Specialist Packages and EHCPs
The Government has published proposals to reform the SEND system. These proposals are part of the wider Schools White Paper and related SEND reforms. Parent Carers are being asked to respond to 39 specific questions about the SEND reform.
As parent carers ourselves we know how difficult it can be finding the time to read such a large amount of information and respond to a long consultation. We’re here to help. Each week we will focus on an aspect proposed changes, and ask you to share your views in series of short, bite-size surveys making it quick and easy to share what matters most to you.
The SEND reforms proposal aims to increase the ability of mainstream schools to support more children with SEND through their universal and Targeted layers of support. The Government states that this could reduce reliance on specialist placements.
The Government states that it recognises that for those with the most “complex needs,” highly specialised provision is required, beyond that which can be delivered in the universal and Targeted layers. The Specialist tier will provide this support, in both specialist and mainstream settings, based on nationally defined Specialist Provision Packages. These Packages will form the basis of an EHCP.
Specialist Provision Packages:
These Specialist Provision Packages will cover the full offer the child or young person requires, including core educational provision where this is different from the norm, and the range of additional services, intervention and resources that are needed to remove barriers to learning, such as access to physiotherapy and augmentative communication devices.
The hope is that the creation of these packages will ensure clarity, consistency and quality of support allowing settings to adapt more quickly to changing needs and create consistency across Local Authorities in how they assess children and young people for an EHCP and what provision is included in a plan. The hope is that this also prevents Local Authorities from planning placements and support at a strategic level.
It is anticipated that 7 packages will be created, some of which will ‘map’ onto familiar descriptions of complex needs and others will support children and young people with different needs, with or without a diagnosis, but requiring similar support. Not all children with the same SEND will be supported by the same package as the most appropriate Specialist Provision Package will be determined by the provision offer best suited to each individual’s presenting need echoing: right support, right place, right time.
The Government are hopeful that packages will be comprehensive enough that any child or young person’s needs can be met by a single package, but they recognise that the feasibility of this is something that will need to be considered and would like to test this with the sector, parents, families and other professionals
Complex Needs Definition:
The Government have not provided a singular definition of the term ‘complex needs’ and there is a recognition that this language could be interpreted in different ways. The intention is that the Specialist Provision Packages will include a description of the need profile it is designed to support.
The Government state that “We are committed to engaging with parents and families, as well as wider sector experts and the independent chair of our expert review panel to ensure that we capture all of the children and young people who will need such support within the overall range of Specialist Provision Packages. These descriptions will collectively define ‘complex needs’ going forward.” Pg 62 PDF version SEND reform document.
EHCP’s:
Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) are currently the main legal mechanism for securing specialist support. Currently, EHCPs identify needs and provision before placement is finalised. Under the new proposals, EHCPs will be developed with the setting, and in consultation with parents, after the Specialist Provision Package and placement decisions have been made. This represents a shift in how plans are built. The proposal suggests only those children and young people who need a Specialist Provision Package will have an EHCP in future.
The following points have been taken from Pages 66-67 PDF version SEND reform:
New, improved EHCPs will guarantee statutory entitlements to the educational provision from the Specialist Provision Package that children and young people need and outline their expected outcomes.
The detailed day-to-day educational provision will be set out in Individual Support Plans (ISP), allowing flexibility to meet each child or young person’s needs effectively.
If a child or young person is assessed as not requiring an EHCP, then the local authority will be expected to work with the setting to ensure appropriate support is put in place.
We will introduce a fast track for a Specialist Provision Package and EHCP for children under 5 who have been identified as having complex needs.
We will strengthen the needs assessment process so it is clearer, simpler and reflects the voice of parents/carers and the child or young person.
The LA will coordinate the assessment process, which will include input from any experts who have supported the child or young person to date, and the responsible health commissioner will be required to identify and secure the relevant health provision required by the child or young person.
We will look to introduce a standardised and digitised EHCP template, transferable across settings and LAs, to improve quality and consistency and be complemented by the NHS move towards digital-first service delivery.
An improved review process, so day-to-day provision in an ISP is reviewed regularly by the setting and the EHCP is reviewed at the end of key stages by LAs, who will ensure they bring in the right expertise and knowledge from experts.
We propose retaining annual reviews by LAs for early years and post-16 EHCPs.
Placement:
The Government will maintain the legal principle known as ‘presumption to mainstream’ placing a strong legal duty on the Local Authority to fulfil a request from a parent carer or young person with an EHCP to attend a mainstream setting.
Under the new proposals, a Local Authority will provide parent carers with a list of settings able to provide the required Specialist Package and parent carers and young people will have the right to choose any of these settings or express a preference for an alternative. Decisions will then be made based on this preference as well as ‘evidence of effectiveness, good value, and the needs of other children’. Pg 70 PDF version SEND reform.
The Government are proposing to make a change to the current legal expectation related to incompatibility in two ways.
The first so that LA’s are not required to name a school or setting in an EHCP where it is already full or where this would have a “seriously detrimental effect on children or young people already in the setting.”
The second “to make it clear that weight must be put on the evidence of the effectiveness of the provision, value for money, and fairness in future decisions about placements. This might include requiring the LA to consider overall value for money and the impact of making a single higher cost placement, for example in an Independent Special School (ISS), on the ability to meet the needs of all children and young people in the area.” Pg 70 PDF version SEND reform.
Specialist schools would still exist under the proposals, but the system may be structured so that specialist placements are accessed only by children with the most complex needs who have an EHCP.
“Parents will also continue to be able to appeal to the Tribunal if they disagree with an LA’s placement decision. However, placement decisions will be made in a much more consistent and fair way, with preferences made less in isolation and more holistically, with a better focus on quality and a suitable placement close to home.” Page 71 PDF version SEND reform.
What we don’t yet know:
How many special school places will be available.
How this system will work for children and young people who do not fit into the Specialist Provision Packages.
What the content of the Specialist Provision Packages include and how these will operate in practice.
What is meant by “complex Need”
It is important to remember that these proposals are still being consulted on, and the detail of how they would work in practice if they come into law are still being developed. It is important that you have your say and respond to the consultation. The link to our Bitesize survey is below
SGPC Bitesize Survey - 4 of 8
This week we are asking for your thoughts on the plans for Trageted and Targeted Plus support
Bite Size Survey: Specialist Packages and EHCPs
Each survey only takes a few minutes, but your voice can make a real difference. Ensure that the perspectives of families in our community are heard.
Focused news and accompanying bite-sized surveys will be shared each week week until the 29th April. All surveys will remain open till midnight on Sunday 3rd May
Check out the SGPC updates page to see them all
We are now in a 12-week consultation period.
There are two ways that you can have your say:
Through the Government Consultation Survey on SEND reform - Closing Date 11:59pm 18 May 2026,
Through South Glos Parent Carer Forum’s bite size surveys. - Closing Date 11:59pm 3 May
If possible, we would always recommend that you complete both feedback options.
At SGPC, our role remains the same: to represent the lived experience of parent carers in South Gloucestershire and to ensure that your voices are heard locally and nationally.
We know that system change must improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND. We will work alongside the NNPCF and partners to ensure that reforms lead to positive, meaningful and sustainable change for families.
We will continue to update families as more detail becomes available through our social media, website and members email list:
You are not alone
We recognise that change can bring uncertainty and questions. You are not alone, our drop-in support sessions and online email support are here for you.
See details of all our support session opening hours here
March 2026