How to contribute to the Government Consultation on the Schools White Paper

This guide has been created to support you with answering the Government’s consultation, SEND reform: putting children and young people first. This follows the publication of its 2026 Schools White Paper.

Read the White Paper

Reading this is necessary to understand the Government's proposals and answer the questions. This link leads to other versions, including an Easy Read version, a BSL version, and a version for children and young people.

SEND White Paper

Opens gov.uk site in new window

The Consultation Portal

This link leads to the formal space to submit your views on the proposed reforms to the SEND system

SEND Consultation Page

Opens gov.uk site in new window

Sharing your views

Consultations can be lengthy, technical, or hard to respond to, which is why we’ve created a guide.

The Schools White Paper is a long and complex document and you may have more questions about what it means for you, your family and people you care for. You can read our initial response to the White Paper here.

We have also produced an FAQ which you can find here.

The consultation is open until 18 May 2026.

We would recommend answering the consultation when you have around one hour to spend on it as there are lots of questions. It may take you less or more time, depending on the experiences you’d like to share.
The questions are not mandatory so you can answer the consultation in a way that makes sense to you, focusing on the questions that will best allow you to share your experiences, opinions and concerns. There is no need to answer questions that do not feel as relevant to you. Each question has a limit of 1500 characters – this is approximately 250 words.

It is important to note that any changes to Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), and the legal rights attached, will not be assessed until 2029. Any changes to EHCP eligibility will not be implemented until 2030.

Consultation Questions

Below we have suggested some questions that you may choose to focus on along with an explanation of what the question means and information you might want to include in your answer.

We think this question is looking for your suggestions and ideas for making sure everybody’s voice is heard and included in SEND reform decisions. You might want to include:

Adjustments or accessibility measures that you and or your family would need, to participate in conversations about SEND reform, for example, the opportunity to be heard in person or online
Why it is important to you, that the Government hears from people with lived experience of the SEND system
Examples or suggestions of ways to engage with autistic young people and their families
How schools and local councils can ensure that your voice is heard
Examples of good or bad practice you have experienced when decisions have been about SEND

We think this question is looking for more information about the kinds of things that every child should have access to. Our understanding is the Universal layer will be for every child, not just children with SEND. In your answer you may wish to include:

Your opinions on the way that support offers will be determined
What you think every child needs to thrive and get the education they need
What do teachers and educational institutions need to do to help everyone
If you are the parent of an autistic child(ren), specific examples of support that has been or would be valuable to your child

This layer will be for any child whose needs cannot typically be met at the Universal layer. Any child identified as having SEND will have a legal entitlement to receive an Individual Support Plan (ISP) from their school, which will set out a child’s day-to-day educational provision. We will be seeking more information from the Government about who this might apply to, the type of support the plans will offer and how it will be enforced. In your answer you may wish to include:

Your opinions on the way that support offers will be determined
If you are the parent of an autistic child(ren), specific examples of support that has been or would be valuable to your child
The value of unique support plans to a child’s education

We think this question is looking for more information about the kinds of things that children with SEND need to feel happy and fulfilled at school if they qualify for the new 'Targeted Plus' support offer.

Targeted Plus will be for those who require more specialist input. They may have greater access to educational psychologists and speech therapists and Inclusion Bases. We will be seeking more information from the Government about who this might apply to, the type of support these plans will offer and how it will be enforced. In your answer you may wish to include:

Your opinions on the way that support offers will be determined
If you are the parent of an autistic child(ren), specific examples of support that has been or would be valuable to your child
The value of specialists such as educational psychologists and speech therapists to a child’s education.

We think this question is looking for more information about the kinds of things that children with SEND need to feel happy and fulfilled at school if they qualify for the new 'Specialist' support offer.

