You are juggling staffing, funding and family conversations, while trying to track a 120-page consultation. We get it. The SEND reform consultation lands alongside the Schools White Paper and reshapes support from birth to 25, including nurseries. If you want the White Paper’s early years angle, we covered it in what the Schools White Paper means for early years inclusion. Here, we unpack what is new in the SEND reform, what it changes for you, and where the gaps still are.
Key Takeaways
- The SEND reform covers the whole 0 to 25 system and applies to all early years settings, including PVIs and childminders.
- A new four-layer model replaces SEN Support and EHCP-only thinking: Universal, Targeted, Targeted Plus and Specialist.
- Digital Individual Support Plans will record Targeted help without a diagnosis or statutory plan.
- Experts at Hand will bring in external professionals at Targeted Plus, though access for PVIs needs confirmation.
- Specialist Provision Packages define support for the most complex needs and link to EHCPs.
- Under fives get a fast-track to Specialist support and an EHCP where needed.
- No existing EHCP changes before September 2030, and new assessments start no earlier than September 2029.
Who The New SEND Reform Changes Apply To
The consultation is clear about who counts as an early years setting. That includes childminders, maintained nursery schools, school-based nurseries and private, voluntary and independent nurseries. Maintained nursery schools and school-based nurseries are grouped with early years throughout the document, not with schools.
So, when the SEND reform refers to duties or funding for early years settings, it should apply to all providers. Final clarity comes when legislation passes. Keep an eye on the route through Parliament via the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Once that is enacted, we will know exactly what PVIs can access.
Why The SEND Reform Is Happening
The last major overhaul in 2014 introduced EHCPs and promised joined-up work across education, health and care. A decade later, the picture is messy. The number of children with EHCPs has doubled, including a sharp 30 percent rise for under fives since 2023. Local authority high-needs spending is up 87 percent across six years, while outcomes have not kept pace.
Families still face delays, and staff report spending more time on paperwork than with children. More children are in special schools than at any point in 50 years. The consultation argues that EHCPs have become the default route to support, which pushes the system toward lengthy assessments rather than timely, flexible help in mainstream from the start. For wider context on system pressures, see the picture painted in underfunded and overburdened: the crisis in SEND support.
The Five Principles That Guide SEND Reform
These principles run through the proposals and are likely to be reflected in the revised Code of Practice: Early, Local, Fair, Effective and Shared. In plain terms, support should start as soon as a need is spotted, be available close to home, be resourced across settings, use evidence-based approaches and be shaped with families and services together. If that sounds like common sense, good. The challenge is making it happen at scale.
The New Structure Of SEND Support
Out go the two tiers of SEN Support and EHCP-only thinking. In comes a four-layer model across 0 to 25, including early years. Children can move between layers as their needs change. No statutory plan is needed for Targeted or Targeted Plus.
Universal Support In Early Years
This is the baseline every setting provides. In early years, it highlights high-quality provision with a strong focus on communication and language, plus timely identification. The graduated Assess, Plan, Do, Review cycle remains within Universal. Think of Universal as your daily offer, done well and done early.
Targeted Support And Digital Individual Support Plans
When needs go beyond Universal, practitioners provide Targeted interventions. No diagnosis is needed. Provision is recorded in a new digital Individual Support Plan, co-designed with parents. Picture a clear, living document that records what you are trying, why you chose it and how it is going.
Targeted Plus And Experts At Hand
Targeted Plus kicks in when you need external input to make progress. The Experts at Hand service brings in speech and language therapists, educational psychologists and occupational therapists. The SEND reform says early years are in scope. As it is commissioned locally, we still need clarity on access for all PVIs. Keep your SENCO logs tight, so you can show the case for escalation.
Specialist Support And The Fast Track For Under Fives
Specialist is for the most complex needs and links to nationally defined Specialist Provision Packages. For very young children, there is a new fast-track route to a package and an EHCP. If you have helped families through long waits before school age, the fast-track is designed for that exact pain point.
What Are Specialist Provision Packages
Specialist Provision Packages will be national, evidence-based descriptions of what support a child with complex needs should receive. An independent expert panel will develop them. Each package is expected to set out therapies, curriculum adaptations, resources and services. It will also guide what appears in an EHCP.
Only children who need the full package will be entitled to an EHCP in the reformed system. The aim is to reduce postcode variation, so offers look similar in Newcastle and Newquay. For early years teams, that should mean clearer expectations when planning support and fewer battles over what is reasonable. The packages are not written yet, so watch this space.
