£4Bn to Transform SEND Support: What the Schools White Paper Means for Every Setting

The government has announced £4 billion in SEND reforms as part of its schools white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving. This follows the wider white paper reforms announced yesterday, including a radical overhaul of disadvantaged funding and new place-based missions. While the headline focus is on schools, several measures will directly impact colleges, post-16 settings, and the wider FE sector:

• £1.6bn Inclusive Mainstream Fund will go directly to early years, schools, colleges, and post-16 settings to fund early intervention and targeted support
• New £1.8bn “Experts at Hand” service will create specialist banks in every local area, accessible without an EHCP
• Every teacher to be trained in SEND support, backed by £200m, the biggest SEND training offer ever seen in English education

Every child with additional needs will benefit from better, more tailored support, as government unveils landmark £4 billion investment to make every school truly inclusive and transform outcomes for children with SEND.

The investment comes with the government set to unveil its schools white paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, a blueprint for opportunity for all children, including generational reforms to the SEND system.

Through the government’s national SEND conversation which saw ministers speak with parents and teachers all around the country to inform the government’s plans, as well as the evidence gathered by the Education Select Committee and a wide range of expert reports, the most consistent issue parents have raised is that SEND support is currently provided too late and even then, only after a fight.

To rebuild parents’ confidence and make sure every child with SEND gets the support they deserve, today’s investment includes a new Inclusive Mainstream Fundof£1.6 bn over three years, provided directly to early years, schools and colleges to make sure children get support where and when they need it.

This investment is about making the changes that put inclusion at the heart of every school, so that every pupil can thrive – from funding interventions like small group language support, to supporting staff to identify commonly occurring needs and introducing adaptive teaching styles, so that every pupil can thrive.

In addition, for the children who need a little extra help, the government will fund a new ‘Experts at Hand’ service, investing £1.8 bn over three years to create a bank of specialists like SEND teachers and speech and language therapist in every local area which schools can draw down from on demand, regardless of whether children have an EHCP – meaning every child will be able to access these resources if they need them.

The investment – on top of a record increase for high needs of £3.5 billion in 2028/29 over and above Autumn Budget 25 funding – paves the way for generational reforms, creating a sustainable SEND system that transforms outcomes for children with SEND and will end a one size fits all approach.

Taken alongside the building blocks the government has already put in place, including training for every teacher and 60,000 new specialist places, the government’s reforms will end the postcode lottery of SEND support that too many families experience, making sure more children – regardless of need – can attend their local school.

Children shouldn’t have to travel miles every day just because there isn’t a good school that can meet their needs locally or be separated from learning with their friends because their needs can’t be met in a mainstream classroom. This exactly what this government is turning around.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

“I’ve heard first hand the struggles and exhaustion faced by too many parents who feel they have to fight the system to get their child the support they need.

“But getting the right support should never be a battle – it should be a given.

“That means no more ‘one size fits all’ system that only serves children who fit the mould. Instead, families will get tailored support built around their child’s individual needs, available on their doorstep.

“Whatever their background, wherever they live – this government will do right by every child.”

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

“This government is fiercely ambitious for children and young people with SEND.

“Children with SEND deserve a system that lifts them up, and that puts no limit on what they can go on to achieve.

“That means brilliant teachers and experts providing support where children need it, when they need it – in their local school, without families having to fight.

“These reforms are a watershed moment for a generation of young people and generations to come, and a major milestone in this government’s mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child.”

