Across England, families of children with special educational needs are moving swiftly to secure legal protections before a government overhaul narrows eligibility from 2030. The rush to obtain education, health and care plans has created an unprecedented surge that councils cannot easily absorb, with projections suggesting one in ten children could hold such a plan by 2029. What unfolds is a familiar human pattern: when a door is announced to be closing, those who depend on it press hardest to pass through before it does — and in doing so, they may be reshaping the very system the reforms wer
EHCP applications surge as families rush before England's special needs reforms
Families with children requiring special educational support face uncertainty about future access to statutory protections and safeguards under proposed reforms.