What Happens To EHCPs Under SEND Reform
EHCPs do not disappear. They stay, but they become the plan for children who need a Specialist Provision Package. For children currently on EHCPs whose needs can be met through Targeted or Targeted Plus in the new model, moves will happen at natural phase changes. If parents are anxious, reassure them with the timeline below and point them to our guide on a shake-up for EHCPs and what parents should know.
- No changes to any existing EHCP before September 2030.
- New system assessments start no earlier than September 2029.
- Transitions only happen at phase changes, such as the end of primary.
- No child will be asked to leave a special school.
What The SEND Reform Means For Early Years SENCOs
Several proposals land squarely in your world. National Inclusion Standards will be developed by 2028, backed by up to 15 million pounds. They will set out what support should exist in every mainstream setting and will sit alongside the revised Code of Practice and updated guidance on reasonable adjustments. Expect Ofsted to use them during inspections, so they become real benchmarks rather than shelfware.
A new national SEND training programme, over 200 million pounds across three years, is due from September 2026. It should cover birth to 25 and is likely to be accessed through an online portal. If you need a route right now to build confidence in your team, take a look at our Early Years SENCO training Level 3 qualification.
Schools will have a legal duty to publish an annual Inclusion Strategy. For early years, the government will work with the sector on an approach that fits. The Children’s Commissioner will also monitor progress with a focus on the most vulnerable groups. If you want quick answers for staff briefings, you might like the round-up of the most Googled questions about early years SENCO.
Funding In The New System
The consultation signals that early years settings will receive money from the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, with more upfront funding than schools. The route to PVIs, whether direct or via local authorities, is not confirmed yet. We will get more detail through the Childcare and Early Education Review in summer 2026.
We have also covered the Inclusive Early Years Fund, Experts at Hand and Best Start Family Hubs SEND practitioners within the Schools White Paper coverage. If you are planning budgets or inclusion projects, see our guide to the Inclusive Early Years Fund 2026 to 27 and making your setting more inclusive.
Practical Scenarios For Nursery Managers
Here are common situations and how they fit the new model.
A two-year-old with limited expressive language and frustration in group times. You put in daily language-rich routines, visuals and small-group attention under Universal. If progress stalls, add Targeted support: short SALT-informed sessions and an Individual Support Plan co-written with parents. If you need specialist input to adjust strategies, you request Targeted Plus through Experts at Hand.
A three-year-old with sensory needs and significant self-regulation challenges. You trial environmental changes, coaching for key staff and a sensory diet under Universal and Targeted. If the child needs multi-agency input and highly specified support, you build evidence for a Specialist route. Under SEND reform, the under fives fast-track should reduce waiting, so the family does not spend a year in limbo.
Comparison: Current System vs Proposed System
| Area | Current System | Proposed With SEND Reform |
| Structure of Support | SEN Support or EHCP as main routes | Four layers: Universal, Targeted, Targeted Plus, Specialist |
| Access to Specialists | Referral-based, often long waits | Experts at Hand at Targeted Plus, aiming for earlier input |
| Plans and Paperwork | IEPs or local templates vary | Digital Individual Support Plans for Targeted support |
| High-Needs Decisions | Local variation, inconsistent offers | National Specialist Provision Packages linked to EHCPs |
| Under Fives Pathway | No specific fast-track | Fast-track to Specialist support and EHCP for under fives |
The Principles In Action, Without The Jargon
Early means you act when staff notice a need, not when a diagnosis lands. Local means you do as much as possible in the child’s known setting, near home. Fair means every setting is resourced to meet common needs, so parents do not have to push for the basics. Effective means your strategies are based on solid evidence, not a hunch, and you track what works. Shared means families, health, care and education plan together, with the child’s voice present, not an afterthought.
What To Do Next
First, map your current graduated approach to the four-layer model. Check that Universal is strong and visible. Second, prepare for digital Individual Support Plans by agreeing local templates and parent-friendly language. Third, get your SENCO CPD plan ready for the national offer in 2026, and use available training to bridge gaps now.
Then stay policy-aware. The SEND reform will crystallise in the revised Code of Practice and through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. When the Childcare and Early Education Review lands, we will get more funding detail for PVIs. And if you want a simple place to start, share our Schools White Paper summary with your team so everyone speaks the same language.
Your Early Years Checklist For The Year Ahead
- Audit Universal provision with a focus on communication and language.
- Agree how you will create and review Individual Support Plans with parents.
- List local routes to external professionals and how to evidence need.
- Plan staff training priorities for September 2026 and beyond.
- Capture parent voice and child voice in every review cycle.
Got questions about applying the SEND reform in your nursery or childminding setting? We are here to help. Share this guide with your team, bookmark the links, and let us know what you need next. If you want one-to-one advice or training options, talk to us and we will build something practical that fits your setting.