Update, June 2026: the government's SEND consultation closed on 18 May 2026 and is no longer open for responses. We've kept this guide as a plain-English explainer. Nothing has changed in law yet — your child's current rights, including the right to request an EHCP, remain fully in force. This article explains what was proposed, what it would mean if it goes ahead, and what happens next.

Most parents will not respond to this consultation

Not because they do not care. But because they do not know what it means for their child, or what they are supposed to say.

That matters more than it seems. The decisions made now will shape how SEND support is delivered for years to come. Once the consultation closes, the government will treat non-responses as no objection.

This guide explains what is being proposed, which rights are under threat, and exactly how to respond, with copy-paste starting points for the questions that matter most.

What is actually changing

The government wants to replace the current two-tier system with four tiers of support. Here is what each one means in practice:

Tier Who it covers What replaces Legally enforceable?
1: Universal All children What schools should already do No
2: Targeted Children with ongoing needs Replaces SEN Support No
3: Targeted Plus Children needing specialist input in mainstream New tier No
4: Specialist Children with the most complex needs Replaces current EHCPs Yes: EHCP

On paper, some of this sounds positive. More access to specialists. More structured plans. Better coordination. But the detail matters.

Only Tier 4 carries legally enforceable support. Everything below that relies on Individual Support Plans (ISPs), which the proposals currently give no enforceable delivery duty. If support is not delivered, parents use the school's complaints process, not the SEND Tribunal.

What the reform means for you right now. If your child has an EHCP: nothing changes until at least September 2030. If your child is on SEN Support: they would get an ISP: a documented plan, but one with weaker legal backing. If you are applying now: apply under current law. Do not wait.

Why this matters in practice

Right now, if support is written into an EHCP, the local authority is legally required to deliver it. That is an absolute duty under Section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014.

Under the proposed system, more children would receive support through ISPs. These plans would not carry the same legal protection. If a school fails to deliver what the ISP says, parents cannot go to the Tribunal. They rely on the school's own complaints process.

That is a very different level of protection. And it is why advocacy organisations like IPSEA, SOS!SEN, and Contact have raised serious concerns about the proposals.

Why families are already losing out

SEND Tribunal data for 2024/25 shows that parents win in over 95% of cases decided in their favour. That is not a sign the system is working. It is evidence that local authorities are routinely refusing support they are legally required to provide, and that most families never reach Tribunal at all because the process is too slow and too difficult to navigate without support.

The problem is not the law. It is that the law is not being followed. IPSEA described this to the Education Select Committee in April 2026 as an ongoing "crisis of compliance." The 2023 Improvement Plan failed. The 2014 Act under-delivered. That is why advocates are focused on whether these reforms strengthen or weaken the legal levers that families rely on when things go wrong.

What the consultation asked parents to weigh in on

While it was open, any parent could respond directly — no legal background needed. We've kept the detail below as a record of what was asked, because it shows which parts of the reform the government was testing.

01

The consultation form

Responses went through the form at consult.education.gov.uk, with the option to email SENDreform.CONSULTATION@education.gov.uk instead. Both are now closed to new responses.

02

The questions that mattered most

The three that IPSEA, SOS!SEN and Special Needs Jungle pointed parents to were Q15, Q23 and Q39 — the ones they judged most important for families to answer.

03

Real experience carried the most weight

What actually happened to a child was the most powerful thing a parent could write — what support was delayed, what they had to push for. Personal accounts are harder to dismiss than general comments.

04

Why Q39 mattered

Q39 was the only question where parents could raise issues the government had already decided: the removal of the Tribunal's power to name a specific school, and the shift of legal duty from local authorities to schools. Neither had a dedicated question in the consultation — so it was the one to answer in full.

The 10 priority questions for parents

Q1 Q15 Q21 Q22 Q23 Q25 Q26 Q27 Q37 Q39

Highlighted in orange: the three questions IPSEA, SOS!SEN, SNJ, and the Autism Alliance all identify as highest priority. The free Action Kit below includes copy-paste starting points for Q15, Q23, and Q39.

If you are applying for an EHCP right now

This consultation is about what may change. But the system you are dealing with today is still the current one, and that means your words right now still shape outcomes.

How clearly you describe your child's needs, how you link those needs to specific support, and how specific that support is: those are the things decisions are based on. That is where most parents get stuck. Not because they do not understand their child, but because they are not shown what strong actually looks like.

The difference between support being agreed and support being refused is often in the wording, not the severity of the child's needs.

Write a stronger EHCP application

The Annual Review Prep Pack shows you what to raise, what to challenge, and what to record at your next EHCP annual review. Plain English. Designed for England. Built around the real process, not the theoretical one.

See the Annual Review Prep Pack