The Schools White Paper: What School Leaders Need to Know (and Do) Now

The DfE's long-awaited schools white paper is here, and while much of it won't land on your desk overnight, the decisions being made now will shape how your school operates for years to come. Here's a practical breakdown of what's coming, when it matters, and where to focus your attention first.

SEND: The Biggest Shift in a Generation

If there's one area of the white paper that demands your immediate attention, it's SEND. The proposed reforms represent a fundamental restructuring of how schools identify, support and document the needs of pupils with SEND.

What's changing:

Support will be reorganised into three tiers sitting above a universal baseline of high-quality teaching: targeted support within school, targeted plus with additional input from health and education professionals via a new "Experts at Hand" service, and specialist provision backed by an EHC plan.

Every school will be legally required to create Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for all pupils with identified SEND — not just those with EHC plans. These digital documents will capture barriers to learning, daily provision, reasonable adjustments and intended outcomes, with at least annual reviews involving parents and carers.

EHC plans aren't going anywhere for pupils with the most complex needs, but from September 2029, transition-point reviews will determine whether pupils move to a plan or an ISP. Existing EHC plans remain in place until at least September 2030.

Inclusion bases will be established in every secondary school (and an equivalent number of primaries) — replacing terminology like SRPs and SEN units. There will be two types: support bases funded by the setting or MAT, and specialist bases commissioned by the LA.

Schools will also need to replace their current SEN information report with a published inclusion strategy.

What to do now: Respond to the SEND consultation before 18th May 2026. Begin conversations with your SENDCo about how current documentation and provision maps onto the proposed tiered model.

Curriculum and Enrichment: Changes From 2026 Onwards

A refreshed National Curriculum will be ready for first teaching in September 2028, with an updated digital version also in development. GCSEs aligned to the new curriculum follow in 2029/30.

More immediately, an Enrichment Framework will be published before the end of this academic year — and from September 2026, Ofsted will factor enrichment benchmarks into judgements on personal development and well-being. This is closer than it sounds. Now is the time to audit your enrichment offer, identify gaps (particularly for disadvantaged pupils), and document what you already do well.

A Pupil Engagement Framework will also launch later this year, with an expectation that by 2028 every school is actively monitoring pupils' sense of belonging and engagement.

Attendance: A Baseline Expectation Coming in 2026/27

Each school will receive a unique Attendance Baseline Improvement Expectation (ABIE) in 2026/27. The DfE's stated ambition is a national attendance rate above 94% by 2028/29. If attendance is already a focus area for your school, this formalises the pressure. Make sure your data, systems and intervention strategies are in good shape ahead of this

Trusts: Direction of Travel Is Clear

The government wants all schools to be part of a trust, although it's committed to prioritising quality over speed, and local authorities will be able to form their own trusts. No hard deadline has been set, but the direction of travel is unambiguous. If your school isn't currently part of a trust, it's worth beginning to think about what that transition might look like and which partners make sense locally.

Parental Engagement: Raising the Bar

New digital school profiles will be piloted this year and launched in 2026/27, pulling together Ofsted report card data, grades, attendance figures and enrichment information in one place for parents. Guidance on home-school communication expectations — including what families can expect from schools and vice versa — will also be published before the end of this academic year.

Review your current communication systems and complaints processes now, ahead of increased scrutiny in this area.

Workforce: Planning Ahead

From 2027/28, maternity pay for teachers and leaders doubles from 4 to 8 weeks of full pay — a meaningful change for your HR and budget planning. A new mentoring and coaching framework for leaders is also in development, with additional early headship coaching places for those in more disadvantaged areas.

There's a lot to absorb here — and even more to prepare for. At Honeyguide School Leader Support, we're already developing practical resources to help you get ahead of these changes, including:

• SEND audit and preparation packs to help you map current provision against the incoming tiered model
• Inclusion strategy templates ready for when the requirement lands in 2026/27
• Ofsted inspection preparation materials updated for the new framework, including enrichment and personal development evidence
• Governor guidance packs to keep your board informed and inspection-ready