SEND Review & Proposed EHCP Changes – What It Means for Young People with Brain Injury
By Emma Trudgill, Clinical Advisor
Introduction
This spring, the government unveiled a major SEND Review, targeting long-standing legal frameworks, particularly Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). With over 576,000 children holding EHCPs – an increase of 140% since 2015, the system is under immense financial strain, with councils projecting a collective deficit approaching £5 billion by 2026.
Why Now? The Financial & Legal Drivers
Councils increasingly argue that overly legalistic EHCP processes are unsustainable. Some proposals aim to limit parental appeal rights or strengthen council discretion, potentially reducing tribunal oversight. Meanwhile, organisations like IPSEA are pushing back, stating that reforms must protect and not dilute legal protections.
Specialist Voices & Campaign Responses
@Special Needs Jungle cautions councils and advocates are trying to “trash entitlements” even as the Education Secretary insists ‘current rights won’t be removed’. @The Guardian reports ministers have not ruled out replacing EHCPs entirely despite strong parental backlash.
Impact for Brain Injury Group
At The Brain Injury Group, our focus is on young people with acquired or congenital brain injuries, many of whom depend on EHCPs to access vital specialist support, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and one‑to‑one assistance. Proposed changes may:
– Weaken legal protections, reducing families’ leverage to secure appropriate support.
– Trigger funding reallocations that could further restrict services tailored for brain injury or the secondary complications for children in the school setting.
– Press mainstream schools to include more children with high needs without expanding staff, funding or expertise, increasing the risk of unmet needs and poorer outcomes.
Despite these challenges, there are opportunities. The Brain Injury Group can:
– Champion early identification and support with a review of medical records and milestones met
– Provide specialist resources and clinics to schools to support parents in accessing community and specialist support
– Collaborate with our rehabilitation partners, charities and school clinics as well as liase with local authorities to ensure key therapeutic interventions remain embedded in mainstream education.
What Families & Schools Say
“My first thoughts were that Logan’s mainstream school were found not to be spending their SEN budget on SEN children. So if this is what they are trying to push for me… it’s failed already.” – Aneliese, parent of Logan (age 12), who cannot yet read or write and now requires mental health support alongside his EHCP.
Aneliese’s experience highlights a critical issue in the current system, even when EHCPs are in place, implementation is not guaranteed. Budget mismanagement, lack of accountability, and inadequate resourcing within mainstream settings can leave children like Logan without the interventions they desperately need. This reinforces why the legal protections currently embedded in EHCPs must not be weakened. Families must retain their right to challenge provision failures, and local authorities must be held accountable, not just for writing plans, but for delivering on them.
CEO of Brain Injury Group, Clare Harrison, also shares her lived experience of the difficulties obtaining EHCP for her son, Luke.
“Luke has had an EHCP in place since the end of Year 5. It was a hugely complex and difficult battle, and I felt like I had to become an expert in SEND law and practice and be the coordinator pulling together all of the relevant information. Deadlines were missed, and the process was lengthy and challenging”.
“Luke is now 15 and coming to the end of year 10. At his EHCP review meeting, we discussed his current 95% attendance rate (although this in itself is not important), the exams he will take in Year 11, the support he will receive to achieve these, and what he would like to do after Year 11, including a transition to college.
But most of all, he is enjoying learning again and has a close friendship group. We were only able to get him into a specialist setting as we had the EHCP already in place, without it Luke would still be unable to access an education”.
Luke’s EHCP was finalised during lockdown, and its primary focus was to support his transition to a mainstream high school; it provided the legal framework for the support he should have received. However, the school didn’t have the skills and resources to support him, and they were unable to meet his needs, despite what was documented in his EHCP.
“The EHCP process and legal framework to support this are not broken; they do advocate for children and young people’s rights to access education. However, the legal process is rarely upheld until formal challenges are brought by parents, advocates and specialist lawyers”, Clare said.
This led to a period of nearly 18 months during which Luke was unable to attend school, and no alternative provision was made.
Logan and Aneliese’s EHCP Journey: A Parent’s Fight for the Right to Education
Recommendations & Next Steps
– Maintain EHCP safeguards: Legal entitlements must stay robust. Our contact at @Laxmi
Laxmi Patel, solicitor specialising in SEND law at Boyes Turner, says the law around EHCPs is to protect vulnerable children and young adults. It is vital that parents have an independent body, the SEND Tribunal, to turn to when necessary. EHCPs are legally binding documents that place a duty on local authorities to deliver specialist support that is set out in the Plan. Although far from ideal, parents can challenge local authorities by appealing to the SEND Tribunal where there are disagreements around provision and the type of school named. Without this legal backing, provision for children with SEND would be left vulnerable to local authority funding cuts.
We as a society need to decide if and how we want to protect education rights for children with SEND. The Children and Families Act 2014 does that. There is no problem with the law; the difficulty for families is the ability to hold local authorities to account when things go wrong.
– Resource mainstream with expertise: Fund therapies and train staff in brain-injury specifics.
– Embed specialist-led early support: Align with the government’s early support schemes.
– Advocate via partnership: Collaborate with school clinics, families, charities and professional services to shape local implementation.
Conclusion
The SEND Review is a pivotal moment ,and whilst changes are unlikely to occur overnight, the reform that does take place should be shaped by the voices of those it directly impacts. While financial pressures are real, The Brain Injury Group and it’s work within the sector must ensure that policy shifts bolster and not erode the rights of disabled young people. By stepping forward with specialist insight, training, and advocacy, you can shape how reforms play out on the ground ensuring children like Luke and Logan continue to access life-changing support.
Why Reform Must Work for Families
Aneliese agrees that the EHCP system needs reform, but feels the current proposals risk making access even harder. “The new reforms seem to be about limiting tribunal oversight, reducing parental legal recourse, and cutting costs, not improving support or outcomes.”
Her biggest concern is the lack of parent voice in current discussions. “It’s not about what’s best for children like Logan, it’s about reducing spend. If there’s no way for families to challenge that, thousands of children will fall through the cracks.”
