Overview
Welcome to the official webpage for the Hackney Local SEND Reform Plan.
Our plan outlines the 3-year strategic roadmap (2026 to 2029) to fundamentally transform how support is provided to children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
It has been developed in partnership with the London Borough of Hackney and NHS North East London Integrated Care Board.
Principles and interventions
In alignment with central government expectations and the national vision set out in the Schools White Paper, Every child achieving and thriving, each plan approved by the Department for Education (DfE) will be focused around 5 principles:
- Early
- Local
- Shared
- Effective
- Fair
The introduction of a new Experts at Hand Offer is a core pillar of the SEND Reform programme, offering local, equitably distributed teams of specialists to work within mainstream settings providing a layered approach to intervention:
- Universal: Wide range of services and support available to all children, including those with SEND
- Targeted: Support managed by settings via Individual Support Plans (ISP) created with parents
- Targeted plus: Enhanced support involving education and health professionals, potentially utilising ‘Support Bases.’
- Specialist: Provision via EHCPs and new national Specialist Provision Packages, delivered in mainstream or special settings.
Hackney’s Local Area Partnership intends to build a borough where every child belongs, thrives, and achieves within their local community, driven by the voices of children and families. Moving away from a reactive, crisis-driven model, we are implementing a proactive, locality-based "invest-to-save" strategy. This ensures that "inclusive mainstream by default" becomes a sustainable, lived reality for Hackney’s families.
Frequently asked questions
Explore our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below to learn more about how we are working together to deliver a system that is early, local, fair, and effective.
What is the driving force behind this SEND reform?
Following the release of the recent Schools White Paper, the reform is driven by a national shift from a "diagnostic, reactive" system to a "provision-first, proactive" one. The goal is to rebalance support so that mainstream schools are “inclusive by design”, meeting the majority of needs through quality first teaching and specialist advice early and efficiently.
How much autonomy does Hackney have to design its own plan, and how much has been decided by central government?
The National Framework is set by the government (e.g., the layers of support model, the introduction of ISPs, and the national "Experts at Hand" targets). However, Hackney acts as the system convener. We have the autonomy to decide how these reforms integrate with our local services - such as how the Experts at Hand specialists work alongside our existing "HEALS" or "Best Start" teams and how we structure our local "Inclusion Bases."
I work directly with Children with SEND, how will the reforms affect the support they receive?
Support will be delivered earlier and more directly to the classroom. Instead of waiting for statutory assessments, children without plans will receive support from a local bank of "Experts at Hand" who will also provide direct wrap-around support to mainstream settings, from early years to further education. Settings will also receive the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, in addition to a dedicated staff training (CPD) fund which all help to create a more inclusive environment. While the focus of this reform plan will be on building capacity for mainstream inclusion, there will be no cessation of existing EHC Plans as a direct result of this 2026-2029 SEND Reform Plan.
What is the difference between an ISP and an EHCP?
The Individual Support Plan (ISP) will be a statutory digital document which will eventually replace the current ‘SEN Support’ system. ISPs will be for children with less complex needs, acting as a ‘live’ record of the interventions they receive and facilitating real-time input from parents and professionals. EHCPs will be reserved for more complex needs from 2029 but the legal shift away from EHCPs for those with less complex needs will not be felt before then.
Is this reform just a way for the Council to clear its SEND deficit?
LAs must comply with the reforms in order to receive the High Needs Support Grant (HNSG), but our plan is focused on implementing new ways of working together to achieve better outcomes for children and young people in the long-term. This phase of the reform is about capacity building, not just writing off historical debt, with many efforts being taken to streamline processes through:
- The Experts at Hand (EAH) model, increasing available support for mainstream settings and children without EHC Plans.
- The Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF), which will be allocated directly to settings for the three-year spending period and will support schools to move towards practices that are inclusive by design and offer early support directly to children without the need for diagnosis or statutory process.
- High Needs Place Capital Allocation (HNPCA), which will continue to be used to increase the sufficiency of our specialist provision but will now also be used for environmental adaptations in mainstream settings.
Will these reforms lead to the closure of Special School places in Hackney?
