7 Big Changes in England’s £3bn SEND Schools Overhaul

England announces £3bn SEND reforms with 50,000 new places. Discover 7 major changes reshaping support for children needing special education across the country.

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Dec 12, 2025 - 20:10

7 Big Changes in England’s £3bn SEND Schools Overhaul

The government has pledged to create 50,000 more places for children with special educational needs (SEND) in mainstream schools across England.

It plans to invest £3 billion over the next three years, partly funded by canceling some planned free schools.

Councils receiving this funding have said the money should be directed to the right areas and to those who know what is needed in their local communities.

Around 1.7 million students with special educational needs receive support in schools across England, and this number is increasing every year.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said this investment will lay the foundation for the SEND reforms outlined in the schools White Paper due early next year. The White Paper was due to be published in the autumn, but has been delayed.

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The government says it is planning to cancel the construction of 28 new mainstream free schools after consultation and is reviewing 16 more sites.

"We have decided not to proceed with some schools where we have seen declining enrolments due to low student numbers and are investing that money in provision for children with SEND."

Councils will be able to use the money from cancelled projects to convert existing school buildings and create more specialist spaces so that students don't have to travel far for their education.

For example, they could create areas like breakout spaces for children who may need more support, or create rooms to support children with autism or ADHD who may feel over-stimulated in the classroom.

There are also 77 proposed special free schools that local authorities can decide to build, or similarly, the funding could be used to create the same number of specialist places elsewhere.

The Conservatives described the cancellation of some planned free schools as "education vandalism."

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Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said the Labour Party was "snatching away the new schools that parents want. Free schools raise standards and outperform other government schools."

"And unimpressed, the government has closed ready-made, run-down special schools and replaced them with underfunded ones without any plan."

The Liberal Democrats welcomed the funding, but said it needed to be "matched with major improvements to diagnosis and support."

Councillor Amanda Hopgood of the Local Government Association said SEND places should be in the right locations.

"If we build a huge school in the middle of nowhere where we have to transport everyone, that money isn't being used for education."

"And those children aren't getting an education in their local community where they live with their friends."

Local authorities will spend £1.5 billion on transporting under-16 children with SEND in the 2023-24 financial year, almost two and a half times the previous year, 2015-16.

The Headteachers' Union has welcomed these plans.

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However, the school leaders' union NAHT says that investment in buildings is only one part of the picture, and that sufficient teachers and leaders with "the right level of specialist training" will be needed.

At Ninestiles, an academy in Birmingham, around 50 students with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) – a legal document that outlines the type of support a young person should receive – spend approximately 70% of their time in mainstream lessons.

The rest of the time, they attend specialized lessons tailored to their needs, where they receive specially trained staff and a tailored curriculum.

Demand for these places is high, and the government says additional investment means councils will be able to meet local needs more quickly.

But Principal Alex Hughes says "the difficulty will be in the details" and "what this will mean" for individual schools.

Brendon, a 14-year-old student at Ninestiles, not only receives the full curriculum but also has access to a resource hub where he receives support from teachers.

According to his mother, Laura Jerram, he has had "the best of both worlds," saying the support he has received from the priest has been "key to keeping him in school."

But Brendan's journey to this point has been "really difficult."

Ms. Jerram explains that he missed a lot of primary school before coming to Ninestiles, and the process of getting an EHCP was "a terrifying journey."

"It's a bit difficult [to get an EHCP] and unfortunately, the families with the most resources win.

"I think for Brendan, if he had received support much earlier, he might not have dropped out of school like this."

Jane Harris, Chief Executive of Speech & Language UK, welcomed the announcement – but warned that it alone would not be enough to transform the lives of children with SEND-related speech and language difficulties.

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"To truly transform children's education and future employment, these new resourced arrangements need to be hubs of expertise, not just rooms," Harris said.

"Success relies on specialist teachers working alongside speech and language therapists every single day.

"The Send crisis can't be solved without the specialist staff needed to support the 30% of children with speech and language challenges."

Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of Ambitious about Autism, also said she was pleased to see the increased investment from the government, while highlighting the current "postcode lottery" many families face when trying to access support.

"It is vital that this investment enables local authorities to plan and provide a mix of provisions that support the broad and diverse needs of autistic young people," Lasota said.

Autism is currently the most common primary need for children with an EHCP in England.

Many parents are unhappy and frustrated with the way the system is currently working with the National Audit Office (NAO) warning that despite increased investment, outcomes for students have not improved.

The number of parents taking councils to court over issues with Send provision reached a record high in 2024-2025, figures by the Ministry of Justice revealed on Thursday.

There were 25,000 Send appeals, up 18% from the previous year, with most disagreements over the content of EHCPs.

The free schools which will not go ahead will now go through a consultation period.

Plans by Eton College to open selective sixth-form centres in Dudley and Oldham have been approved, but its Middlesbrough proposal is earmarked for cancellation.

Free schools are publicly funded but are privately run by academy trusts, universities, charities, or faith groups.

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