• The proposed reforms weaken children and young people’s existing right to support based on their individual needs, replacing it with standardised packages that may not meet those needs.
• Families already face lengthy and costly battles to enforce existing legal rights. Removing those rights would leave vulnerable children without meaningful recourse.
• The SEND Tribunal decisions show the law is working (with 98.9% of cases decided in favour of parents). The issue is lack of compliance, not the law itself. Shifting legal duties away from local authorities risks increasing pressure on schools, leading to more disability discrimination claims and legal challenges.
• These reforms risk making education roles less attractive, impacting teachers, specialists, and governors—and ultimately affecting all children’s education.
• I support improving inclusion, but this should not come at the cost of removing legal rights. Better inclusion should reduce demand for EHCPs naturally.
• The Children and Families Act 2014 is strong, co-produced legislation. The current crisis is due to underfunding and poor implementation and not the law.
• These proposals risk breaching the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and duties under the Equality Act 2010.
• I urge you to oppose any legislation that weakens EHCP rights and to raise these concerns with the Secretary of State for Education.

Prompts — choose what feels right for you:

• What would it be like if your child had no firm legal rights to provision?
• What does your child’s life look like when they do get the right support?
• What would losing legal rights mean practically for your family?