Bridget Phillipson sets out SEND reforms at RISE

You can picture the moment. On 9 March 2026, the Education Secretary opened her RISE inclusion conference speech with Joshua, a boy from Brighton who was diagnosed with autism at five. His first school could only manage him for ten minutes a day. When he moved to West Blatchington Primary, part of The Pioneer Academy, an on‑site SEND unit helped him make friends, regulate, and – soon enough – learn in the mainstream class all day. He says he “smashed” his SATs and now thrives in a mainstream secondary. This is what happens when support is built in, not bolted on. (gov.uk)

That story lands because you’ve seen versions of it in your own classroom. Parents and staff invest extraordinary care, yet the system often makes help arrive late, inconsistently, or far from home. The Secretary of State acknowledged that teachers have become a ‘fourth emergency service’ too often, and that families are exhausted by paperwork that seems to matter more than need. The promise on the table is to make success for children like Joshua the norm, not the exception. (gov.uk)

The plan’s headline is inclusive mainstream – children learning locally with high expectations and support that grows with need. The Department for Education’s own analysis, published in February, finds pupils with EHCPs educated in mainstream achieve, on average, around half a grade higher across English and maths GCSEs than comparable pupils in special schools, controlling for prior attainment and need. European Agency evidence links inclusive schooling with better employment prospects later on. Inclusion and high standards are not opposites – they reinforce each other when done well. (gov.uk)

Accountability is shifting to match that ambition. Ofsted has removed single‑word overall judgements and introduced detailed report cards. Crucially, there is now a specific graded area for inclusion across nurseries, schools and colleges. The new approach began rolling out on 10 November 2025 (with ITE and non‑association independent schools from January 2026) and puts provision for disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND and those known to social care under direct scrutiny in every inspection. (gov.uk)

So what is actually changing for resourcing? The government proposes a £1.6bn Inclusive Mainstream Fund over three years from 2026–27 to help settings plan and deliver earlier, routine support. Alongside this sits over £3.7bn in capital through 2030 to improve accessibility and create tens of thousands of additional specialist places, plus more than £200m for national SEND training. A new ‘Experts at Hand’ service is planned to give schools quicker access to occupational therapists, educational psychologists and speech and language therapists, backed by around £1.8bn over three years. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

What this means on your site is clearer tiers of support. Universal support becomes the baseline in every classroom. Where needs are greater, pupils will have Individual Support Plans with targeted interventions. For the relatively small group who need it, specialist provision remains essential. Schools are asked to publish an Inclusion Strategy, join local groups to share practice, and, where appropriate, establish an inclusion base – a dedicated space that bridges mainstream and specialist support. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)

There’s a wider wrap‑around to reduce the barriers you see every morning. Best Start Family Hubs are being rolled out across England to make advice and early years support easier to find. Free breakfast clubs begin national rollout from April 2026, with guidance for phase one already live. Free school meals will extend to all families on Universal Credit from September 2026. Government says these steps, combined with removing the two‑child limit from April 2026, will cut child poverty significantly by 2030 and help more children arrive at school ready to learn. (gov.uk)

Early years childcare remains part of the readiness picture. By September 2025 the government confirmed delivery of 30 hours a week of funded childcare for eligible working families from nine months to school age – a promise now in place. For schools, that should mean fewer pupils starting behind because parents could not access affordable care or early learning. (gov.uk)

What this means for teachers right now: start small and concrete. Map your universal offer – routines, language, sensory load – and check it against the inclusion grade descriptors you’ll be inspected on. Audit your SEND CPD against the national training programme as details emerge. Begin drafting an Inclusion Strategy with parents and pupils, and talk with local partners about how an inclusion base could help you flex support without pulling children from their communities. (gov.uk)

What this means for families: the direction is towards earlier, local support that doesn’t hinge on an EHCP to unlock specialist advice. The Department for Education says no changes to the support given by EHCPs will begin before September 2030, and the aim of ‘Experts at Hand’ is to reduce the long waits and repeated assessments that currently wear families down. Keep records, stay in dialogue with your school, and expect clearer, published plans for inclusion. (educationhub.blog.gov.uk)

Dates matter. The SEND reform consultation ‘Putting Children and Young People First’ is open now. If you teach, lead a setting, or care for a child with SEND, your experience should shape how these ideas land in practice. The Department for Education’s Citizen Space lists the closing date as Monday 18 May 2026. Build time in department meetings or parent forums to submit a response. (consult.education.gov.uk)

Back to Joshua, because stories teach. His success wasn’t luck; it was design – a school planned for inclusion, staff who had time and training, and friendships rooted in his own community. The policy pieces described here aim to make that design standard. If we hold government to the evidence, and we each play our part in classrooms and councils, Joshua’s path can become the default, not the outlier. (gov.uk)