SEND Reforms White Paper: Meetings with the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson
The Department for Education has said that a White Paper on SEND, which will outline the Government’s approach to reforming the SEND system, will be published in Autumn 2025.
Towards the end of the summer term 2025, Becky Robinson and Fiona England, Co-Chairs of Brighton and Hove PaCC, attended two meetings with Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, to share the key areas of feedback received from parent carers in Brighton and Hove.
The following themes were covered in the limited time available at the two meetings.
First meeting:
To the questions:
- What does great support for all pupils look like?
- Do you have examples of when this is done well?
- What would it take for more settings to do this?
PaCC feedback:
- More funding must be put into the SEND system
- Accountability throughout the SEND system is inadequate.
- Therapy provision is inadequate, more Occupational therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Physiotherapists must support Children and Young people in education settings and improve support for those not in education.
- Children can attend smaller nurturing primary schools; however, the impact of the environment change in having to move onto large secondary schools is devastating for many.
- Behavior policies and uniform can be strict, reasonable adjustments are not applied and this needs to change
- There are insufficient specialist places, this is partially illustrated by the increasing numbers of Children and Young People (CYP) experiencing Emotional Based School Avoidance, requiring Alternative Provision
- Local Authorities are not allowed to open new specialist schools; this is a barrier to a generation of CYP who have been excluded or are at risk of exclusion.
- The government must focus on recruiting more people with lived experience the broad range of SEND to working schools.
- The curriculum is not fit for purpose for many CYP with SEND.
- In Brighton and Hove PaCC have worked with Brighton and Hove City council (BHCC) around the Principles of Belonging a document that aims to address the importance and processes of meaningful inclusion.
- Legal protections i.e.: Education, Health Care Plans (EHCPs) must remain in place, but systems must improve to address the lack of accountability and the lengthy problems that ensue hugely impacting the futures of CYP.
- The government must do more to protect the mental health of CYP and parent carers.
- Additionally leaks to the media around what the reforms may look like has negatively impacted parent carers, a high percentage of whom are facing parent carer burnout
Second meeting:
Government Position
- Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for education repeated no decisions yet on reforms, including the future of EHCPs – media reports are speculative.
- SEND is to be central in the Schools White Paper.
- Disability & Equality Act must be upheld – unacceptable that schools can’t cope with wheelchair users.
- Specialist units in mainstream should integrate pupils, not segregate them.
Key Issues from Parent Carer Forums including PaCC:
- Neurodivergence (ND) often goes unnoticed in mainstream schools.
- Removing statutory systems risks leaving children without safeguards leading to poor outcomes.
- Lack of equity in the current system.
- Local Authorities’ powers limited when dealing with academy chains.
- Waiting lists (e.g., CAMHS, assessments) impacting children’s mental health.
- Parents need more robust support – system is not strong enough. Families are held in limbo way beyond legal timelines.
- Concerns inclusion could reduce access to mainstream if not resourced properly.
- Concerns that CYP with severe learning difficulties may be denied their current right to a mainstream education.
- Poorly planned transitions are a key area of concern – siloed approaches instead of joined-up work.
- Wheelchair users often denied independence as mainstream staff lack skills.
- Why has there been no acknowledgement from the government re the lack of social care provision for CYP with SEND. Families report a stark disparity.
- Staffing shortages in both mainstream and special schools and in all social care settings – are of significant concern with no national workforce development strategy being developed.
Debrief meeting after the two meetings with Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson:
Fiona England from PaCC and two other Parent Carer Forum leads from other parts of the South of England raised concerns about what appears to be a concerning lack of meaningful consultation with parent carers as the government ploughs forward towards the White Paper and requested a debrief meeting with one of the Participation Coordinators from the National Network of Parent Carer Forums (NNPCF).
The key issues raised at the Debrief meeting:
- Parent Carer meetings need clearer agendas; meetings must longer and sufficient in quantity to meaningfully consult. The meetings to date have been listening only exercises with the government failing to be specific about how the information will be used.
- A continued call for stronger co-production and genuine inclusion of parent carer voices.
- Legal protections and tribunal outcomes must be part of discussions.
Follow-Up Actions
- Key takeaways from the debrief meeting will be shared by the facilitator with the NNPCF’s Co-Chairs
- The forum reps ask that the NNPCF leads ensure parent carers’ voices are heard throughout government policy making.
Updates
At the end of the summer term 2025, the NNPCF shared this statement.