Every local authority in England will need to present a detailed blueprint for expanding special educational needs provision within their mainstream schools to secure a portion of a new £860 million government fund, ministers have announced. The Department for Education has set a deadline of June 2026 for councils to submit their written plans, which must demonstrate how they will enable more children with Send to attend a local school and reduce lengthy, costly travel for their education.
The funding forms the first part of a wider £3 billion investment aimed at creating 50,000 new Send places, a central plank of the government’s Send reform agenda set out in the “Every Child Achieving and Thriving” Schools White Paper last month. The reforms are a decade-long initiative intended to overhaul a system described as dysfunctional and financially unsustainable, with the goal of providing better support in mainstream settings and restoring trust with families.
The drive for inclusive spaces and bases
A core condition of the new money is its use in making mainstream schools more inclusive. Councils are expected to direct funding towards creating adapted spaces, such as sensory rooms for pupils with autism or ADHD who may become overwhelmed in a standard classroom. The most significant structural change, however, will be the establishment of dedicated “inclusion bases” in every secondary school, funded by this and future tranches.
These bases are designed to allow pupils to move flexibly between specialist support and mainstream classes. Guidance on their funding, staffing, and resources is due to be published later this spring. The government has stated that no child currently in a special school will be required to move, and councils must still ensure sufficient places for those with the most complex needs. However, if a council’s plan proposes investing in more special school places, it must justify why this best meets local demand.
The focus on inclusion within mainstream schools comes alongside a major shift in financial responsibility. The government has effectively transferred the fiscal duty for supporting Send children, apart from those with the very highest needs, from local authorities to schools themselves. This is being backed by a separate £1.6 billion “Inclusive Mainstream Fund” over three years for schools, colleges, and early years settings, which is intended to empower them to deliver interventions like small-group tuition.
Reforming a system under severe strain
The urgent need for reform is underscored by stark financial warnings and soaring demand. Councils had cautioned that without change, four in five English local authorities would face effective bankruptcy by 2028 due to rising Send costs. Local authorities were expected to have a cumulative Send deficit of £5 billion by this month, a figure projected to grow rapidly. In response, the government has committed to paying 90% of these historic deficits, with grants conditional on approved local Send plans being released in autumn 2026.
Demand for support has skyrocketed. The number of children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) has risen from 240,000 in 2014 to approximately 640,000 in 2024. New government forecasts suggest an extra 260,000 children needing a special school place will receive an EHCP in the 2025-26 academic year, highlighting how capacity continues to be outstripped. This growth is occurring faster in mainstream schools than in special schools, intensifying pressure on ordinary classrooms.
The wider reform programme aims to streamline this system. A new tiered support model will be introduced, ranging from a Universal Offer in mainstream education to Specialist Provision Packages for the most complex needs. EHCPs will be retained and improved for those with the highest needs, but from 2029 they will be reviewed when a child transitions to secondary school—a point that has caused anxiety among some parents and advocacy groups. For other pupils with Send, schools will have a statutory duty to create a co-produced, digital Individual Support Plan.
Further support includes a £1.8 billion “Experts at Hand” scheme to create local banks of specialists like speech therapists, and a commitment to train every teacher to support children with Send, backed by £200 million. Schools must also produce their own inclusion strategy by the end of 2026.
Schools Minister Georgia Gould said the reforms would ensure more children could “thrive in their local community, with their friends,” and reaffirmed that “there will always be a legal right to additional support.” Stakeholder reaction has been mixed. The Local Government Association highlighted the critical need for the reforms and deficit intervention. Charities like Contact welcomed the focus on inclusion but cautioned that bases must be properly resourced, while Sense noted concerns over workforce readiness. The legal advice organisation IPSEA pointed out that schools’ existing duties under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments are often already ignored.
The success of the entire endeavour is seen as hinging on the readiness of the workforce, particularly Special Educational Needs Coordinators, to deliver the complex changes. With councils now tasked with drafting their plans, the detailed work of turning this substantial funding into tangible support begins.
