Guidance sets out time-limited SEND 'experts at hand' support for mainstream schools

The Department for Education has issued guidance directing councils on how to establish "experts at hand" schemes that provide time-limited SEND support to mainstream schools. The model is intended to offer rapid access to specialist expertise whilst maintaining focus on schools developing sustainable in-house provision for pupils with additional needs, reflecting concerns about creating permanent dependencies on external services. The guidance forms part of wider national SEND reforms and places specific expectations on local authorities to broker relationships between schools and specialists. For council SEND services, this presents implementation challenges around defining appropriate time limits, managing transition periods, and ensuring that temporary support does not simply delay more formal assessments or EHCP applications during critical periods of a child's education. Lead Members will need to scrutinise how these arrangements interact with existing inclusion policies and high-needs budget pressures. The time-limited nature of the support reflects government determination to manage demand for specialist services, though members must consider whether this model genuinely builds school resilience or risks leaving mainstream settings without adequate resources to meet increasingly complex needs independently.