(England) Special ed reform called 'absolute disaster'; 166% increase in SPED plans in 10 years
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Feb 19, 2026, itv: 'Absolute disaster': Support for kids with special needs to change under radical SEND reforms
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) will be reserved only for children with the most severe needs under radical new SEND reforms, ITV News understands.
The government is set to change the current legal rights of children with less severe needs and instead establish a new tiered structure for supporting SEND children, based on the level of their need.
It is not yet clear what form legal protection will be attached to these plans, but it is understood they will apply to the majority of children who have been assessed as needing specialist support.
Children with diagnoses of autism and ADHD are thought to be amongst those who could be moved to the new support structure.
ITV News understands that the changes will come into force in 2030 to give mainstream schools time to prepare to support more children with additional needs.
Government sources insist no child will face any changes to their support before that point.
It is understood that the Education Secretary will introduce legislation to drive through these changes. This could be as soon as Spring, when the next session of parliament starts.
The reforms will come as part of a wider overhaul of the SEND system in the Schools White Paper, the details of which are set to be outlined as soon as Monday.
For many in government, these reforms represent a once-in-a-generation chance to reform a SEND system they know is badly broken.
Sources close to the process admitted to ITV News that the changes could be controversial.
The Department for Education is likely to be frustrated at details of the report being leaked, which could create concern and worry amongst parents before the full White Paper is announced.
ITV News understands the government is focusing on making mainstream schools more inclusive, signaling a shift away from a model that has seen a growing number of SEND children attend expensive specialist schools
Several new specialist schools have already been cancelled - with the money instead being used to expand SEND provision within mainstream schools.
The White Paper is set to build on that work, redirecting the money previously spent on expensive private provision towards purpose-built inclusion units and more specialist staff in mainstream schools.
There will be a particular focus on getting SEND children into schools near where they live, in a bid to bring down the high transport costs associated with sending pupils to specialist provision far away from their community.
The hope is that a new inclusion first model will bring down the cost of SEND provision for local authorities, which has spiraled upwards over the last decade, and left many councils at breaking point.
Department for Education figures revealed the number of children on EHCPs increased by 166% between 2015 and 2025, soaring from 240,000 to 639,000.The reforms are also thought to be part of a wider ambition to change the culture around SEND provision, which can often lead to adversarial relationships between parents, schools, and local councils, with families left feeling they have no choice but to fight for support.
ITV News revealed in December that councils had spent more than £10 million fighting parents in tribunals over support for children with special educational needs.
In a statement, Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the reforms must create a system that is "inclusive by design" and responsive to a "much broader range of needs.”“Families are at their wits end, having fought for years to get effective support for their child’s needs, pushed from pillar to post as services argue about solutions," she said."These reforms must create a system that is no longer focused on telling children they are the problem, and instead creates one that is inclusive by design, setting limitless ambition for children through bespoke, responsive support for a much broader range of needs.”
It is thought that a move away from statutory frameworks for SEND provision, like EHCP's, could form part of that shift towards inclusivity.
“Education, Health and Care Plans are highly sought-after, but they are not a panacea," Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza added.
"Thousands of our most vulnerable children have one, yet every day they are being failed."
Sources have also told ITV News that there will be a ‘transition period’ between primary and secondary school when the type of support will be reviewed.
Parents and carers of children with SEND have told ITV News they fear the reforms will water down their children's legal entitlement to support. For many, concern has focused on changes to EHCP's.
Campaign group Save Our Children's Rights told ITV News the leaked reforms were an "absolute disaster".
They say limiting access to EHCP's could leave "some children and young people with no legally enforceable right to an accessible education that meets their needs".
Speaking exclusively to ITV News in January, the Education Secretary acknowledged that for many parents, trust in the system had deteriorated.
"I've been clear right from the start with parents and campaigners that this is a complex area where we've ended up with a system that isn't working," she said.
"I know that for parents who've had to really, really fight, I know that often trust is low and confidence is low, and we've got to build up that system right now, ahead of any longer-term reform.
"But this will be a process of change over many, many years. This is not going to be quick, but what we can do more quickly is start to improve the system we've got."
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was asked in January whether she could guarantee there wouldn't be a watering down of legal rights
A Department for Education spokesperson told ITV News that the White Paper will be "an expansion of children's rights" where "support is needs-led".“Our Schools White Paper will be an expansion of children’s rights – transforming children’s lives for the better and ending the one-size-fits-all school system that has held too many children back from the outcomes they deserve.“It’s about creating a better system for all families, where support is needs-led, embedded in every community and wrapped around children at the earliest stage so they can thrive at a school closer to home."We’ll set out our full plans shortly – building on the work already underway to secure a truly inclusive system, including investing billions in tens of thousands of new places that meet the needs of children with SEND and training up every teacher and teaching assistant in line with the best practice across the country.”
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