Individual Support Plans (ISPs) are the key new development in the government’s proposed reforms of SEND, set out in its Schools White Paper, and will provide a layered system of support.
It means that EHCPs will, in future, be awarded to children with the most complex needs that can’t be met in a mainstream setting, following a threshold assessment.
Some of the reforms outlined in the documents won’t come in until 2029, but the government expects many will take shape sooner, as schools and parents realise their benefits.
A universal offer for all children
The universal offer will have a “new baseline” for mainstream schools that will include all pupils, and most children will have their needs met under this tier, with teachers trained to meet their needs and expectations.
Layers of support
A child may need another tier of support over and above the one offered as universal, and there will be three of these layers:
- Targeted support will be for pupils with “ongoing and commonly occurring needs” which cannot be met unde the universal offer and will be designed with consultation with parents and carers. This might include small group interventions, or “pre-teaching” key vocabulary to help access the curriculum, Their needs will be contained in an ISP.
- Targeted plus will be for pupils requiring more specialist help, and they will be given access to the new “experts at hand”, who might include educational psychologists or speech therapists, for example. They will also have an ISP and access to the new inclusion bases where they might receive interventions before returning to the mainstream setting
- The specialist tier will require mainstream and specialist settings to work together with children with the most severe and complex SENDs. Only these children will be eligible for an EHCP in the future
National inclusion standards
“Clear, evidence-based” guidance will be used to determine the universal offer, as well as what targeted, targeted plus and specialist layers of support should look like.
By 2028, the Department for Education will invest up to £15 million to build the evidence base for these standards, overseen by an expert panel.
What will happen to EHCPs?
EHCPs will be created after specialist package and placement decisions have been made for children with the most severe and complex needs. If an EHCP is found not to be required, other appropriate support will be put in place, through an ISP. From 2029-2030 there will be new thresholds against which children will be assessed as they move through phases of their education.
Pupils currently in Year 3 and above will retain existing EHCPs until at least the age of 16. Those who are younger will be reassessed as they leave primary school and move to secondary.
Those whose needs are best met with additional support in mainstream will transition to an ISP.
Tribunals to be a ‘last resort‘
Most complaints around SEND provision will be heard through independent mediation services rather than tribunals, which will focus on complaints relating to council decisions not to carry out needs assessments.
Review of special school curriculums
The Department for Education (DfE) will work with experts to review “good curriculum practice” in special schools, after these schools indicated that they would welcome national best practice guidelines.
Special schools and alternative provision (AP) will provide outreach and short-term placement for some children and young people enrolled in mainstream settings.
School inclusion strategies
There will be a new duty on schools to produce an annual inclusion strategy, which will replace SEND information reports. These will be assessed by Ofsted to check they are embedded in school practice and that the school is delivering.
Updated code of practice
The existing, statutory SEND code of practice will be updated and subject to a consultation.
All settings will have to ensure staff receive training on SEND and inclusion.
The code will include new areas including executive function, sensory, speech, language and communication and social and emotional needs. Schools will also have to show how they support all pupils with mental health needs.
New SEND clusters
Schools will be expected to be part of local groups which will work together to deliver SEND provision, and collaborate with local authorities and integrated care boards.
New school performance measure
New value-added performance measures will recognise schools that secure good progress for all young people, who will be expected to take up a broader range of subjects. It will focus on the progress made by pupils who begin their secondary education behind their peers.
*Details about the consultation on the proposals can be found here.
