Government says Education for All Bill will ensure smooth transition to new SEND support system via “triple lock” of protections

The Bill is one of 37 bills ministers want to pass in the next parliamentary session, including eight previously introduced to Parliament.

The ‘Education for All Bill’ is intended to raise standards in schools and introduce reforms of the special educational needs system.

The Government said it would:

• Provide early support to children with SEND by legislating to require settings to produce an individual support plan for every child and young person with SEND. It will equip early years providers, schools, and colleges to intervene early and effectively by creating National Inclusion Standards to support settings to identify and implement best practice.
• Enable local support by making mainstream settings more inclusive. The Bill will ensure more children and young people receive the right support early on, by delivering more training on SEND and inclusion than ever before. This will be underpinned by a new requirement set out in the SEND Code of Practice, to ensure staff in every nursery, school, and college receive training on SEND and inclusion.
• Improve fairness across the system by funding schools on a fair and consistent basis, wherever they are in the country, and requiring schools to pool a portion of their funding for SEND. It will ensure children and young people with the most complex needs receive high quality, consistent support, through new Specialist Provision Packages.
• End the postcode lottery for children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) by introducing a new national template, and moving from a system of annual reviews to reviews at the end of every key stage for school-age children, with parents able to request an earlier review. The role of the SEND tribunal will also be reformed.
• Ensure a smooth transition from the current to the new system via a triple lock of transitional protections that will mean no child loses effective support already in place. Every child with a specialist setting place in September 2029 will be able to stay in a specialist setting until they finish.
• Ensure that specialist services are available for mainstream settings to support children and young people with SEND. Targeted support will also be provided for those identified as being at risk of becoming Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).

The background briefing notes on the King’s Speech observed that the number of appeals to the SEND Tribunal has risen “rapidly” in recent years, leading to increased pressure on the courts and longer delays before children and young people receive support.

In the academic year 2024-25, there were 25,002 registered appeals recorded in relation to SEND, an increase of 18% compared to 2023-24.

The notes said the Government is consulting on SEND proposals and will “carefully consider the responses”.

The Bill will extend to England and Wales and apply to England only.

Lottie Winson