Department for Education approves Shropshire Council SEND Reform Plan
Shropshire Council is pleased to announce that the SEND Reform Plan it submitted to the Department for Education in June, alongside other local authorities across the country, has been approved. The council is already rolling out improved services through the Transformation and Experts at Hand grant and will also receive money from the government to pay off 90% of its historic debts accrued through supporting children and young people with SEND.
The plan submitted by Shropshire Council was a response to the Government’s Schools White Paper ‘Every child achieving and thriving’, published in February, which outlined reforms and invited feedback, and is also aligned with the ambitions of Shropshire Council for children and young people with SEND as outlined in its Corporate Plan. The plan will evolve throughout the programme to incorporate feedback from the Department for Education and in response to patterns of need and evidence of impact over time.
The reforms, which are being rolled out between September 2026 and September 2030, aim to improve the experience of families by focussing on early identification, early intervention and more joined-up working between different services to provide holistic support.
Where possible, the changes will help children and young people with SEND thrive in mainstream education settings, while providing appropriate specialist support where it is needed and helping local services like education, health and care work together to deliver joined-up services and help for families.
The positive outcomes of these changes will include improved attendance; more timely support; better preparation for adulthood; improved confidence and experience for families, young people and settings; and a more sustainable local system thanks to a reduction in avoidable escalation, improved local capacity and better use of resources. Shropshire Council will continue to work with partners including SENDIASS and PaCC to ensure the reforms are having an impact and meeting the needs of Shropshire children and young people with SEND.
The SEND Reforms will also have a role in helping Shropshire Council meet the objectives of its corporate and improvement plans by better fulfilling the council’s statutory education responsibilities, supporting pupils across the county to achieve and thrive, and developing a more sustainable system.
Councillor Andy Hall, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children and education, said:
“Our vision at Shropshire Council is for our children and young people with SEND to be healthy, happy and safe, achieve their full potential to lead a fulfilling life, and to have – and expect – the same opportunities in life as other children and young people. The SEND reforms that have now been approved by the Department for Education will create the inclusive system Shropshire’s children and young people deserve to help them thrive.”
Vanessa Whatley, Chief Nursing Officer for NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin, said:
“We welcome the approval of Shropshire’s SEND Reform Plan. Getting the right support early can make a real difference to children, young people and their families. As an Integrated Care Board, we are committed to working closely with our partners across education, health and care to improve support, make services more joined up and help children and young people have the best opportunities to thrive.”
Delivery of the reforms will be phased over three years. The first strand of the reforms to be rolled out, from September 2026, is Experts at Hand, which will see schools given earlier access to specialist advice, coaching and support, including speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, educational psychology and specialist teachers.
The success of the implementation of the SEND Reforms will be supported by the Shropshire Children Achieving and Thriving in Education Strategy, a three-year strategy being rolled out from September 2026 that will ensure that all Shropshire children and young people have equal access to high-quality education and robust safeguarding across the county’s schools and educational settings.
The SEND reforms are also one strand of Shropshire Council’s children’s transformation programme, approved by Cabinet in June 2026. The transformation programme, which is aligned with government statutory requirements affecting children’s services nationwide, sees a new focus on prevention and on greater collaboration between agencies and services including education to help families needing support, and will help make a more child-friendly Shropshire.
Parents and Family Carers can find out more about the reforms and SEND services in Shropshire at The Local Offer website here: The SEND local offer | Shropshire Council.
