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May 4, 2026 • SEND

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026

The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 enacts the most significant reset of children's social care and education law in a generation, reforming child protection, kinship care, home education, and school standards. Although Royal Assent has been granted, most provisions await regulations and commencement orders, with key duties such as multi-agency protection teams scheduled for 2027. Lead Members must scrutinize implementation readiness and secure resourcing immediately, as the Act places nearly all operational duties and costs on local authorities.

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Sep 21, 2025 • SEND

The SEND Reform Challenge: A Call for Compassionate Realism

A senior Wiltshire Council official argues that Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) have become a financially unsustainable false promise, legally formalizing support that schools already provide rather than creating new resources while contributing to a £4 billion national deficit. The piece contends that the bureaucratic burden of processing applications and defending tribunal decisions diverts critical time and money from frontline services, ultimately failing to deliver the meaningful outcomes families expect despite the immense administrative expense.

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