Government announces £4bn SEND investment to boost support in every school

The government has unveiled a £4 billion investment aimed at transforming support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in England.

Billed as a landmark moment for families, the funding forms part of a new schools white paper, 'Every child achieving and thriving,' which promises long term reforms to create a more inclusive system and end what ministers describe as a postcode lottery in SEND support.

For parents who have long felt they must battle to secure help for their child, the message from ministers is clear: support should come earlier, be more tailored, and be available closer to home.

What is changing for children with SEND?

At the heart of the reforms is a new £1.6 billion Inclusive Mainstream Fund, spread over three years. This money will go directly to early years settings, schools and colleges to help children at the earliest sign of additional needs.

The aim is to move away from a system where help is often delayed until a child has an education, health and care plan (EHCP) in place. Instead, schools will now be funded to run targeted and small group interventions sooner, from language support to adaptive teaching approaches.

An additional £1.8 billion will fund a new ‘Experts at Hand’ service. Every local area will have access to specialists such as educational psychologists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists. Crucially, schools will be able to draw on this expertise whether or not a child has an EHCP.

Once fully rolled out, the government says an average secondary school will receive over 160 days of dedicated specialist time each year, roughly equivalent to an extra full school year of expert support.

There is also more than £200 million earmarked so every Best Start Family Hub offers dedicated SEND outreach, alongside £200 million to help councils reshape services in line with the reforms.

More training for teachers and new school places

The plans include a commitment to train every teacher to support children with SEND and additional needs, backed by £200 million.

Alongside this, 60,000 new specialist places are being created for children with SEND, including 10,000 already delivered, supported by £3.7 billion in capital investment. Schools will also be required to have an inclusion base, designed to ensure more children can attend their local school rather than travelling long distances.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had heard directly from parents about their experiences.

“I’ve heard first hand the struggles and exhaustion faced by too many parents who feel they have to fight the system to get their child the support they need," he says. “But getting the right support should never be a battle – it should be a given."

“That means no more ‘one size fits all’ system that only serves children who fit the mould. Instead, families will get tailored support built around their child’s individual needs, available on their doorstep."

“Whatever their background, wherever they live - this government will do right by every child.”

What will happen to EHCPs?

EHCPs are legal documents setting out the support a child is entitled to. In England, 639,000 young people up to the age of 25 currently have one - a figure that has more than doubled in the past decade.

Under the proposals, EHCPs will be reserved for the most complex cases by 2035. These will be "guided by nationally defined, and evidence-based specialist provision packages," Bridget Phillipson, education secretary, said in a speech earlier today.

Children who already have an EHCP will keep it until they reach their next stage of education, such as moving to secondary school or sixth form, but from 2029, children will be reassessed for EHCPs as they transition to a new phase of education.

The government says the wider goal is to ensure more children can access help without needing a legal plan in place.

A ‘watershed moment’ for families

Phillipson described the reforms as transformative for children and young people with SEND.

In the speech, she said that "the disadvantage gap is still wide, children with SEND are sidelined, and bright children from ordinary families are still not achieving all that they should."

Our current education system works well for "some children but not all,” she said. “When it comes to opportunities, background still counts for too much and hard work too little."

But in a statement released by the government this morning, Phillipson says that the new reforms aims to change this.

“This government is fiercely ambitious for children and young people with SEND," she says.

“Children with SEND deserve a system that lifts them up, and that puts no limit on what they can go on to achieve. That means brilliant teachers and experts providing support where children need it, when they need it – in their local school, without families having to fight."

“These reforms are a watershed moment for a generation of young people and generations to come, and a major milestone in this government’s mission to make sure opportunity is for each and every child.”

For families navigating the SEND system right now, the changes will take time to roll out. But ministers say the direction is set, with earlier intervention, stronger mainstream support, and more specialist expertise on hand to fulfil their aim of helping every child get the best start in life.