Sir Keir Starmer has set out a £4 billion plan to reform the system for supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Mainstream schools in England will receive direct funding to support Send children as part of a plan to make the system more inclusive.
Targeted interventions such as small-group language work will be invested in, as well as help for staff to introduce adaptive teaching styles, as part of a major Government overhaul.
Some £1.6 billion over three years will be provided to early years, schools and colleges through an “inclusive mainstream fund”.
Another £1.8 billion over the same period will go towards creating an “experts at hand” service, made up of specialists such as Send teachers and speech and language therapists in every area.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
PA Wire
Schools will be able to draw from this bank on demand regardless of whether pupils have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) – legal documents setting out the support children with Send are entitled to – the Department for Education (DfE) said.
A further £200 million will be invested in Send outreach teams for communities, and another £200 million for local authorities to “transform how they operate in line with our reforms while maintaining current Send services”, the DfE said.
Why is the government reforming the system?
At a breakfast meeting with school leaders and charities in Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: “For so many children, they are held back by a system that doesn’t work for them.”
The Prime Minister referred to his own brother Nick, who died aged 60 on Boxing Day 2024, who had struggled with learning difficulties and was “put to one side”, adding that “his life was very different from mine” because the system did not work for him.
“I’m not saying for a moment there haven’t been huge improvements since then, but that same sense is still there of children who cannot find the opportunities and chances they need to go as far as their talents and their ability will take them,” Sir Keir said.
The Prime Minister said he was “very keen” on offering a broader curriculum “giving children the chance to do things they wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to do, including a broader curriculum that allows them to play music, to study art and drama, to be included in other things that allow them to build the confidence that they need”.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking to guests at a reception ahead of chairing a roundtable in Downing Street, London (Toby Shepheard/PA)
Sir Keir added: “You can’t have high standards if you don’t have inclusion – they’re two sides of the same coin, and therefore we have to reform special educational needs.
“This is the issue that’s come up at Prime Minister’s Questions more than any other, from all political parties in all parts of the country. That is really unusual, and that tells you something about the fact that the system does not work as it is.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said it was a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for reform.
She told the No 10 event the reforms will “deliver better life chances for children”.
Ms Phillipson said: “That has been the driving principle behind all of this, how we make sure that every child in our country can achieve and thrive.
“And I’m confident that what we’re setting out today gives us that opportunity and will give the next generation a better chance than those who have gone before.”
What has the reaction been?
But NASUWT general secretary Matt Wrack said the idea that Send provision could be adequately overhauled with “this low level of funding” was “ridiculous”.
“While increased early support for Send is welcome, years of underfunding and diminished external services mean that this new funding is barely a drop in the bucket of the investment necessary to drive real improvement in schools,” he said.
Children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the wider schools white paper was an “important first step” and that the Government was “listening”.
“I will be closely scrutinising the detail of these proposals and making sure children’s voices are heard during the consultation process,” she said.
A roundtable in Downing Street, London, as part of the Government’s announcement on reforms to the Send system (Toby Shepheard/PA)
Public service union Unison said the broad themes of the Government’s plans were encouraging, but the money “has to go where it’s needed” and “exactly how that will happen under these new plans is not clear”.
The National Association of Headteachers welcomed the “principle” of more support for pupils in mainstream schools and said it would be examining the reforms closely and speaking to school leaders to weigh up whether it is sufficient.
Jon Sparkes, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said the move to make mainstream schools more inclusive was “welcome news”, adding: “Families must have their children’s needs identified early and for them to be given the right help straight away, backed by services fully funded to do the job, and rights underpinned by law.”
The National Autistic Society said that “delegating the blame” for failings to “overwhelmed and underfunded school staff” would not solve anything.
A spokesperson for the charity said any extra funding was welcome, but added: “We’re concerned the Government’s reforms aren’t anywhere near enough to fix the broken Send system that’s been buckling under pressure for years.”
The Tories said the announcement lacked clarity, and that families should be given “cast-iron guarantees” that no child with an EHCP would lose support that parents have fought for.
“Despite today’s announcement, it remains unclear whether this is new money, and months on how the £6 billion Send black hole will be filled,” shadow education secretary Laura Trott said.
“This is not money you can find down the back of the sofa.”