Reforms to The Children and Families Act 2014
The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced significant reforms to the system for identifying and supporting children and young people in England with special educational needs (SEN) aged 0-25.15 The Act aimed to improve the coordination between education, health, and social care services to better meet the needs of these individuals.5
In 2014, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Regulations were established to outline the duties and procedures for education, health, and care assessments and plans.6 These regulations were later amended in 2024 to further refine the statutory framework.3
The system includes two main levels of support: SEN support for general needs and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) for more complex needs.1 EHCPs replaced Special Educational Needs Statements under the new legislation.8
2019 review of the SEN support system’s effectiveness
In September 2019, the Government announced a review of the SEN support system’s effectiveness, which was expected to be published in early 2022. The review now includes reflections on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.1
For the financial year 2022-23, around £8.7 billion was allocated for the high needs block, which covers special educational needs provision in state-funded schools in England, marking a 10% increase in cash terms and a 4% increase in real terms compared to 2021-22.1
2024 updates to the SEND
The latest updates to the SEND code of practice came into effect on 1 September 2024, replacing the NASENCO with the NPQ for SENCOs as the mandatory qualification for Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs).
Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales (2002)5
Special educational needs/additional learning needs The current legislative framework for supporting children with special educational needs (SEN) is set out in the Education Act 1996 and described in the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales (2002)5 .
A new legislative framework
This establishes a system where children with SEN are provided with special educational provision (SEP) by schools and LAs in accordance either with non-statutory school-based plans or statutory Statements of SEN. However, when commenced, the provisions included in the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Act 2018 will introduce a new legislative framework.
Replacing special educational needs (SEN) with additional learning provision (ALP)
Among other things, this framework will replace the terms ‘special educational needs (SEN)’ and ‘special educational provision (SEP)’ with the terms ‘additional learning needs (ALN)’ and ‘additional learning provision (ALP)’ and provide all children with ALN with a statutory plan of support – the individual development plan (IDP). The system will be described in the Additional Learning Needs Code, which will replace the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Wales (2002). Implementation of this new system is expected to take place from September 2020 onwards.