The Specialist layer will be for those with ‘Complex Needs.’ Children and Young People deemed eligible for this layer will have access to EHCPs. This layer will exist in both mainstream and special schools. Access to this layer will be decided by whether children meet the criteria and support needs outlined in new Specialist Provision Packages (SPPs), which are still being developed. We will be seeking more information from the Government about who this might apply to. In your answer you may wish to include:

Your opinions on the way that support offers will be determined
If you are the parent of an autistic child(ren), specific examples of support that has been or would be valuable to your child
How important an EHCP has been for autistic children
Your personal experiences of EHCPs and the support they do or do not offer for children and young people with complex needs

We think this question is interested in the relationship between support in schools and mental health and wellbeing. In your answer you may wish to include:

Your personal experiences of the impact of adequate or inadequate support on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people
Your opinions on the support that autistic children need to maintain good mental health and wellbeing
Any changes to the SEND system that could improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people
The role that schools and other education settings, should play in maintaining the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people

We think this question is looking for more information about how children with SEND can be supported from an early stage, and before they start school. In your answer you may want to include:

Your personal experiences of EYFS two-year old progress checks
Your personal experiences of early years support and whether this is something you have been able to access when necessary
Your opinions about the support that is needed to identify children’s needs at an earlier stage in life
How long it takes to receive support from the moment of first identifying that a child may need it

We think this question is looking for suggestions to improve training so that all school staff can meet the needs of children and young people with SEND. In your answer you may want to include:

Your opinions on what mandatory training should include and how much training is needed, for example mandatory autism-specific training
The resources that are needed to support school staff to put training into action and any barriers between training and implementation
Your personal experiences of staff training on SEND
Your opinions on the importance of training and the role it plays in providing the right support to children and young people with SEND
Which staff would benefit most from autism and SEND training?
If you are a teacher, whether additional training would help you to support children and young people with SEND and what the training should include

We think this question is asking you to share what would help you feel confident in the new Individual Support Plans (ISPs). We are concerned that while the white paper proposed that all children with SEND will have a legal right to an ISP, there are not enough protections, funding or strong legal duties to make sure that the support outlined is sufficient and will be fully implemented. You may wish to include:

The need for reassurance that there will be legal entitlements and protections for any child with an ISP, so if support is not implemented, there are ways for families to challenge this beyond the school itself
Legislation that will ensure families and carers must be meaningfully involved in the development of ISPs so essential information is included and gaps are avoided
What information do you think would need to be included in an ISP.
What would make an ISP ‘High Quality’
Designated funding for the creation and implementation of ISPs
More information about what type of support will be available for children with ISPs
Any other questions or concerns you have about ISPs and what could help reassure you

This question invites you to discuss how to address current barriers during the transition period from secondary school to sixth form, college, university, training or employment. You may wish to talk about:

What kind of support young people need to feel confident about their next steps
Examples of the type of support young people with SEND may need when leaving school, for example:
- extra support with application processes
- support to develop essential skills needed for interviewing, starting a new course or role
- Knowing what support they are entitled to (job coaches, Access to Work etc)
- How to find out what opportunities are available
- Support to explore different education and career pathways
- Designated funding for transition support
- Job coaches and career advisors that understand the barriers you or your child faces
The role and value of consistent support throughout transition periods.
Your experiences of what has and has not worked in the past during transition periods, and anything you can think of that might have been helpful.

Our understanding is that inclusion bases (which are also sometimes referred to as SEN units, resourced provision, pupil support units, resource bases) are specific ‘hubs’ within mainstream schools that children and young people with SEND can access, to help them to feel happy and supported at school. These bases may help with building specific skills and providing a space for children and young people to go to if they are struggling in the classroom environment. Our Cullum Centres are an example of an inclusion base, and you can find out more about them here.

This question is asking what support children in mainstream schools need to make school inclusive and accessible for them. You could answer these questions using your own personal experiences, or the experiences of your autistic child or children if you are a parent/carer.

Your answer could include:

What type of sensory environment supports young autistic people to learn best?
What sort of equipment might help young autistic people to learn? e.g. communication support, sensory support etc.
Your personal experiences with ‘Inclusion Bases’ or similar
What sort of expertise and knowledge should be available from and for staff in these spaces to help children feel safe and supported to learn?
What sort of needs and situations should Inclusion Bases and attached staff be equipped and trained to address?
What are the current barriers for SEND children in mainstream schools and how could these be addressed in Inclusion Bases?
What do you see as the purpose of an Inclusion Base? What does a successful Inclusion base look like?

