Thousands of children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in West Lancashire will benefit from groundbreaking new legal entitlements to an individual support plan under new plans announced by the government today.
The plans, backed by £4 billion of investment in SEND support to make every school inclusive, will end the one size fits all education system that has damaged the lives of too many children.
In a radical expansion in rights and support for every child, there will be a new legal requirement for schools to create Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for all children with SEND.
Every ISP will draw from a national framework of actions which schools can take to give children the best education and life chances, personalised by the teachers and specialists who know them best.
The support ISPs set out will be easily available, without a fight, thanks to the government’s multi-billion-pound investment in specialist school places and services like speech and language therapy.
EHCPs will be retained and improved – offering a wider legal entitlement beyond the ISP to more intensive or complex support than schools can routinely provide.
A triple lock of transitional protections will mean no child loses effective support already in place:
- Every child who has a special school place in 2029 will keep it if they want it until they finish education.
- Transition for children with an EHCP in mainstream who will best supported via an ISP rather than an EHCP in future will only begin from 2030 once the new inclusive mainstream system has been fully built, and only then as children naturally move between phases, such as from primary to secondary school.
- ISPs will be in place for children who are transitioning from an EHCP before they move to the new system, so there is no break in support
It comes as the White Paper sets out a decade-long mission to make every child and family feel engaged and included in an education system broad enough to meet all children’s needs – creating opportunity for every child to achieve and thrive at school and succeed and flourish in life.
Ashley Dalton MP for West Lancashire said:
“One of the biggest issues I hear from families in West Lancashire is that they are having to fight for their children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and are frustrated with an education system that doesn’t work for their children.
“Labour believes that your background shouldn’t dictate where you end up. Today’s plans will transform the lives of children with SEND in West Lancashire, ensuring they get the support they need, when they need it and where they need it. Parents will no longer be fighting to get their children the education and support they deserve.
“Only Labour will help our children achieve and thrive at school, no matter their needs or background.”