The government published its Schools White Paper on 23 February 2026 and phones haven't stopped buzzing since. Parents are scared. Understandably. When you've fought for an EHCP — or you're mid-fight right now — hearing "EHCPs are being scrapped" feels like the ground shifting under you. So let's take a breath and look at what's actually happening, what isn't, and what you should do about it today.
On 23 February 2026, the government published a Schools White Paper titled "Every Child Achieving and Thriving." It sets out a vision for overhauling how the education system supports children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
A White Paper is not law. It is a statement of government policy — what they want to do. To actually change the legal framework for EHCPs, the government would need to pass primary legislation through Parliament. That process takes years, involves scrutiny, amendments, and debate. Nothing in this White Paper changes your legal rights today.
The headline that scared everyone: EHCPs will be "reserved for the most complex cases" by 2035. That is nearly a decade away, requires legislation, and the government itself has confirmed that no changes to EHCPs will begin before September 2030.
What the White Paper is really about is a wholesale redesign of the SEND support system — replacing the current two-tier model (SEND Support and EHCPs) with a three-layer approach. Understanding that redesign is what will help you prepare, advocate, and act.
Right now, SEND support in England works on two tiers:
The 2026 White Paper proposes replacing this with three layers:
Individual Support Plans are the White Paper's most significant proposal for families currently on or approaching SEND Support.
An ISP would be a legally binding document — unlike the current SEND Support framework, where provision is largely discretionary and school-led. The intention is that ISPs would be co-produced with families, reviewed regularly, and enforceable.
On paper, that sounds like an improvement over the current SEND Support system, which offers no real legal recourse when schools don't follow through. In practice, parents and organisations like IPSEA and Contact are rightly cautious. We've heard promises about stronger SEND Support before. What matters is whether ISPs will have:
The government has said ISPs will be legal documents with appeal rights. The detail of how that works in practice will emerge through the legislation and consultation process. This is exactly the point at which parent voices — your voice — matter most.
This is the question every family is asking. Let's be precise.
EHCPs are not being scrapped. The White Paper says EHCPs will be "reserved for the most complex cases" by 2035. That means:
The concern — and it is a legitimate one — is about where the line gets drawn. "Most complex cases" is a phrase with no fixed legal definition yet. Disability Rights UK, IPSEA, and Contact have all flagged this as the critical battleground in the consultation and legislative process ahead.
What we know for certain: no changes will happen before September 2030. The current EHCP framework, with its full legal protections and tribunal appeal rights, remains in place for at least the next four years.
| Date | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 23 Feb 2026 | White Paper "Every Child Achieving and Thriving" published. Consultation on proposals opens. |
| 2026–2027 | Public consultation period. Pilot programmes for ISPs and inclusion bases in selected local authorities (including Kent). |
| 2027–2029 | Legislation drafted and progressed through Parliament. Subject to political change and scrutiny. |
| September 2030 | Earliest possible point when any changes to EHCPs could begin. Government has confirmed no earlier. |
| By 2035 | Government target for EHCPs to be fully "reserved for most complex cases." Transition period, not an overnight switch. |
Alongside the structural changes, the White Paper includes some genuinely promising proposals — if they're funded and delivered.
The government wants to place SEND specialists directly into schools or clusters of schools. This would mean occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, and educational psychologists available to teachers and families — without the current wait of months or years for a referral.
For parents in Kent, where NHS therapy waiting lists can stretch 12–18 months, this could be meaningful. But the detail matters: how many specialists, for how many schools, employed by whom? We don't know yet.
These are small specialist units attached to mainstream schools — somewhere between a resourced provision and a special school. The idea is to give children with complex needs access to specialist support whilst remaining part of a mainstream school community.
Kent already has some resourced provisions in mainstream schools. How inclusion bases differ in practice — and how places will be allocated — is yet to be confirmed.
The White Paper commits to improving initial teacher training and continuing professional development on SEND. This is long overdue. How many of us have had to explain our child's diagnosis to a teacher who has never heard of it? Proper training won't fix everything, but it matters.
Kent is named as one of the areas likely to be part of early pilot programmes for ISPs and inclusion bases. That means some of these changes could arrive in Kent schools before they're rolled out nationally.
What this doesn't mean is that your child's EHCP rights change early. Legal rights are set by national legislation, not local pilots. Pilots will test administrative and delivery models — they won't override the legal framework.