We think this question is asking for information about school places for children and young people with very high and complex needs. Low incidence disabilities are considered to occur rarely. When answering this question you may want to include:

Information that should be considered when defining ‘complex needs’
Personal experiences of accessing the right school place if your child or someone you care for has highly complex needs
The kind of support and information you need to access the right school place for your child or someone you care for with highly complex needs
Specific support needed for autistic children with a co-occurring low incidence, highly complex need

Specialist Provision Packages will provide ‘nationally defined’ support for children with the most complex needs. They will be used alongside EHCPs to provide support for the Specialist layer.

We think this question is asking what should be included in these nationally designed packages. You may wish to include:

Your opinions on the way that support offers will be determined
If you are the parent or carer of an autistic child or children, you could summarise their needs and the types of support they would need from a holistic package designed to properly support them and their learning
How packages could be made flexible to make sure they can address the unique and potentially fluctuating needs of each individual child, and avoid leaving gaps if children don’t clearly fit into the predetermined support packages
How packages could be designed with the meaningful involvement of young people, parents, carers and families, as well as education, health and care professionals

We think this question is asking you to think about how to make sure the new system will truly work for children with SEND and their families. In your answer you may wish to include what you would need to feel confident about the proposals working, for example:

Full clarity and detail on the proposals and what they will mean for children and families
Adequate funding for sufficient levels of staff to implement the new proposals and the support recommendations in the new SSPs and ISPs
Proper support and funding for training and implementation of the new system
Robust ways to feedback on the new system
Statutory protection if these changes delay, reduce or remove vital support for young people
Meaningful collaboration with families, parents and carers to make sure implementation fully supports children with SEND

We think this question is asking for your thoughts on how children will be assessed and how decisions will be made regarding the type of support they are entitled to. You may wish to include:

Job titles of any health, care and educational professionals who you think would have valuable evidence and expertise to add to the assessment process
What training and level of knowledge around autism is needed
The importance of parent/carer/family involvement and the role they should have in deciding support entitlements
The importance of listening to the child or young person if they are able to contribute and how this can be achieved
How to make sure assessments are holistic and what they should include. For example, any relevant evidence from across school, health, care, mental health, their relationships and their behaviour at home

We think this question is asking about your suggestions for what councils need to consider when they propose school settings. In your answer you could include the factors that are the most important to you, and what you would like councils to consider, you may include:

Consideration of the needs of the child
The value of the parents' opinion on what is best for their child
Consideration on the setting’s location
Whether the child requires specialist support and how well equipped a setting is to provide this
To what extent cost of a placement should or should not be considered

We think this question is looking for more information about the process of choosing the right school place for your child, and what support is needed to help with the decision-making process. In your answer you might want to include:

Personal experiences of deciding on a suitable school place for your child or someone you care for, including any support you did or didn’t have and any support that could help
The kind of information you need to make a well-informed decision about the right school place for your child or someone you care for

We think this question is asking for suggestions to make sure that the system is fair for everybody in it. In your answer you might want to include:

Your experiences of what factors determine decisions made about children's needs and the support they have access to and if there are any additional barriers for some groups of children with SEND
Your personal experiences of the system and whether you have experienced examples of fairness or unfairness
Any examples of support or guidance that would give you greater confidence in the fairness of the system, for example legal protections and routes to challenge decisions you don't agree with

This is an opportunity for you to include anything that you feel is important based on your experiences, beliefs and what you want to see change in the system. Particularly on topics the other consultation questions have not covered.

Key issues that we think the government are still thinking about are:

Specialist Provision Packages
National Guidance on Reasonable Adjustments

We also think the consultation does not include questions around the changing role of the SEND tribunal. Previously the SEND tribunal could hear cases about EHCPs and make decisions about what school place a child should be offered.

The same legal protections will not apply to ISPs and the tribunal will no longer be able to enforce decisions about what school a child goes to.

We are seeking more clarity about the legal protections attached to ISPs but you may wish to include your thoughts on these changes in this question. Including:

Any concerns you have about changes to legal protections and accountability for delivering support
What legal protections and options for challenging decisions about SEND support there should be
Whether the SEND tribunal should be able to make decisions about what school a child or young person attends

We also think there should be more room in the consultation to talk about the resources, workforce and funding schools need to be able to deliver on these proposals. You may also wish to include your thoughts on:

The support that schools need to make improvements, for example increased funding, increased staff numbers and teaching assistants and workforce retention plans
Barriers and challenges that schools and school staff face
If you are a teacher or teaching assistant, your personal experiences of providing SEND support and the resources you need to do this

Have your say!

