SEND reform and FE - Are colleges ready for the new duties?

The government's Schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, published alongside the SEND consultation Putting Children and Young People First in February 2026, sets out the most significant reforms to the SEND system since the Children and Families Act 2014. While much discussion to date has focused on schools, the proposals extend across the educational spectrum (0-25 years) and would have substantial legal and operational consequences for the Further Education sector. Colleges need to start preparing now, even though legislative changes are not expected until 2029 at the earliest.

What is Changing

A key proposed reform is the replacement of the current Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) centred system with a tiered model. A new 'Universal' offer would set a baseline of inclusive practice in all mainstream settings, including colleges. Above that, Targeted and Targeted Plus layers would provide additional support without the need for an EHCP. Only young people with the most complex needs would retain an EHCP, linked to nationally defined Specialist Provision Packages.

For colleges, the most significant change is the proposed legal duty to produce an Individual Support Plan (ISP) for every learner receiving Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist support. ISPs would be digital, standardised documents setting out a learner's barriers, provision and outcomes. Crucially, the responsibility for producing and delivering the ISP would sit with the college, not the local authority. Colleges would also be expected to produce an Inclusion Strategy, subject to Ofsted inspection, replacing the current duty to produce SEN Information Reports.

The legal framework that already applies

FE colleges already carry significant legal obligations to students with SEND. Under the Children and Families Act 2014, where a college is named in a young person's EHCP, it must use its best endeavours to meet the young person's special educational needs and cooperate with the local authority. The SEND Code of Practice 2015 sets out detailed expectations for post-16 providers, including appointing a named person with oversight of SEND provision and participating in annual reviews and transition planning.

The Equality Act 2010 imposes a duty not to discriminate against disabled students and to make reasonable adjustments. This duty is anticipatory, meaning colleges must plan for, and act on, the needs of disabled learners generally, not simply react when a specific learner raises an issue. Failures can give rise to claims in First-tier Tribunal.

Transition planning: a known vulnerability

The reforms propose that planning for transition must begin at least 12 months in advance, with post-16 providers working in partnership with schools and local authorities. Phase transfer deadlines already carry legal force, and when missed colleges can find themselves admitting learners without finalised plans or funding. Under the reformed system, the college itself would bear primary responsibility for ensuring that transition planning is effective and that provision is in place from day one.

Why this matters for FE colleges

The post-16 prospects gap between young people with SEN and those without has widened over the past four years. Young people with SEND are 80% more likely to be NEET than their peers. The reforms aim to address these outcomes by placing greater responsibility on post-16 providers.

The £200 million national SEND training programme, available from September 2026, and the three year £1.8 billion Experts at Hand investment should help colleges build capacity. However, a considerable operational burden would remain. Producing ISPs to the required standard, training staff to meet National Inclusion Standards and publishing an Inclusion Strategy all require significant investment of time, resource and expertise.

The shift of legal accountability would also create risk. Where a learner's ISP provision is not delivered, the family would raise the issue with the college in the first instance. Colleges will therefore need to ensure their complaints procedures are capable of managing such disputes before they escalate.

The consultation period closed on 18 May 2026 and the government is currently reviewing the feedback received.  No changes to the support given by EHCPs will change before September 2030. 

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For more information please contact Kris Robbetts in our Education team.