SEND reform is changing — what this means for your child and how we support you

The publication of the Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper has understandably generated a significant amount of discussion across the education sector, particularly among families of children with additional needs.

Any change to the way SEND support is structured raises important questions about consistency, quality, and what this will mean in practice for individual children as reforms are implemented over time.

At its core, the white paper sets out an ambition to improve how need is identified and supported earlier, and to strengthen how consistently that support is delivered within mainstream education through a more structured national framework.

While the intent is clear, the most important question for families remains unchanged: how will this actually shape my child’s daily experience of learning, support, and progress?

What is changing in SEND support

The white paper introduces a significant shift in how support for children and young people with additional needs will be planned and delivered across England. A key feature of the reforms is the introduction of a national tiered framework of support, structured around Universal, Targeted, and Specialist provision. This is intended to create greater consistency across schools and ensure that support is identified and implemented earlier, rather than only once needs have escalated.

Alongside this, Individual Support Plans (ISPs) will become a central requirement for all pupils with identified additional needs. These plans are designed to clearly set out a learner’s needs, the support they should receive, and the outcomes that support is intended to achieve. Importantly, they are intended to be co-produced with families and reviewed regularly to ensure they remain relevant as a child’s needs develop over time.

There is also a stronger expectation that more needs will be met within mainstream education settings, with earlier intervention becoming a central principle of the system rather than a secondary consideration. Taken together, these reforms place greater emphasis on clarity, consistency, and earlier action in supporting children with SEND.

However, the effectiveness of this system will depend entirely on whether support can be delivered in a way that is consistent, responsive, and accessible in real learning environments.

For children and young people with additional needs, the reforms aim to create a more structured and predictable experience of support within education. In practical terms, this means that support should be:

• clearly defined and consistently implemented
• embedded within everyday teaching
• regularly reviewed and adapted in response to progress
• and accessible across different learning environments

This is a positive direction of travel. However, it also increases the expectation that schools can respond flexibly to a wide range of needs, often within the same classroom environment, and often where those needs may change over time.

This is where the delivery model of education becomes critical. The effectiveness of any support plan is not only determined by how well it is written, but by whether it can be consistently enacted in practice.

How King’s InterHigh delivers SEND support in practice

King’s InterHigh is a DfE and Cambridge International-accredited online school delivering live, teacher-led lessons across Key Stage 2 to 5, including KS3, GCSE, A Level, and IB pathways.

One in three of our students has a special educational need, meaning inclusion is not an add-on—it is embedded in how we teach and how students experience learning every day.

Our approach to SEND support is built on the principle that all minds are different, and education must be able to respond to that in real time.

Support begins with Inclusive Teaching Plans (ITPs), which are co-created with parents from the outset. This ensures that family insight, lived experience, and the child’s voice are central to identifying need and shaping provision. In many ways, this already reflects—and indeed anticipates—the proposed Individual Support Plan (ISP) model outlined in the white paper.

These plans are not static documents. They are actively used by teachers to inform real-time teaching. Adaptations to pacing, explanation, scaffolding, and participation happen live within lessons, supported by a teaching workforce trained in inclusive and adaptive practice.

Our online learning model is particularly well-suited to children who have struggled in traditional bricks-and-mortar settings. For many learners, school environments can be overwhelming, unpredictable, or emotionally unsafe. In contrast, our model offers a low-demand, trauma-informed learning environment, where students are able to engage from a space where they feel secure. This often enables re-engagement with learning, reduced anxiety, and greater consistency in attendance and participation.

Accessibility is further supported through features such as flexible participation methods, closed captioning, and varied ways to engage in lessons. Students are able to build confidence over time, engaging in ways that suit their needs, with flexibility to evolve as those needs change.

We also recognise that learning is only one part of the picture. Our provision includes enhanced services that go beyond the classroom, designed to support wider needs such as emotional wellbeing, engagement, and personal development. These wraparound elements ensure that students are supported holistically, not just academically.

Flexibility is central. Timetables, workload, and expectations can be adapted where appropriate, without compromising academic ambition. This allows students to sustain engagement over time while still accessing a rigorous, high-quality curriculum.

Support is continuously reviewed through close collaboration between teachers, tutors, SEN practitioners, and families, alongside structured oversight via our Parent Hub. This ensures that provision remains responsive, consistent, and aligned with each learner’s evolving profile.

What this means for families

For families, SEND reform can understandably feel complex, especially when discussed at policy level rather than through lived experience. Ultimately, what matters most is whether children feel understood, supported, and able to make progress in a way that is sustainable.

At King’s InterHigh, we see every day that effective SEND support is not just about planning—it is about how that support is experienced.

• 94% of King’s InterHigh families believe recognition of online education within SEND policy is extremely important
• 90% of families say that King’s InterHigh meets the needs of their child

As reforms are implemented, the key challenge will be ensuring that policy translates into consistent, meaningful practice across diverse settings.

Our approach already reflects many of the principles set out in the reforms: early identification, co-produced planning, flexibility, and consistent delivery. Most importantly, it is built around the belief that education must adapt to the child—not the other way around.