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Updated October 2026. Individual Support Plans, who keeps an EHCP, and what changes to reviews and appeals are proposed. This guide cuts through the noise and tells you what parents need to know right now.
This guide explains the legal framework and what you need to know. When you are ready to write the actual letter, .
If you have a child with special educational needs, you have probably heard a lot about the government's SEND reforms this year. A new white paper, a public consultation, talk of digital EHCPs and Individual Support Plans. It is a lot to take in, especially when you are already navigating a system that can feel overwhelming on a good day.
This guide cuts through the noise. Here is what is actually changing, what is staying the same, and why writing clear, well-evidenced letters to your local authority is still one of the most important things you can do for your child right now.
On 23 February 2026 the government published the Schools White Paper. It sets out proposals to change how support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) works in England.
A public consultation on the proposals ran until 18 May 2026 and has now closed. As of October 2026, the government has not yet published its response. The King's Speech in May 2026 announced an Education for All Bill to carry the changes into law, but nothing has been passed.
That means the Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Code of Practice still apply in full. Nothing about your child's current rights has changed.
These are proposals, not rules that apply today, and the detail could change before anything becomes law.
An Individual Support Plan for every child with SEND. Every child with an identified special educational need would have an Individual Support Plan (ISP), a digital record of the support they get day to day. Schools, nurseries and colleges would have a legal duty to write it with parents, keep it up to date and review it. Charities have pointed out that the proposals do not appear to include a legal duty to deliver the support written in an ISP. That is a key difference from an EHCP.
EHCPs kept for children who need specialist provision. Under the proposals, EHCPs would be kept for children with the most complex needs who need specialist provision. The white paper does not yet set out exactly who that will include.
A gradual move for some children. Children with EHCPs in mainstream schools would not move to an ISP until at least 2030, and then only when they change school stage, for example from primary to secondary. The government has said no child should lose effective support already in place.
One national, digital EHCP format. Plans would follow a standard format across England, which the government says should make them easier to understand and compare.
Changes to reviews and appeals. The proposals include reviews that happen less often than the current annual review, and changes to what the SEND Tribunal can order. Parent groups are watching these closely.
This is the part that matters most for any parent navigating the system today.
The current system stays in place until new law is passed. The House of Commons Library says that, under the proposals, support received through EHCPs would stay unchanged until at least September 2030.
Your child's current EHCP is legally binding and must be followed. The provision specified in Section F of the plan is not optional. Under Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the local authority must secure it. If the school is not delivering what the plan specifies, the local authority is responsible for putting that right.
Local authorities still have the same statutory duties to assess, issue and review EHCPs. If you request an EHC needs assessment, the local authority must respond within six weeks. If it refuses, it must give reasons. If you disagree with its decision, you can appeal.
The appeal and tribunal process is unchanged today. The First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) remains the independent body that can overturn local authority decisions. It is free to use and you do not need legal representation. Any change to its powers would need new law first.
Your right to request an EHCP assessment, challenge a refusal, or appeal a plan's contents is unchanged. Section 36(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 gives parents the right to request an assessment directly. The school does not need to support the request.
The reforms are proposed, but they are not law. The system you are working in today is the same system it was last year.
Whether you are requesting an EHCP assessment for the first time, challenging a decision your local authority has made, or pushing back on a plan that does not reflect your child's needs, the letters you write are still the most direct way to exercise your rights.
Local authorities receive thousands of requests. The ones that get taken seriously tend to share a few things in common. They are specific about the child's needs. They reference the right legislation. They are clear about what outcome the parent is asking for.
That is harder than it sounds when you are also trying to look after your child, hold down a job, and make sense of a 50-page document written in educational and legal language.
That is exactly why SEN Letters UK exists.
This is one of the most common questions parents are asking right now.
An EHCP is a legal document that specifies a child's needs, the outcomes to be achieved, and the provision that must be made. The local authority is legally required to secure everything in Section F. It is enforceable.
An Individual Support Plan, as proposed, would be a digital record of the day-to-day support in school, written with parents and visible to both families and teachers. Schools would have a duty to produce and review it. As currently proposed, it would not carry the same legal duty to deliver the support that comes with Section F of an EHCP.
For children who keep an EHCP, the ISP would sit alongside it. For some children in mainstream schools, an ISP could eventually take the place of the EHCP, from 2030 at the earliest and only at a change of school stage.
So for now, your child's EHCP remains the document that carries legal weight. Getting provision written specifically and unambiguously into the EHCP is still the most important thing to fight for.
The government hopes so. One of the stated aims of the reform is to reduce the variation between local authorities in how plans are written. At the moment, some local authorities use vague language such as "access to" a service rather than specifying the frequency, duration, and who delivers it. Vague language is harder to enforce.
A standard format, if it requires specific and measurable descriptions of provision, could make enforcement easier. But those changes are years away. Right now, if your child's current EHCP uses vague or ambiguous language, you can challenge that at the next annual review or through a formal request to amend the plan.
When will the SEND reforms come into effect?
Not yet. The proposals need new law first, and the government has not yet published its response to the consultation. The House of Commons Library says the reformed system is not expected before September 2029, and support through EHCPs would stay unchanged until at least September 2030.
Will my child lose their EHCP?
Not now. Every existing EHCP is legally binding today. Under the proposals, EHCPs would be kept for children who need specialist provision, and children with EHCPs in mainstream schools would only move to an Individual Support Plan from 2030 at the earliest, at a change of school stage. Nothing is final until Parliament passes the law.
Will my child's current EHCP still be valid?
Yes. Every existing EHCP remains legally binding and must be followed in full.
Do I still have the right to request an EHC needs assessment?
Yes. The right under Section 36(1) of the Children and Families Act 2014 is unchanged. You can still request an assessment directly from the local authority without the school's agreement.
What is the difference between an EHCP and an Individual Support Plan?
An EHCP is a statutory, legally enforceable document, and the local authority must secure the provision in Section F. An Individual Support Plan, as proposed, would be a record of day-to-day support that schools must write and review with parents, but without the same legal duty to deliver what it says.
Can I still appeal a local authority decision?
Yes. The appeal route to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability) is unchanged today. You have two months from the date of the decision letter to lodge an appeal, or one month from the date on your mediation certificate, whichever is later.
Is the SEND consultation still open?
No. It closed on 18 May 2026. As of October 2026 the government response has not been published.
SEN Letters UK is a tool built specifically for UK parents navigating the SEN system. It generates personalised, legally-aware letters for the situations that matter most, including requesting an EHC needs assessment, requesting a meeting with the school, escalating a request that has been ignored, appealing a local authority decision, and making a formal complaint.
You answer a few questions about your child and your situation. SEN Letters UK produces a clear, well-structured letter you can send to your local authority, tailored to your specific circumstances.
It does not replace a solicitor or specialist SEN adviser if you need one. But for the hundreds of letters that parents write every year just to get the process moving, it saves hours of stress and guesswork.
The system is changing. But right now, today, your child's rights are exactly what they have always been. A well-written letter is still the most powerful tool you have.
SEN Letters UK writes the letter for you, professionally worded, legally informed, tailored to your child's situation.
Preview free. Full letters from £4.99, credits never expire.
Get the letter that requests an assessment
You do not need the school's permission to ask. We will email you a ready-to-use template letter to request an EHC needs assessment from your council, with the right wording and the law it rests on.
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