To dramatically improve the support mainstream schools can provide for children with SEND, and rebuild families’ confidence in the system, the government will:

• [NEW] Provide £1.6 bn over three years across every early years setting, school and post-16 setting, equating to thousands of pounds extra every year on top of existing core SEND funding, to run targeted and small group interventions at the earliest signs of children having additional needs
• [NEW] Invest £1.8 bn over three years for “Experts at Hand”:
• Every council working with Integrated Care Boards and health board will commission local professionals –educational psychology, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and more – so they are routinely available in every area, whether or not children have an EHCP
• Special and alternative provision schools to provide expert training, direct interventions with children and short-term placements in their schools
• Once rolled out an average secondary school will receive over 160 days – around an additional full school year – worth of dedicated specialist time every year
• [NEW] Invest over £200 million so every community’s Best Start Family Hub provides a dedicated SEND outreach and support offer.
• [NEW] Invest £200 million to ensure all local authorities can transform how they operate in line with our reforms while maintaining current SEND services
• Train every teacher to be a teacher of children with SEND, with the biggest SEND training offer ever seen in English schools – backed by £200m – and a new requirement for all teachers to be trained to support children with SEND.
• Create 60,000 new places for children with SEND, including the 10,000 places already delivered, backed by investment of over £3.7bn.

Taken together, from the foundations of local family outreach and teacher training, up to today’s investment in expert classroom support, the government is building a SEND system unrecognisable from the one families experience today.

The requirement for schools to have an inclusion base will be delivered through the government’s £3.7bn capital investment. Bases will work differently in different schools, so every child has access to a local school that works for their needs.

The investment announced today are all about backing schools with the people and expertise to deliver the support that children need, without delay.

From widening access to specialists who can deliver targeted interventions on the ground, to making sure schools have advice and expertise as soon as needs arise, this government is taking the action to transform the life chances of children across the country. 

Reforms to the SEND system sit within the government’s wider vision for schools and its ambition to give every child the best start in life. The white paper cements this government’s view that for too long, schools have been treated as islands rather than one part of their communities. The government’s action to lift the two-child benefit cap, put a family hub in every local council and provide 30 hours of early years education are all critical to ultimately improving life chances for young people.

Sector Reaction

David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges, said:

“The government is right to be proposing radical reforms to the SEND system because it is not working well. Earlier assessment and more children being supported in their local school, in the mainstream, with better transitions, particularly at age 16 are all good areas to focus on. We all need to carefully consider the proposals, help shape them and then work hard to make them a success, in the interests of children and young people who deserve a system which supports them to thrive in education.

“Colleges will be pleased that the reforms will move away from funding based on hundreds of individual plans, towards funding colleges to have the capacity to meet the varied needs of all of their students. I am optimistic that officials will work with us to design how that can be implemented so that it enhances the brilliant inclusive practice that exists in colleges, including the provision for 19–25 year-olds that is so life-changing for many students. With more stable core funding, colleges will be able to ensure they have the right specialist support services that students need, including occupational therapists and speech and language therapists.

“The reforms should also improve the quality of students’ transitions, whether into college or onto work and to adult social care. This will require a similar change of focus from what can be often a haphazard process to sufficiency planning for groups of students as they move through the education system. 

“The consultation document is a good vehicle for us to work with Department for Education (DfE) ministers and officials to do the detailed work about how the reforms will work for young people over the age of 16. This genuinely feels like an opportunity to improve young people’s journeys through the education system into futures where they can work, thrive and play their full part in society.”

UNISON head of education Mike Short said: 

“The broad themes in the white paper are encouraging and cutting the disadvantage gap is key if every child is to achieve and thrive.

“Any reforms must ensure there’s enough funding to support all children and pay staff properly for the work they do. The money has to go where it’s needed and exactly how that will happen under these new plans is not clear.

“Ministers and schools must properly recognise and reward the vital role support staff play in delivering for children with send.”

Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said:

“These ambitious reforms to the SEND system are a significant step in the right direction. It’s essential that they tackle the double disadvantage that those with SEND from poorer backgrounds face today.

“We welcome the overall push towards creating more inclusive schools for children with SEND needs. Our research shows that parents are broadly supportive of inclusion. Most parents feel that children with SEND should be educated in mainstream schools, wherever possible, and the majority feel that having children with SEND in mainstream schools is right for both those with SEND and those without.

“It’s also positive to see plans to create a more flexible approach to addressing pupil needs with multiple tiers of support, shifting away from today’s adversarial, all-or-nothing system that too often pushes families into a fight for an EHCP. It’s vital to simplify the process of getting support for SEND, so that complexity doesn’t ration access, with some parents far better equipped than others to navigate and challenge the system to secure the support their child needs.

