Ed Yourself
Ed Yourself

SEND Reform Changeover New System

The government hopes to change the law on special educational needs and disability [SEND] The plans are still at a very early stage and will require a new Act of Parliament which the government has said will be the Education For All Bill.

The as-yet unpublished Bill will have to go through both Houses of Parliament before it is passed into law. All the necessary accompanying secondary legislation (eg regulations) will also have to be created and approved. Only after this process is fully completed can the new law be commenced or brought into force. 2029/30 is the government’s current target date for commencement.

After the new SEND law comes into force, the old and new systems will have to run in parallel for a number of years ie the changeover from the current SEND system to the new SEND system cannot happen to all age EHCPs at once.

SEND law changeover may be thought of as more like the managed migration from Working Tax Credit to Universal Credit than switching from one set of home education guidance to another ; new guidance applies to everyone instantly, while replacing one complex system with another can take a decade to complete for all those affected.

Following commencement – whether on target or later than 2029/30 – NEW SEND assessments will be under new rules, while those already with an EHCP will keep it until they reach transition points.

NB the initial transition plans did not mention existing EOTAS with EHCP and do not apply to existing EOTAS in the same way. EOTAS transition was not mentioned until July 2026 and different rules are being proposed for younger age EOTAS versus older age EOTAS; scroll down the page for more information on this.

EHCP Named Placement Transition

The following information about transition is taken from the SEND Reform consultation document published in February 2026.

“As we implement the new system, children and young people will start to transition as they reach the point of changing provision.” page 114

“Any child with an EHCP (or any who has been assessed as needing one) in a mainstream setting as of the legislation’s commencement date will retain their EHCP and associated provision until they finish their current phase of education (primary, secondary, post-16) or until they choose to move to the new system.” page 72

“Following new legislation, children and young people who have an EHCP will have their needs assessed at transition points and either move onto a Specialist Provision Package or be supported through Individual Support Plans and the Experts at Hand service.” page 72

“The first cohort of children and young people to transition will be those in at the end of primary, secondary and Post-16 in 2029/30. They will be assessed from September 2029 and will move to the new system in September 2030.” page 73 (as above, 2029/30 is the target date)

If the EHCP names mainstream as the type of placement there appears to be a strong chance of losing the EHCP at the point of transition to secondary or to post-16.

“When new legislation comes into effect, children and young people with an EHCP in mainstream settings will have a needs assessment when they near the end of a phase of education. The LA will assess, under the new legislation, whether they need a Specialist Provision Package, and thus an EHCP.“

If they do need a Specialist Provision Package, a new EHCP will be developed based on the Package(s) they need. Sitting alongside their EHCP, their secondary school or college will produce an ISP [Individual Support Plan] detailing the day-to-day educational support they will receive.

If they do not [meet the criteria for a Specialist Provision Package], then the LA and setting will work together to move their support to an ISP [Individual Support Plan] in a mainstream setting, and for them to access provision in the universal and Targeted layers once their EHCP has ceased. pages 72-73

If the EHCP names special as the type of placement, the government is eager to offer assurances but it is hard to work out exactly what is being guaranteed

“No child will be asked to leave a special school“ page 23

“No child or young person will leave a special school or college placement as a result of these changes, unless they choose to do so” page 72

“All children and young people who have a special school place in September 2029 will be able to stay in special school until the end of their education, unless they choose to move to a mainstream setting. Their EHCP and support will continue to be reviewed annually.” page 73

“Children and young people in specialist placements have their placement protected until the end
of their education.” page 115

If this means being able to remain in specialist education then that would take the young person potentially up to the end date for an EHCP at age 25. But it could also be interpreted as education ending when they reach the upper age limit for a special school, typically 18 or 19.

It is not clear to me whether the existing EHCP would remain with the individualised special educational provision in place, or whether it would be replaced by a new-style EHCP at phase transfer, setting out the details of the Specialist Provision Package

Based on the extract below, it seems to me that it would be a new-style EHCP.

“Following new legislation, children and young people who have an EHCP will have their needs assessed at transition points and either move onto a Specialist Provision Package or be supported through Individual Support Plans and the Experts at Hand service.” page 72

It is also not clear whether a child or young person would be protected if changing to a different specialist institution outside phase transfer or whether the assurance relates only to the same placement.

EHCP EOTAS Transition

As above, the initial transition plans did not mention EOTAS and do not apply to EOTAS. EOTAS transition is covered separately via a new consultation launched July 2026 which is open until September 18th 2026; GOV.UK EOTAS consultation links are at the foot of this page.

I cover the transition from EOTAS at primary age in more detail here https://edyourself.org/eotas-future-projections/#eotasprim

The proposed transition from EOTAS primary is broadly the same as the transition plan for mainstream EHCP outlined above ie there will be a new-style needs assessment at the end of primary and the old EHCP will disappear. There may be a new style EHCP based on a Specialist Provision Package replacing the old-style EHCP, otherwise it will just be an Individual Support Plan.

However, the difference between mainstream EHCP transition and EOTAS primary transition is that the government is proposing a more extended transition from EOTAS if the EHCP is ceased at the end of primary.

For example, page 30 of the EOTAS consultation document says “Rather than moving children without an EHCP back into a mainstream setting, one proposal is that the child moves onto the roll of an alternative provision school. The alternative provision school will oversee the education provision and support the child and facilitate a return to a school (alternative provision or mainstream), when this is appropriate and achievable.”

Meanwhile, I cover the transition from EOTAS at secondary age and beyond in the link below. It may be thought of as broadly the same as the transition plan for special school, ie with existing arrangements remaining in place until “the end of education” – including the same lack of specificity as to what exactly that means.

In addition, as noted in the article below, the EOTAS consultation document goes further than previous special school transition plans, in spelling out for EOTAS secondary and beyond that “existing arrangements would continue, i.e. they will keep their existing EHCP and the rights and duties associated with it”

Existing EOTAS In SEND Reform