Boosting local support for children with special educational needs and disabilities

At the Cabinet meeting on Thursday 16 July, councillors will discuss a plan to improve local support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).  

The SEND Sufficiency Plan 2026 to 2029 sets out our ambition for ensuring appropriate specialist education places in mainstream schools for children and young people with SEND over the next 3 years and proposes a programme of new and expanded provision to address gaps in capacity.  

The draft plan aims to guide the next 3 years of delivery through a phased programme of new specialist support bases, targeted support in mainstream schools and refocusing the city's specialist alternative provision (AP). 

The plan has been developed jointly with representatives from a number of key partners, across early years, primary and secondary education settings and the Parent Carer Council (PaCC).  

Clear roadmap 

Councillor Emma Daniel, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Youth Services, said: “This is a vital piece of work setting out how we plan on expanding and improving local support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.  

“We’re committed to giving our children and young people the best start in life. If agreed, the draft SEND Sufficiency Plan would help us achieve this by offering a clear roadmap to increase specialist provision in Brighton & Hove. 

“This is an important step on our journey to delivering a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable education system that supports the needs of all the children growing up in our city.”  

SEND in Brighton & Hove 

In January 2026, 26.1% of pupils in Brighton & Hove were identified as having SEND, while 6.4% of have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and 19.7% of students receive SEND support.  

National context  

In recent years there have been significant reforms to SEND and AP, with 3 national documents shaping the direction of travel: 

  • The SEND and AP Improvement Plan (2023) 
  • Schools White Paper 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving' (2025) 
  • SEND Reform consultation 'Putting Children and Young People First' (2025) 

National policy is shifting towards a more inclusive, locality-based model, with greater emphasis on early intervention, mainstream inclusion, and a graduated response to need. 

We recently submitted a 3-year Local SEND Reform Plan to the Department for Education (DfE) in response to the Schools White Paper highlighting how we intend to strengthen support for children and young people with SEND in Brighton & Hove.  

Next steps 

If Cabinet agree the programme of new and expanded provision set out in the draft SEND Sufficiency Plan 2026–2029, individual proposals which require statutory processes will be subject to separate decisions and public consultation in due course. 

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