“However, school accountability through both Ofsted and league tables needs to change to stop disincentivising schools from being more inclusive to children with SEND as well as those eligible for free school meals. Schools that do well with very challenging intakes should be rewarded and celebrated, not punished. Today, the scales remain tipped against them.

“There remains an urgent need to reduce the diagnosis backlog and waiting times for all families, so that timely and targeted support can be offered without having to pay for private diagnoses. Schools must also offer support to pupils as soon as needs are apparent, before a diagnosis is secured.

“It should be recognised that these are big reforms, so delivering them successfully in schools will be a significant challenge for the system. And these reforms will stand or fall depending on whether the provision for pupils without EHCPs has enough funding to succeed in mainstream schools, and ultimately serves them better than the status quo.”

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“Schools are passionate about providing an inclusive learning environment for all pupils, including children with additional needs, but too often they are hamstrung by shortages of funding and difficulties accessing specialist support.

“We welcome the principle of more pupils being able to receive support in their local mainstream school, along with this significant investment, and we will be scrutinising the details closely and speaking to school leaders to weigh up whether it is sufficient.

“There will always be some pupils whose needs are so great that they require support in a special school, and it’s crucial the government’s plans ensure all children get the support they need at the right time in the right setting.”

Jo Hutchinson, Director for SEND and Additional Needs at the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said: 

“The government has announced additional funding for schools and new specialist support teams, smaller investments in family hubs and local authority (LA) services, along with previously announced teacher training initiatives and specialist school places, to improve support for children with special needs and disabilities (SEND). These address genuine shortcomings in the system, but it is important to assess the details, and to understand the proposed statutory support reforms that will be in the white paper. 

“Making specialist professionals available to support schools and families without needing an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) aligns with recommendations from our research on SEND and is exactly the kind of change that is needed. However, without substantial increases in the number of funded training places each year, there will not be enough educational psychologists available to staff these services. 

“Requiring the training of every teacher to be a teacher of children with SEND is also an important step in the right direction. But the current focus on adaptive teaching techniques must be underpinned by foundational training in child development, so that teachers understand and can support the stages in which children learn and develop – including at earlier stages where children with special needs often need support. 

“While £1.6bn for frontline services is a substantial investment, stretched across tens of thousands of schools, colleges and early years providers, and over three years, it will not be enough to fund increased staffing in each setting. We need to understand the plan for how this funding will change SEND support for the better.” 

Susannah Hardyman, CEO of Impetus and Kiran Gill, CEO of The Difference – founders of the Who is Losing Learning coalition, said:  

“If these reforms are delivered as intended, it will be an absolute game changer for children.   

“The 60+ organisations who have campaigned with us for ‘Inclusion for All’ will be delighted today that the government has listened and acted to put inclusion at the heart of schools.   

“We are particularly pleased with the universal offer for children, backed by training for staff, which will mean that all staff will be responsible for all children – with a team around the school to get children support at the earliest opportunity by experts trained to stop blockers becoming barriers.  

“The Difference has been supporting school leaders to deliver this kind of “built up from the universal” support for students, with measurable impact on the amount of time children spend out of class. 

“This record level of investment, along with a clear commitment to tackle the entrenched attainment gap, shows a government committed to early intervention and a universal approach, without compromising on high standards of education – and we look forward to working with them to ensure reform is implemented to deliver that change which is so needed.” 

Avnee Morjaria, associate director at IPPR, said: 

“The government is right to set out a plan to reform the SEND system. For too long it has not been working for children, families, schools or councils, and the scale of the challenge means doing nothing is not an option.

“These proposed reforms address the problems everyone has been pointing out for years: at present support for children with special educational needs is too slow, too adversarial, too expensive, and too often arrives only aftertheir needs have escalated. Shifting toward earlier, more consistent support is essential.

