Campaigners have urged ministers to not cut education plans for children and young people with special educational needs, describing them as “precious legal protections”.
The Government has said it “inherited a Send (special educational needs and disabilities) system left on its knees” and it is “looking at changes” to improve support for children and parents.
Asked on Sunday whether ministers were looking to phase out education, health and care plans (EHCPs), Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said “we will strengthen and put in place better support for children” and promised a schools white paper in the autumn.
In a letter shared with the Guardian, campaigners have said that without the documents in mainstream schools, “many thousands of children risk being denied vital provision, or losing access to education altogether”.
They said: “For more than 40 years, children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities have had a statutory right to an education that meets their needs.
“Set alongside catastrophic plans to cut benefits for disabled people, this raises the question of who we are as a country and the kind of society in which we want to live.
“Whatever the Send system’s problems, the answer is not to remove the rights of children and young people. Families cannot afford to lose these precious legal protections.
Signatories to the letter include the heads of charities, professors, Send parents including actor Sally Phillips, and campaigners including broadcaster Chris Packham.
Ms Phillipson was asked whether she could rule out getting rid of EHCPs.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, she described it as a “complex and sensitive area”.
“What I can say very clearly is that we will strengthen and put in place better support for children,” she said.
“I’ve been spending a lot of time listening to parents, to disability rights groups, to campaigners and to others and to colleagues across Parliament as well, because it’s important to get this right,” she added, but said it is “tough”.
Data from the Department for Education released in June indicated that the number of EHCPs has increased.
In total, there were 638,745 EHCPs in place in January 2025, up 10.8% on the same point last year.
The number of new plans which started during 2024 also grew by 15.8% on the previous year, to 97,747.
Requests for children to be assessed for EHCPs rose by 11.8% to 154,489 in 2024.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The evidence is clear that this government inherited a Send system left on its knees – which is why we are looking at changes to improve support for children and stop parents having to fight for help.
“We have been clear that there are no plans to abolish Send tribunals, or to remove funding or support from children, families and schools.
“This government is actively working with parents and experts on the solutions, including more early intervention to prevent needs from escalating and £740 million to encourage councils to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.”
