The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act received Royal Assent in April 2026. It restructures entitlement to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and, with it, access to the SEND Tribunal.
The new framework
Support for children with SEND is reorganised into three tiers: Targeted, Targeted Plus, and Specialist Support. Only children assessed as requiring Specialist Support will be entitled to an EHCP. The criteria for that assessment are to be set out in regulations, not yet published.
Effect on Tribunal jurisdiction
Under the Children and Families Act 2014, a parent may appeal the content of an EHCP to the First-tier Tribunal (Special Educational Needs and Disability). The 2026 Act narrows that right: only children who qualify for Specialist Support, and therefore an EHCP, retain it.
Children assessed as Targeted or Targeted Plus have no right of appeal to the Tribunal. Disputes over their level of provision are directed to an internal school complaints procedure, which the Act requires to include one governor with specialist status, a term not yet defined by regulation.
The judicial review consequence
For a family on Targeted or Targeted Plus support whose complaint is not resolved internally, the remaining route is judicial review of the local authority’s decision. Judicial review carries a materially higher evidential and cost burden than a Tribunal appeal, and legal aid availability for it is narrower.
Transitional provision
Children with an existing EHCP are not exempt from the new framework indefinitely. The Act provides for reassessment against the new tiers at each phase transition, from early years to primary, primary to secondary, and so on, from 2030.
Practical implications
Parents seeking an EHCP for a child not currently assessed have a live interest in doing so before the Specialist Support threshold is settled by regulation. Parents of children with an existing EHCP should note that phase transition will trigger reassessment against tiers not yet defined.
Sources
Legislation: Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, legislation.gov.uk.
Commentary: Carolyn Osbourne, Excello Law, June 2026.
Keerat Solicitor acts exclusively for parents and young people in SEND, EHCP, and education law matters across England. To discuss how this Act affects a specific case, get in touch.