If you have seen the headlines about the 2026 SEND White Paper and felt your stomach drop, start here, because the most important fact is also the most reassuring one: no, you are not about to lose your child's Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and no changes to the support an EHCP gives will begin before at least September 2030. Everything below is about what is being proposed for the future, not what is happening to your child now.
The short answer
The Government published its schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, on 23 February 2026, and the consultation on it closed on 18 May 2026. It sets out the biggest change to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system in a decade. But it is a proposal and a long timeline, not an overnight switch. If your child has an EHCP today, they keep it. The reforms are years away, and the current law still stands in the meantime.
What the White Paper actually proposes
Two ideas sit at the centre of it.
First, a new Individual Support Plan (ISP): a digital record of a child's needs and the day-to-day support they get. Every school, nursery and college would have a legal duty to create an ISP for each child with SEND. The aim is that far more children get a written plan than do today. We explain where an ISP sits alongside an EHCP in our guide to the four tiers of SEND support.
Second, EHCPs would be reserved for children with the most complex needs, who would receive a "Specialist Provision Package" drawn up by education, health and care experts. Under the proposals, only children with that package would qualify for a new EHCP, whether in a mainstream or a specialist setting.
What it means if your child already has an EHCP
Your plan stays in place. The Government has been explicit that no changes to the support delivered through existing EHCPs will start before September 2030, and that ISPs only become a statutory requirement from September 2029, with EHCP reassessments beginning then as children move between phases of education. In plain terms: your child's current rights and support are unchanged for years, and any transition would happen at a natural moving-on point, not suddenly.
What it means if you are mid-application
Keep going. The current EHCP process and the current law apply to any application in the system now. If your child needs an EHCP, the case for one has not weakened, and the assessment thresholds you are working to are the ones that exist today, not a future proposal. Do not pause or withdraw an application because of the White Paper. If you are just starting, our guide on how to get an EHCP walks you through the process step by step.
Why applying now still makes sense
Because the reforms are years off and current rights stand, getting a strong assessment and a well-evidenced plan in place now is more valuable, not less. A secure EHCP is the thing that carries protection into whatever the system becomes, and children who already hold one are in the strongest position going into any transition. Waiting to "see what happens" simply loses time your child does not need to lose. If you are weighing school-level help against a statutory plan, our guide on EHCP versus SEN Support explains the difference that matters most: enforceability.
The best protection against an uncertain future is a strong, well-evidenced plan today. Generate a tailored EHCP request for your child.
Generate your EHCP request letterWhere to get help
If you are applying, appealing, or strengthening an existing plan, the quality of your written evidence is what decides outcomes. Our EHCP letter and request tools help you put your case in clear, professional language, and our case tracker keeps your deadlines and documents in one place so nothing slips. Getting the paperwork right now is the best protection against an uncertain future.