams and leaders this would likely demand the management of new Continuous Professional Development (CPD) mapping, provision and records, all while ensuring that more training wouldn’t mean a growing administrative expectation for already stretched staff.

Consistent training standards across Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) 

This would mean the end of variable school-by-school approaches in order to suit a new centralised national framework for SEND training. The need to demonstrate consistent inclusive practice across your trust suggests you’d require a joined-up, comprehensive system that could easily show, for instance, which of your schools’ staff are where with their training, and what’s next, at any given time. 

Recruitment impact 

The education sector already faces talent acquisition challenges, but the proposed SEND reforms suggest a need to go beyond compliance checks. The direction of travel is towards assessment of evidenced proficiency in the likes of adaptive pedagogy and early intervention, alongside a likely increasing demand for skilled, flexible staff. Employing technology that helps with targeted recruitment advertising, as well as the smooth assessment of SEND competencies, would be invaluable. Take a more in-depth look at our guide to improving teacher retention.

Performance management and appraisal cycles 

The likelihood is that future evaluation would increase the focus on teacher-led interventions in classrooms, adherence to national inclusion standards and, for leaders, how any SEND-related funding is being deployed. The introduction of ISPs could also require teachers to show how they’re reviewing, updating and acting on plans. Increasingly digitalised appraisal cycles may be on the cards too, to align with any new digital SEND monitoring systems and aid better transparency and the tracking of progress.

The plan is that EHCPs would be retained and improved but, in time, greatly reduced in number, with the threshold for obtaining one raised significantly by 2035. Alongside them, ISPs would be introduced for all children and young people with SEND, setting out the day-to-day support your school(s) would need to provide for them. The changes proposed for EHCPs are intended to dovetail with other improvements so that more SEND needs would be met with the right support in mainstream schools and without EHCPs. It means, for example, that in time you may expect to host more healthcare professionals like speech and language therapists, and educational psychologists, in your settings.

The changes would be phased in. New needs assessments would begin from September 2029 for children having their first assessment, while for children and young people with an existing EHCP, transition to the new system would begin from 2030. According to Education Law Advice, while schools will be legally required to create an ISP for every child with SEND, how enforceable the content of those plans will be for families remains to be confirmed - enforcement mechanisms will be defined in secondary legislation and guidance yet to be published.

SENCOs, school leaders and those managing non-teaching functions would together have to handle strategic responsibility for the move towards broader SEND provision in schools. This would happen while also navigating fresh staff training demands, as well as managing new statutory support plans and the Specialist Provision Packages linked to the new EHCPs. Yet opportunities would no doubt arise too: the Education Committee’s report mentions evidence that mainstream schools and multi-academy trusts practicing real inclusivity generate fewer EHC plans, which suggests that effectively implemented inclusion offers operational efficiencies for MATs and schools.

Unlike many of the white paper’s proposals, the Inclusive Mainstream Fund is already confirmed, and it’s worth over £500m per year, with £400m of that for schools. The average primary school will receive £14,000, while the average secondary will gain £48,000. However, schools must develop and publish an inclusion strategy. They will also be required to allocate funding across seven themes of activity which are, in brief: ambitious leadership and governance that embed inclusion; evidence-based support prioritising early intervention; high-quality teaching with curriculum designed for all learners; accessible and enriching provision beyond the classroom; a safe and respectful culture fostering belonging and attendance; strong partnerships with families and wider services; and inclusive environments with continuous improvements to accessibility.

What to consider when planning your inclusion strategy

From an operational standpoint, the requirement to produce a published inclusion strategy is a significant new accountability commitment. To help, we’ve put together some ‘early-bird’ pointers to help MAT managers and school leaders to plan ahead:

• Your first inclusion strategy statement is due for publication by the 31st December 2026, so schedule its work on that basis.
• The DfE has suggested that schools may develop multi-year inclusion strategies, which could be a good means of streamlining the workload involved.
• Review the DfE's initial guidance on what a strong inclusion strategy should cover
• Look out for further government guidance around reporting expectations, including the provision of a promised template, to support your strategy’s production – expected this spring.
• Decide who’s best-placed in your team to research, create, manage and take ownership of your strategy.
• Task your author(s) with connecting it to the school’s broader development plan.

Regarding HR and governance implications for MATs, the challenges involved in delivering uniform SEND provision in multiple schools are significant. They include the need for consistent MAT-wide teacher training standards, as touched on above. A shared approach to inclusion strategies would be advantageous too, given boards would be tasked with publishing their plans to remove learning barriers and embed inclusion across their schools. Covering trust-wide compliance oversight would be another must, given governance would be set for scrutiny under new trust-level inspection frameworks. Our HR legislation in education hub has a broader look at the changes coming for HR, including the impact of the Employment Rights Act (ERA) on schools and MATs. 

These demands would be just a few of those that would require the time and attention of MAT leaders, should the remaining SEND reforms be confirmed. Access Education People, our HR software for schools and MATs, supports leaders with the connected HR, compliance documentation and staff coordination tools that this level of operational complexity demands - giving central teams visibility across every school in the trust. It is also worth noting that while most of the proposed SEND reforms would primarily affect state-funded schools in England, independent schools – especially those with a high number of pupils with SEND and/or EHCPs – can also expect significant follow-on effects, if the white paper becomes law.

The SEND reform proposals signal a clear direction of travel for England’s schools and MATs, one that would require a clearly structured and evidence-based response, as well as substantial changes for teacher training, in order to meet the new, inclusive mainstream provision envisaged. Whatever final shape the policy takes, the onus is on schools and MATs to build strong operational foundations now, to be better placed to meet the changes ahead.

If the SEND reforms have prompted you to review how your school or MAT manages HR, compliance and staff development, our comparison of HR software providers for schools and MATs may help.