A message from Craig Chapman:

2 April 2026 weekly update

2 April 2026

This week, Craig Chapman updates on the DfE SEND reform consultation and our Local SEND Reform Plan.

Dear Colleagues,

Those of you that were able to attend this term’s Headteacher Briefing on Monday 9 March will recall our initial discussion about the then recently released Education White paper, with particular focus on the SEND reforms. While that session focused on the DfE’s key messages and proposals, we also drew your attention to two more immediate consequences, with each requiring a slightly different approach.

The first was to highlight that the SEND reforms are subject to DfE consultation and we urge you all to ensure that your views are submitted by their deadline. You can find more information on the here DfE SEND reform website. Submissions must be submitted by 11:59pm on Monday 18 May 2026. While there is still some time to submit your requests, we wanted to remind you that this opportunity is open to you.

Our second update related specifically to the requirement for each council across the country to submit a Local SEND Reform Plan, underpinned by a maturity assessment tool. At the point of presentation, KCC had yet to receive their commission from the DfE, but we were aware that their acceptance of this plan and assessment were prerequisites to their approval of the much-needed HNF deficit payment which was also announced around the same time. Coincidentally this commission arrived that same afternoon. It made clear that councils are expected to co-produce these plans with the usual key partners (schools, Health, parents), for submission no later than  Tuesday 19 June 2026. However, on closer examination, councils are expected to share their plans with DfE advisers a month before this deadline, to allow refinement before submission. This reduces the available time further, requiring a plan by Friday 15 May 2026. To complicate things further still, a number of areas of required detail are not included in the commission, with only assurance that it would be provided as some point in “Spring 2026”. At the point of writing this update, this detail has not yet been released.

While I will not suggest that such an ambitious request from the DfE has not caused concern within the team at KCC, we collectively have good reason to believe that Kent can submit one of the most robust submissions. Firstly, our Headteacher Briefing identified how most of the proposed changes had an equivalent analogue within the SEN reforms already underway within KCC. These reforms have been co-produced with the wider sector and validated by DfE monitoring officers as they have been developed and implemented. While each of these features will need review and refinement through the clarifying prism of the White Paper, they will give us a significant head start, particularly in the finalisation of the maturity assessment tool. Many LAs will face these same timescales; without the years of development the Kent sector has already invested. This means we have a robust evidence base already collected and our discussions can now focus on refinement of existing plans, rather than wholescale development.

The DfE’s plan identifies that each LA is expected to act as a “system ‘convener’; taking the lead to bring together all system partners and ensure they work together to develop and deliver the Local SEND Reform Plan. Similarly, the government has clear expectations on all system partners to proactively respond to the local authority’s leadership, ensuring they commit resources and fulfil their responsibilities in the partnership. Central government will actively engage where system partners are not responding to the local authority’s leadership.”

This is another area where Kent finds itself in a beneficial situation. Kent’s internal and external governance and scrutiny systems have undertaken significant review and strengthening through the Accelerated Progress Plan. Since receiving the commission, we have undertaken the significant task of absorbing its requirements, comparing this to the contents of the White Paper and SEND Reform plan and outlining a pathway to meeting the deadline. As a part of this, we have been developing an engagement schedule through existing school representation bodies. KCC is making similar arrangements to meet with all other key parties. While final dates are still being agreed, due to the significant existing diary commitments that were already in place before this additional DfE request, KCC Officers will be meeting with KALE, KSENT and Schools Funding Forum throughout the next term to hear your views. As is always the case, it is therefore imperative that you all make use of your existing representatives to make your views clear. While we would prefer to meet more broadly, this simply is not tenable within the timescales that have been made available.

While I am sure that these contacts are already well understood across the sector, given this unique scenario, I will share their details again below. Could colleagues please be mindful that everyone in the development end of the process could be receiving a considerable volume of emails, so keep them as brief and to the point as possible:

Kent Association of Leaders in Education (KALE):

Kent Special Educational Needs Trust (KSENT):

Schools Funding Forum (SFF):

I also understand and apologise that this request has aligned with the Easter break, but this is an external timeframe that KCC has no power to challenge. You are not individually obliged to take part in these discussions, but I felt it was more important to advise you of this opportunity before the Easter break, than advise you of the same opportunity and unchangeable timescale in two weeks’ time. Similarly, you are not obliged to respond to the entirety of the White Paper and SEND Reform Plan, nor are you required to submit views that have already been shared in historic discussions. I trust colleagues can understand the impossibility of designing a wholly acceptable approach within these challenging time constraints.

Please be assured that SEND staff and the leadership team will be working throughout the Easter break to meet this challenge. While we have no choice but to meet the DfE’s deadline, they are clear that they anticipate refinement over time, as more of their plans are shared. We are feeding back to DfE representatives the importance of considering our responsibility to Kent pupils and collective existing workloads when setting timescales for these later stages. We will continue to push for greater opportunities to consider this vital work at an achievable pace and will ensure that engaging with you all remains a primary consideration in our planning. The impact of this is being felt across the entire local area.

In the meantime, I wish you all as peaceful an Easter break as is possible. We will ensure you are regularly updated on progress as you return.

Best wishes

Craig Chapman
Interim Deputy Director for Education: Access and Inclusion

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