SEND Reforms Easy Read

SEND Reforms

A panel of people sitting at a long desk next to a picture of number 10 Downing Street where the government make decisions

What is happening?

The government wants to change how support works for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. This is called SEND.

Two people shaking hands in front of a plan with a tick on it

The government has written a plan to make changes to schools in England.

A pile of easy read pages in a paperclip

This plan is called the Schools White Paper .

A woman is helping a young girl with her school work

The plan says that support for children and young people with SEND will be:

Easier to get
Earlier
Fairer
Local
The same across the country.

A young woman has her hand in the air with a speech bubble showing someone supporting a child to do some work

This is because children and young people experience support in schools to be very late and very hard to ask for.

Some children and young people have to travel very far to get to school which is not local.

a book with a man in a wheelchair being given a cup of tea on the cover.

The plan says children and young people with SEND will all have something called an Individual Support Plan.

A boy sitting at a table with a book and holding a pen. A lady is standing behind him and leaning over pointing at something in the book.

The support in the Individual Support Plan can be given in different ways through:

•    Universal – support everyone gets in school
•    Targeted – extra help (like small groups)
•    Targeted Plus – more specialist help
•    Specialist – support for the highest needs.

Three people sitting at a table with a speech bubble saying 'I need...'

Education Health and Care Plans (EHCP’S) are plans for children who have SEND and need extra support. These plans will still exist, but who can have them might change.

A person is in central London holding a checklist

The Schools White Paper plan says that all schools will:

Make sure every child with SEND has an Individual Support Plan
Have support from professionals like speech and language therapists
Follow national rules called standards.

Children under 5 with a support worker and someone going to college

The plan also says that support will be better for children under age 5 and for young people getting ready for college or work.

A lady with her thumbs up, a light bulb and a man with his thumb down above the houses of parliament.

What’s next?

The government is asking people what they think about the plan.

This is called a consultation .

Two women with speech bubbles talk to each other. One is writing on a clipboard

These changes have not yet happened and could still change because of what people say in the consultation.

The creation of this Easy Read was funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.