(UK) [$5B] to create tens of thousands of new specialist places by 2030
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Feb 24, 2026, Bolton News: Special education needs system shake-up welcomed but 'nowhere near enough'
New funding and reforms to the SEND system have been welcomed but are not enough to tackle the “enormity of the issue”, teachers say.
The Schools White Pape,r,published on Monday (February 23), sets out reforms to the SEND (special education needs and disabilities) system expected to be in place from 2029.
Spending on support for children with SEND has ballooned in recent years leading to spiralling costs for local councils.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the new plans will take children with SEND “from sidelined and excluded to seen, heard and included”.
She said added support will be based on “individual need” rather than diagnosis.
Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Cllr Martin Donaghy, said: “As a council, we have paid close attention to the government announcement on the future of the SEND system in England.
“We welcome any additional funding to help ensure every child gets the right support to reach their full potential.
“We will now review the full details of these plans, which we hope will provide reassurance for pupils, parents and teachers.”
The government estimates that, as a result of the new reforms, the proportion of children with SEND getting an education, health and care plan (EHCP) will start falling each year from 2030. . . .
After the new reforms, children will have their EHCP reviewed at the end of either primary, secondary or post-16 and it will be decided whether they need a specialist provision package.
All children with SEND would have an individual support plan (ISP), with schools across England having a legal duty to draw them up.
An ISP would be a digital document that the DfE says would “evolve as a child’s needs change” and be “created collaboratively with parents”.
Ms Phillipson reassured parents that children with the most complex needs will still have EHCPs, but said the new system will be dependent on need, not diagnosis.
The new reforms are backed by £4 billion [$5.4B] in funding to prepare the system, with mainstream schools, colleges and early years providers getting £1.6 billion [$2B] over three years to help them provide support to SEND children.
The government has also announced £1.8 billion [$2.4B] over three years to create a bank of specialists in every area such as SEND teachers and speech and language therapists, that schools can draw from.
It has already been announced the government will spend £200 million to give all teachers training in supporting children with SEND.
From now until 2030, some £3.7 billion [$5B] capital funding will also be invested to create tens of thousands of new specialist places.
Robert Poole, the Bolton branch secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), welcomed the announcement and said that “for a long time” they’ve been telling the government “that the SEND system is broken”. . . .
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