The government has announced that it will delay reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system until early 2026.
The government’s Schools White Paper, which was due to set out the Government’s planned reforms to the SEND system, was originally planned for autumn 2025.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson announced the delay to the white paper in a letter to the Education Select Committee, following their report, Solving the SEND Crisis, which was published in in September 2025.
In the letter, she says that there will instead be a “further period of co-creation, testing our proposals with the people who matter most in this reform”, in which policy options that are being considered will be tested across every region of the country and feedback sought with “key parent and expert groups”.
The letter goes on to outline the five core principles that will underpin the government’s SEND reform plans:
- Early: Children should receive the support they need as soon as possible. This will start to break the cycle of needs going unmet and getting worse, instead intervening upstream, earlier in children’s lives when this can have most impact.
- Local: Children and young people with SEND should be able to learn at a school close to their home, alongside their peers, rather than travelling long distances from their family and community. Special schools should continue to play a vital role supporting those with the most complex needs.
- Fair: Every school should be resourced and able to meet common and predictable needs, including as they change over time, without parents having to fight to get support for their children. Where specialist provision is needed for children in mainstream, special or Alternative Provision, we will ensure it is there, with clear legal requirements and safeguards for children and parents.
- Effective: Reforms should be grounded in evidence, ensuring all education settings know where to go to find effective practice that has excellent long-term outcomes for children.
- Shared: Education, health and care services should work in partnership with one another, local government, families, teachers, experts and representative bodies to deliver better experiences and outcomes for all our children.
Ms Phillipson’s letter goes on to say: “In the coming weeks, Professor Becky Francis will publish the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and the government will publish its response. In it we will set out how we will ensure every child and young person, including those with SEND, receives a high-quality education supported by a curriculum that gives them the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and adapt in the future.
“I am acutely aware that our reforms to SEND are some of the most critical this government will deliver, and that is why it is so essential that we take the time to listen and get it right. I am more determined than ever to transform a system that is letting down our children and look forward to continuing to work with you as we move towards publication of our plans.”