“SEND reform is one of the most difficult areas of domestic policy and has become deeply contentious. But reforming EHCPs and the wider system cannot become the next political flashpoint in Westminster. The costs of delay are already being felt.

“This must now be a moment for everyone to get behind a serious programme of reform. No plan will be perfect, but the priority has to be making the system work better for children and ensuring it is sustainable for the long term.”

John Barneby, CEO of Oasis Community Learning, said:

“Despite the remarkable dedication and expertise of educators, practitioners and families, our SEND system remains fundamentally broken – and meaningful reform must be grounded in stability, belonging and consistency.

“Today’s White Paper is a welcome step forward, bringing a genuine ambition for sector‑wide improvement to the forefront. Now, we need a truly tiered system that delivers the right support to children and families, at the right moment. A mainstream‑first approach can succeed, but only if schools are equipped with the guidance, specialist expertise and resources required to deliver inclusion well. Crucially, reform must not dilute or remove the essential support families rely on.

“Oasis stands ready to work with families, government and partners to co‑design and deliver a fairer, more sustainable SEND system – one that ensures every student receives the support they need to thrive.”

Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union said:

“While increased early support for SEND is welcome, years of underfunding and diminished external services mean that this new funding is barely a drop in the bucket of the investment necessary to drive real improvement in schools. £1.6bn over three years may sound like a lot of money, but it equates to just a few thousand pounds per setting. It is absolutely ridiculous to suggest that SEND provision can be adequately overhauled with this low level of funding, or that the associated workloads for teachers could be in any way offset by throwing a bit of money in their general direction.”

In response to DfE’s points: “Every council working with Integrated Care Boards and health board will commission local professionals –educational psychology, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and more – so they are routinely available in every area, whether or not children have an EHCP.”

NASUWT‘s Matt Wrack said: “Schools, teachers and pupils desperately need increased access to SEND specialists. They are already supposed to have that access under current arrangements, but a shortage of specialists and more importantly, a shortfall in school funding, prevents this from occurring. It is not clear how these new proposals will remedy these issues, or how schools will be expected to cope while they wait for increased numbers of specialists to be trained and commissioned. Teachers certainly cannot fill the gaps.”

Matt Wrack continues: “Teachers have been clear that SEND inclusion in classrooms is not just about knowledge and staff training; it is about appropriate levels of support and resource. Training alone cannot compensate for insufficient staffing, lack of specialist support or inadequate time to plan and adapt teaching.

“We have said it many times, but we will say it again: one staff member cannot do the work of three or five. Unless the DfE is also implementing a system whereby teachers can clone themselves several times over, or is planning to significantly increase the numbers of support staff in schools, no amount of training will adequately improve mainstream schools’ abilities to provide for the needs of SEND pupils, and this proposal creates real risk that workloads and burdens on teachers will increase further when they are already dangerously high.”

NASUWT Highlights Teachers and SENCOs remain the missing voice in SEND provision reform

Matt Wrack highlights: “Teachers and SENCos are cast in these proposals primarily as a delivery mechanism for SEND provision, rather than as professionals whose working conditions determine whether any reform can succeed” He continues: “There is nothing in these proposals to indicate government plans to reduce class sizes, which teachers feel would substantially aid their efforts to improve inclusion. In fact class sizes continue to get bigger as schools close and underfunding forces teacher and school staff redundancies. Expecting schools to absorb additional complexity without a plan to address these deep problems risks intensifying existing pressures, not improving them.

“The proposals assume that more learners with SEND can be educated successfully in mainstream schools. But there is little evidence of any plans to address core pressures identified by staff in schools, including excessive workload, large class sizes, behaviour challenges and the ongoing recruitment and retention crisis. Without action to address these problems, any plan for SEND reform will be unlikely to succeed.

​“When the Schools White Paper is released in full, NASUWT will be ready with a swift and appropriately complex analysis of the implications for teachers and schools. The education system cannot function without teachers and it is common sense that they should be fully consulted on proposed reforms that impact their workloads, wellbeing, and the lives of their pupils – preferably before they are leaked to the press for months beforehand.”