If you hear from a Kent school or KCC that your child's EHCP is changing because of the White Paper — that is not correct. Current EHCPs remain legally binding until changed through a formal review process, with your full involvement and appeal rights intact.
If you're in a Kent pilot area and feel pressured to accept an ISP in place of an EHCP your child is entitled to, contact IASK Kent (03000 412 412) or IPSEA (0800 018 4016) immediately.
IPSEA has welcomed the commitment to legally binding ISPs but is scrutinising the detail carefully. Their position: legal rights only matter if families know how to enforce them, and enforcement has to be accessible — not dependent on hiring a solicitor.
Contact has published analysis of the White Paper, noting that the proposals could be positive but carry "significant risk" if the funding doesn't follow. They've specifically flagged the risk that "reserved for complex cases" becomes a gatekeeping tool to reduce EHCPs on financial grounds rather than educational ones.
Disability Rights UK has been consistent: they want EHCPs strengthened, not narrowed. They will be watching the consultation and legislation closely and are calling for parent voices in the process.
The consensus among SEND families and charities: cautiously hopeful about what's promised, deeply realistic about what has to go right for it to help. The SEND system has been "reformed" before. The 2014 Children and Families Act was supposed to fix it. We all know how that went.
This is the practical bit. Forget the politics for a moment — what do you actually do as a parent today?
I want to say this directly, parent to parent: the fear is understandable. Most of us have fought incredibly hard to get our children the support they need. We've written letters at midnight, cried in car parks after meetings that went nowhere, and learned more about education law than we ever wanted to. The idea that what we've achieved could be taken away is genuinely frightening.
But it is also worth remembering: this government, like every government before it, needs our votes and our scrutiny. The consultation exists because they need to justify these changes publicly. That is leverage. Use it.
The SEND system is genuinely broken — demand for EHCPs has tripled in a decade, waiting times are shameful, and too many children fall through the gap between SEND Support and EHCP threshold. Reform isn't inherently bad. What matters is whether this particular reform is properly funded, properly enforced, and whether it puts children's needs first.
We don't know the answer to that yet. What we do know is that your child's legal rights are intact today. Keep fighting for them as if nothing has changed — because legally, right now, nothing has.
No existing EHCPs will be removed. The White Paper proposes that by 2035, EHCPs will be reserved for children with the most complex needs — but the government has confirmed no changes will begin before September 2030. If your child already has an EHCP, it remains in full legal force right now.
An ISP is a new legal document proposed under the 2026 White Paper. It would replace the current 'SEND Support' tier for children with additional needs who don't meet the threshold for an EHCP. ISPs are intended to be legally binding — unlike the current system, where schools have significant discretion — but they are not EHCPs and won't carry the same legal weight or appeal rights (at least initially).
The government has confirmed that no changes to EHCPs or the support system will begin before September 2030. The full transition is planned for completion by 2035. The White Paper is currently a policy proposal and requires primary legislation before anything changes.
Yes — if your child currently meets the threshold, apply now. Do not let uncertainty about future reforms delay support your child needs today. The current legal framework remains unchanged until at least 2030. Use our EHCP application guide for Kent families.
The White Paper proposes three support layers: (1) Universal — better quality teaching for all; (2) Targeted — a legally binding ISP for children with SEND who don't need specialist provision; (3) Specialist — EHCPs for children with the most complex needs, plus inclusion bases in mainstream schools and embedded specialist professionals.
'Experts at Hand' means SEND specialists (occupational therapists, speech therapists, educational psychologists) embedded in schools or school clusters. 'Inclusion bases' are small specialist units within mainstream schools. Both are promising proposals — but how many will exist, where, and how accessible they'll be is yet to be confirmed.
Kent is named as a likely early implementation area for some pilot programmes. This means Kent schools may test ISPs and inclusion bases before national rollout. However, your legal rights around EHCPs are set by national legislation — not local pilots. If Kent schools or KCC suggest your EHCP rights are changing now because of a pilot, contact IASK Kent (03000 412 412) immediately.
IPSEA offers free, legally-based advice on EHCP rights — helpline 0800 018 4016. In Kent, IASK provides free impartial local support at 03000 412 412. For broader family support and information on the reforms, Contact is excellent.