Today’s 120-page Schools White Paper signals much-needed reform to a SEND system that’s clearly broken.
At The Mason Foundation, we welcome the direction – particularly the £1.6bn investment in mainstream inclusion, focus on evidence-based National Inclusion Standards, and the commitment to make enrichment opportunities available to all children, not just those who can afford to pay. Skills development outside traditional academic routes is particularly important for neurodivergent young people whose strengths often shine outside conventional academic measures.
However, there are concerning gaps between what was promised at the press conference and what’s written in the policy document.
During the press conference, we were told Individual Support Plans would be enforceable. But the white paper says schools must create ISPs and Ofsted will assess them, without spelling out the legal enforceability mechanism or what recourse families have if schools don’t deliver. We need the enforceability commitment made verbally today written into legislation with clear accountability.
“Targeted plus” placements in alternative provision lack clear safeguards on maximum time limits and who decides when children return to mainstream.
Reassessments at transition points risk adding bureaucracy when young people need stability, yet details on process and how families can challenge/respond to outcomes are vague.
Most concerning: while the white paper repeatedly says support should stretch “from birth to workplace,” concrete plans for employment transitions are barely mentioned – just one case study on post-16 college transitions. Young people don’t stop being neurodivergent at 18, yet the education-to-employment gap where we see the biggest drop-off gets minimal attention in 120 pages.
This is a critical opportunity to create genuinely inclusive education – but only if we close the gap between verbal promises and written policy, provide adequate resources, and actually extend support through to employment.
