Brighton & Hove City Council has just released some information about their SEND Reform Plan (2026–2027)
- What it means for children, young people and families
We know that many families have told us about the challenges they face in accessing support, navigating services and getting help at the right time for their child or young person. We also know that increasing demand continues to place pressure on education, health and care services. For some families, this has affected confidence in the SEND system and can make any new changes feel worrying, particularly if previous experiences have been difficult.
Brighton & Hove’s SEND Reform Plan is intended to address these challenges by working with our schools to make sure they are inclusive, improving access to early support so that children and young people receive help when they need it and ensuring that families feel informed, listened to and involved as much as possible.
- Examples of work already underway:
Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP) / Universal Offer
The SEND Reform Plan includes the development of a clearer and more consistent Universal Offer for children and young people with SEND. In Brighton & Hove, this is being delivered through our Ordinarily Available Inclusive Practice (OAIP) Framework, which describes the range of support, reasonable adjustments and inclusive approaches that schools and settings might provide to meet children’s needs, depending on their individual context, expertise and available resources. The aim is to give families greater clarity about the support that may be available and help ensure children and young people receive the right support locally, at the earliest opportunity.
Experts at Hand (EAH)
Experts at Hand is a new programme (which we will start to put into operation from September 2026) is designed to provide earlier help for children and young people with SEND by bringing specialist advice and support closer to schools, settings and families. The programme is intended to increase access to professionals such as Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and specialist teachers, helping schools and families access advice, assessment and practical support more quickly. The aim is to identify and respond to needs at an earlier stage, reducing the need for difficulties to escalate and, where appropriate, reducing reliance on more specialist services.
Experts at Hand includes two main offers. The Team Around the Setting model provides schools, early years and Post-16 settings with access to specialist professionals who can work alongside setting staff to provide advice, training and targeted support for children and young people.
For children, young people and families who need more urgent, coordinated support (for example children and young people who are unable to attend school for a period of time) the Experts at Hand Rapid Intervention Gateway, will be based within Brighton & Hove’s Family Hubs, and will bring together professionals from different services to help identify needs quickly and coordinate timely support before difficulties escalate further. This is intended to make it easier for families to access joined-up support at the right time
- What is SEND Reform?
The Government has asked every local area in England to develop a SEND Reform Plan to improve how education, health and social care work together and strengthen support for children and young people with SEND.
In Brighton & Hove, our ‘draft’ Local SEND Reform Plan Local SEND Reform Plan Brighton Hove improving support for children and young people with SEND fr.pdf was submitted to the DfE in June for review and sign-off. This draft plan (which means it will change over time), sets out our priorities for improving services over the coming years so that children and young people receive the right help, at the right time, and families have a clearer, more joined-up experience of services. We expect the DfE to tell us whether the draft plan has been improved, in September.
Some improvements will begin over the next year, while others will take longer to develop.
What does this mean for my child or young person?
Publishing the SEND Reform Plan does not mean there will be immediate changes to your child’s support.
If any future changes affect your child or young person, we’ll explain these clearly, tell you why they’re happening and what they mean for your family. We’ll also let you know if there’s anything you need to do and where you can get advice or support.
What won’t change?
Your child’s legal rights remain the same.
The local authority, education settings and health services will continue to have the same legal responsibilities to identify, assess and support children and young people with SEND.
We’ll continue working with parent carers and young people throughout the reform programme to help shape services and ensure that lived experience informs future developments.
How we’ll keep you informed
Families tell us they want communication that is clear, honest and easy to understand.
We’ll provide regular updates about:
- what is changing and why
- what isn’t changing
- when changes are expected to happen
- what they mean for children, young people and families
- where you can go for advice or more information.
We’ll use plain English, explain any unfamiliar terms and be honest about where plans are still developing.
How you can help shape the work
Parent carers and young people are partners in improving SEND services.
We’ll continue to work with PaCC, Amaze and young people to understand what’s working well, where families are experiencing challenges and how services can improve.
There will be opportunities to:
- attend information sessions and webinars
- ask questions
- share your experiences
- help shape future developments.
Your feedback will help influence both the SEND Reform programme and the way we communicate with families.
Where you can find updates
We’ll share information through:
- the Brighton & Hove Local Offer
- schools, colleges and early years settings
- PaCC and Amaze newsletters and communications
- information sessions, workshops and online Q&A events
- easy-read guides and frequently asked questions.
What happens next?
As the Local SEND Reform Plan develops, we’ll continue to provide regular updates so you know what’s happening and what it means for your family. A timetable with updates will be shared in the autumn term.