ISP vs EHCP: What Parents Need to Know in 2026
If you have seen headlines about EHCPs being replaced by something called an Individual Support Plan, and you are now wondering whether there is any point applying, this article is for you. The short answer: the proposals are real, the panic is premature and the law that protects your child today has not changed by a single word. Here is what has actually been proposed, how an ISP would differ from an EHCP and what it all means if you are thinking about requesting an assessment now.
Where the ISP idea comes from
On 23 February 2026 the Government published a white paper called "Every Child Achieving and Thriving", setting out proposals to reform the SEND system in England. A white paper is a statement of intent: it describes what the Government would like to legislate for, then invites views. The consultation on these proposals closed on 18 May 2026 and, at the time of writing, the outcome has not been published.
That status matters. Nothing in a white paper changes the law. The Children and Families Act 2014 and the SEND Regulations 2014 remain in force exactly as they were written, and every duty they place on local authorities still applies today. Everything described in the next two sections is a proposal, and proposals may change.
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See a free section →What an Individual Support Plan is proposed to be
Under the proposals, an Individual Support Plan would be a digital record of the day-to-day support a child with special educational needs receives. Think of it as a live, shareable account of what is in place for a child, written by the school, college or early years setting rather than produced through a formal assessment by the council.
The consultation document fills in more detail, still framed as proposals. Every school, college and early years setting would write an Individual Support Plan for every child with SEND, developed with parents. The help each child is entitled to would be written into law. EHCPs would be kept for children who need a Specialist Provision Package, a nationally defined package of specialist support, as a legal entitlement beyond the ISP. Families would keep the right to appeal to the Tribunal, including about Specialist Provision Packages and placements, although under the proposals the Tribunal would no longer name the placement. How the detail lands depends on the government's response and on the bill that follows.
How an ISP would differ from an EHCP under the proposals
An EHC plan today is a statutory document with teeth. It is built through a formal assessment, it is structured into sections A to K (regulation 12 of the SEND Regulations 2014), the local authority is legally required to secure the special educational provision in section F (section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014) and parents have rights of appeal to an independent tribunal over the needs in section B, the provision in section F and the placement in section I (section 51(2)). It runs on fixed timescales and must be reviewed within every 12 months (section 44).
Under the white paper's proposals, that kind of statutory plan would be reserved for children with the most complex needs, while ISPs would record day-to-day support for a wider group. Where exactly the line between the two would fall is set out only in proposals: the Education for All Bill announced in the King's Speech on 13 May 2026 had not been introduced to Parliament when we checked on 25 October 2026. Until the consultation outcome and any eventual legislation say otherwise, the comparison is between a legal document that exists and a proposal that is still being designed.
The timeline reality
The Government has said there will be no changes to the support received through EHCPs before at least September 2030, and the consultation proposes that assessments under a new system start in September 2029. Before any new system could operate, the consultation outcome would need to be published, legislation would need to be drafted and passed by Parliament and a transition would need to be designed and implemented. Proposals can be softened, reshaped or dropped along the way.
Set that against your child's timeline. A child struggling in Year 4 today will be starting secondary school by the earliest date anything is proposed to change. Your child's education runs on this year's timetable, not on 2030's. Decisions about support have to be made in the system that exists, and the system that exists is the Children and Families Act 2014.
What this means if you are applying now
Current law applies in full, and it is worth spelling out what that includes:
- The section 36(8) test is unchanged: the council must assess if your child has or may have special educational needs and it may be necessary for special educational provision to be made through an EHC plan. The threshold is deliberately low and no diagnosis is required.
- The deadlines are unchanged: a decision on whether to assess within 6 weeks (regulation 5(1)) and a final plan within 20 weeks of the request (regulation 13(2)).
- The protections are unchanged: section 42 enforceability, annual reviews and full appeal rights, with no fee for a SEND appeal.
The system is also still operating at scale. Department for Education figures (Education, health and care plans, June 2026) show 718,800 children and young people with EHC plans, up 12.5% in a year, the largest annual rise since 2014. Councils received 162,700 requests during 2025 and issued 110,700 new plans, up 13.3%. Whatever the headlines say, assessments are being carried out and plans are being issued, right now, under the current law. And a plan secured now falls squarely within the Government's own commitment: no changes to the support received through EHCPs before at least September 2030. If you are ready to start, our guide to requesting an EHC needs assessment walks through every step.
The "wait for the new system" trap
Some parents are being advised, sometimes casually and sometimes by professionals who should know better, to hold off applying until the reforms land. Occasionally a school or council hints at the same thing. Be very clear about this: citing the white paper to refuse or delay support today has no legal basis. A white paper is not law, and the duties in the Children and Families Act 2014 bind local authorities until Parliament says otherwise.
If a council refused to assess "because the system is changing", that would be a decision made on something other than the section 36(8) test, the same species of error as any other blanket policy. A refusal must come with your appeal rights, time limits and mediation information (regulation 5(3)), and the tribunal route remains open and effective: in 2024/25, 99% of decided SEND appeals went in the family's favour (Ministry of Justice tribunal statistics). Waiting, by contrast, has a guaranteed cost: months of your child's schooling spent without the support an assessment might have secured.
Applying now, before any reform lands?
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Frequently asked questions
Are EHCPs being scrapped?
No. A white paper published on 23 February 2026 proposes a reformed system in which Individual Support Plans record day-to-day support and EHCPs are reserved for the most complex needs. These are proposals only. The consultation closed on 18 May 2026, the outcome is pending and the Government has said there will be no changes to the support received through EHCPs before at least September 2030.
What is an Individual Support Plan?
Under the proposals, an ISP would be a digital record of a child's needs and of the day-to-day support they receive, written by their school, college or early years setting for every child with SEND, with the support they are entitled to set out in law. These are proposals and may change once the consultation outcome is published.
Will my child's existing EHCP change?
Not before September 2030: the Government has said there will be no changes to the support received through EHCPs before at least then. Under the consultation proposals a child with a plan in mainstream keeps it until the end of their current phase of education (primary, secondary, post-16). The Department for Education said on 13 May 2026 that the proposed check in about three years would apply to children in mainstream who are 7 or younger today, that everyone else keeps their existing EHCP until at least 16 and that children in special schools are not affected. These are proposals. In the meantime the law is unchanged: the council must keep securing the provision in section F and the plan must still be reviewed within every 12 months.
Should I wait for the new system instead of applying now?
No. Current law applies in full. The section 36(8) test is unchanged, councils must still decide requests within 6 weeks and a final plan is still due within 20 weeks. There is no legal basis for refusing or delaying support because reform has been proposed.