It's here!

A very short White Paper Watch this week, and great to see the HTML and Easy read versions of the docs so that everyone can read it.

So far, I'm only half way through the White Paper (100+ pages), and then there's another 130 pages in the consultation. The White Paper is wider than SEND.

Although some organisations and individuals have already started to write commentary, I'm not going to add any to White Paper Watch until next week's edition.

Please do share this email with colleagues.

Consultation closes 18 May 2026

Jonny Holden

PS. I've found writing the White Paper Watch newsletter really useful for doing the actual reading. I save things up, and read them all on a Tuesday afternoon. It's quite a privilege, I know, but I can recommend it.

The White Paper, Every child achieving and thriving

"High-quality teaching must be at the heart of our school system. We must double down on evidence-based pedagogy on what works for all children and their learning. And we need to go further, building the evidence on what works for children's engagement."

gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

The consultation, SEND reform: putting children and young people first

"We are consulting on proposals to reform the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system... The changes aim to improve help and support for children and young people with SEND across the 0 to 25 years system."

Scroll down the link page to find the actual consultation docs, as on many screens they are hidden. consult.education.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

The consultation questions

You might find them helpful before reading anything.

1. 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?
2. How can we make sure that high-quality evidence and best practice inform decisions about SEND? Please share examples.
3. How can we ensure that children are best supported by the Universal offer?
4. How can we ensure that children in the Targeted layer are best supported?
5. How can we ensure that children in the Targeted Plus layer are best supported?
6. How can we ensure that children in the Specialist layer are best supported?
7. How do you think early years settings, schools, and college can best support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people?
8. Do you agree that the refreshed 'areas of development' will support educators to understand and address barriers to learning and participation? Please explain your answer.
9. What arrangements would best support effective joint working between early years providers, Best Start Family Hubs, health, local authorities, and parents for children with SEND in the early years?
10. 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.
11. What should the top three priority areas be for building and sharing evidence within the National Inclusion Standards?
12. What are the most important issues for national training to cover, to help support children and young people with SEND?
13. What practical actions can help teachers, educators and leaders manage workload whilst implementing these changes?
14. How should the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) role evolve to better meet the needs of children and young people with SEND?
15. What would provide assurance for families that an Individual Support Plan (ISP) is high-quality and contains the essential information?
16. How can we ensure Individual Support Plans are clear, concise and practical for professionals to use?
17. How can we best support transition for young people with SEND, so that they are well supported into post-16 provision and further education, training or employment?
18. How can we make sure that every area can meet the full range of the needs of children and young people through Inclusion Bases?
19. How can we make sure that Inclusion Bases help children and young people succeed in mainstream settings?
20. Through the Experts at Hand offer, we want to ensure that mainstream settings can get quick specialist support for children and young people. What arrangements are needed between local area partners (education, health, social care) to deliver this Experts at Hand offer effectively?
21. 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?
22. How can Specialist Provision Packages be designed to effectively support the main types of need we currently recognise?
23. 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?
24. We propose creating a more direct route to Specialist Provision Packages and EHCP assessments for children under 5 with complex needs. How can we make sure this works in practice?
25. What would you expect to be considered as part of the needs assessment, for example evidence and expert or professional input?
26. What factors should LAs take into account in proposing to parents and young people a list of potential settings to name on a plan?
27. What information and support do parents need to make a decision about which setting will be best for their child?
28. What do you think is the right maximum length of time for a temporary placement in Alternative Provision (AP) schools? Please explain your rationale.
29. We have set out our plans to regulate the Independent Special Schools (ISS) sector. Do you agree that these proposed changes will lead to suitable placements being available at a fair cost? Please explain why.
30. How should settings be held accountable for how they spend their Inclusive Mainstream funding?
31. Do you agree that more SEND funding should sit directly within mainstream budgets? Please explain why.
32. In relation to pooled funding, we propose that every school becomes part of a local SEND group. Do you agree that this proposal aligns with our aim for all schools to be part of high-quality, community-based trusts?
33. How should disagreements about membership, provision, or funding in groups of schools for SEND be resolved?
34. How can we ensure the most effective use of these local partnership groups?
35. Which stakeholders are important for the success of local partnership groups, and why?
36. How can we build stronger collaboration and a culture of improvement through local SEND strategic plans?
37. What information, advice and guidance can best support children, young people and their families to ensure greater fairness across the system?
38. Do you agree that a SEND specialist (for example a SENCO) should sit on the school complaint panel, when the complaint relates to SEND support and provision? Please explain why.
39. 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. With this in mind, is there anything further you would like to contribute to help inform the remaining proposals that are still under consideration?