Special Educational Needs
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is she taking to support children through the transition from EHCPs to ISPs.
Answered by Department for Education
Under the department’s proposed reforms, education, health and care (EHC) plans will continue to provide statutory entitlements to education and health provision for children and young people who need a specialist provision package.
No child with a current EHC plan will transition until the end of their phase of education, and not before September 2030. Every child or young person with a special school place in September 2029 will be able to stay in a special school until they finish education. Children who do transition out of their EHC plans will have an Individual Support Plan (ISP) in place ahead of their plan ceasing, to ensure no break in support.
ISPs will be developed by settings together with parents and young people, giving every child or young person receiving targeted or specialist support a clear and consistent record of their needs and the help they receive, so that support is joined‑up, timely and genuinely centred on what will help them to thrive.
Alongside this, the department is introducing clearer statutory expectations on schools to identify and meet needs as early as possible, monitor progress closely and put timely support in place. To underpin this, we are developing the National Inclusion Standards through an independent expert panel, providing practical, evidence‑informed tools for identifying and supporting diverse needs. We will consider feedback from the consultation exercise carefully before making any final decisions on this policy.
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