The reforms are clear that, in order for the universal, targeted, and targeted plus layers of support to function as intended, our continuum of specialist provision must be sufficient to ensure that children who need a specialist place can access one locally. This means that the High Needs Place Capital Allocation (HNPCA) will continue to be invested in specialist provision, where needed, alongside environmental adaptations to mainstream classrooms.
What happens if a school refuses to implement a child's Individual Support Plan?
A key element of the reforms is that schools will be required to publish school level inclusion strategies as a mandatory requirement of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund. Failing to implement ISPs would be flagged as a breach during inspection. Local Authorities also hold powers to escalate failures to the DfE.
Who is responsible for the SEND Reform plan in Hackney?
Hackney’s SEND Reform Plan is being jointly sponsored by the Head of SEND, Director of Education and Inclusion, and a senior lead from the Integrated Care Board (ICB). This joint approach aims to leverage expertise and capacity across the local area partnership.
What are the key submission deadlines?
- 19 May: Draft shared with DfE appointed External Advisor
- 11 June: Formal Partnership Sign-off
- 19 June: Final Submission to the DfE
How can staff contribute to the SEND Reform plan?
The development and submission of the SEND Reform Local Plan is required under tight deadlines. We have established working group representation across key areas, including SEND, Health, Social Care, Early Years and Family Hubs, Capital Sufficiency, Data, and Finance, to support appropriate project management and review. The DfE consultation will continue beyond the submission date and feedback will be incorporated into the delivery of the local plans.
How will the voices of families be accurately captured in the SEND Reform Plan?
The Parent Carer Forum (PCF) have been represented in the development of the EAH and sit on the SEND & Alternative Provision (SEND & AP) Partnership Board. All members of the Board have been given opportunities to feedback on early drafts as well as agreeing to sign off on our final draft in June. To gather their insights and evaluate potential revisions to the proposal, a workshop was conducted with the PCF.
How are you engaging with schools and settings to develop the plan?
Schools and settings are represented on the SEND & AP Partnership Board and were given opportunities to give feedback on early drafts as well as agreeing to sign off on our final draft in June. To gather their insights and evaluate potential revisions to the proposal, a workshop was conducted with school leaders.
How does the SEND Reform plan align with the SEND and Inclusion Strategy and Post-Inspection Action Plan?
We will continue to deliver the SEND and Inclusion Strategy and post-inspection action plans as we develop and implement our SEND Reform Plan. These plans will be closely aligned and we will use the SEND Reform Plan to build on some of the initiatives already included in our existing strategies. Among these are the specialist outreach already happening with schools, our work to increase SEND Sufficiency, and the work already underway to recommission Alternative Provision through the Hackney Education Alternative Learning Service (HEALS).
The SEND reforms referenced in the Schools White Paper only consider mainstream settings. What does this mean for independent settings, specifically within the Charedi Jewish community?
The Local Area Partnership acknowledges that roughly 30% of students in the borough are enrolled in independent Charedi Jewish faith schools. While we remain committed to serving all our residents, extending funding to independent providers outside the state-maintained system without dedicated financial recognition from central government would cause our High Needs Block deficit to nearly double. This increase would effectively cancel out the progress we hope to make through our “invest-to-save” approach.
We have requested in our plan that central government provide direct policy and/or advisory support to help manage this complex demographic dilemma. We also requested that all funding is maintained at the promised level for the duration of the implementation.
What must be included in the SEND Reform plan?
Included in the SEND Reform Plan is:
- Vision and goals: What is the local area partnership trying to achieve?
- Strategy: What is the 3 year roadmap and expected outcomes for the local area partnership? What about our plans for the first year?
- Monitoring and evaluation: How will the partnership know its delivery is on track?
- Governance: What are our governance mechanisms and escalation routes?
- Central government support: What practical support is required from central government?
What will happen after the plan is submitted to the DfE?
The DfE and NHS England will assess the plan in July/August 2026. Approval in September 2026 would trigger the first payment of the Stability Grant in Autumn 2026.
What happens if our plan is not approved by the DfE?
If rejected, we will work with DfE advisors to revise and improve our Local Plan. We will need to secure approval by late Autumn 2026 to receive our funding in Spring 2027.
How will you measure if the SEND Reform Plan is actually working in Hackney?
Success will be measured by a quarterly data return submitted to the DfE plus additional performance data to formulate appropriate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which will measure the impact of our agreed activity and shared with all partners.