Sharing your views

Consultation Questions

Q1. We want children, young people and their families to be involved in making better, evidence-based decisions about SEND, both in their local area and across the country. How can we make sure children, young people and their families have a genuine say in these decisions?

Q3. How can we ensure that children are best supported by the Universal offer?

Q4. How can we ensure that children in the Targeted layer are best supported?

Q5. How can we ensure that children in the Targeted Plus layer are best supported?

Q6. How can we ensure that children in the Specialist layer are best supported?

Q7. How do you think early years settings, schools and colleges can best support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people?

Q10. How can the early years foundation stage (EYFS) two-year old progress check and the Healthy Child Programme development review be improved so that children’s needs are identified and supported more quickly? Please share examples.

Q12. What are the most important issues for national training to cover, to help support children and young people with SEND?

Q15. What would provide assurance for families that an Individual Support Plan will be high-quality and contain the essential information?

Q17: How can we best support transition for young people with SEND, so that they are well supported into post-16 provision, including further education, higher education, training or employment?

Q19. How can we make sure that Inclusion Bases help children and young people succeed in mainstream settings?

Q21. What needs to be in place so that children and young people with low incidence, highly complex needs can always access the right specialist placement?

Q22. How can Specialist Provision Packages be designed to effectively support the main types of need we currently recognise?

Q23. We propose that EHCPs will guarantee educational provision set out in a Specialist Provision Package, with day-to-day provision captured in Individual Support Plans. What is needed to make these proposals work effectively?

Q25. What would you expect to be considered as part of the needs assessment, for example evidence and expert or professional input?

Q26. What factors should Local Authorities take into account in proposing to parents and young people a list of potential settings to name on a plan?

Q27. What information and support do parents need in making a decision about which setting will be best for the child?

Q37. What information, advice and guidance can best support children, young people and families to ensure greater fairness across the system?

Q39. This consultation outlines a series of measures intended to reform the SEND system. Some of these measures have already been finalised, and this is clearly indicated within the document.

Have your say!

Sharing your views

Consultation Questions

Q1. We want children, young people and their families to be involved in making better, evidence-based decisions about SEND, both in their local area and across the country. How can we make sure children, young people and their families have a genuine say in these decisions?

Q3. How can we ensure that children are best supported by the Universal offer?

Q4. How can we ensure that children in the Targeted layer are best supported?

Q5. How can we ensure that children in the Targeted Plus layer are best supported?

Q6. How can we ensure that children in the Specialist layer are best supported?

Q7. How do you think early years settings, schools and colleges can best support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people?

Q10. How can the early years foundation stage (EYFS) two-year old progress check and the Healthy Child Programme development review be improved so that children’s needs are identified and supported more quickly? Please share examples.

Q12. What are the most important issues for national training to cover, to help support children and young people with SEND?

Q15. What would provide assurance for families that an Individual Support Plan will be high-quality and contain the essential information?

Q17: How can we best support transition for young people with SEND, so that they are well supported into post-16 provision, including further education, higher education, training or employment?

Q19. How can we make sure that Inclusion Bases help children and young people succeed in mainstream settings?

Q21. What needs to be in place so that children and young people with low incidence, highly complex needs can always access the right specialist placement?

Q22. How can Specialist Provision Packages be designed to effectively support the main types of need we currently recognise?

Q23. We propose that EHCPs will guarantee educational provision set out in a Specialist Provision Package, with day-to-day provision captured in Individual Support Plans. What is needed to make these proposals work effectively?

Q25. What would you expect to be considered as part of the needs assessment, for example evidence and expert or professional input?

Q26. What factors should Local Authorities take into account in proposing to parents and young people a list of potential settings to name on a plan?

Q27. What information and support do parents need in making a decision about which setting will be best for the child?

Q37. What information, advice and guidance can best support children, young people and families to ensure greater fairness across the system?

Q39. This consultation outlines a series of measures intended to reform the SEND system. Some of these measures have already been finalised, and this is clearly indicated within the document.

Cookies on this site

Please wait while we check your current settings