Dear colleagues

The publication of the Schools White Paper 2026 –  Every Child Achieving and Thriving marks an important moment for everyone working across SEND and inclusion. The White Paper sets a clear ambition that “every child should have access to the right support at the right time, wherever they are educated,” reflecting its strong emphasis on inclusion, early intervention, and more consistent national standards. This aligns closely with our local commitment to collaborative, evidence-based practice.

Alongside the White Paper, the Government has launched the national SEND Reform consultation, which is open until 18 May 2026. This is an important opportunity for schools, settings and professionals to share their views and help shape the future SEND system: Putting Children and Young People First.

Headteachers are also invited to a webinar on 19 March, 14:30–15:30, hosted by James Thomas and fellow directors. The session will walk through the key points of the White Paper and offer some early, high-level reflections on what the proposals might mean for Birmingham, without going into detailed implications at this stage. You will have received your invite directly, but you can also join via this Microsoft Teams link: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/33174821349943?p=1TqQI1UZcRvem9rggV

This month’s bulletin also includes several important updates, including:

• information on the recent PCF Working Together Practice Sharing Event
• guidance on raising and resolving concerns with SENAR
• changes to EHCP finalisation practice to improve timeliness and ensure funding reaches pupils sooner
• progress across the Delivering Better Value Programme, including Workstream One transitioning to Business as Usual and an updated timeline for Workstream Two
• detailed SSPP transition arrangements for Summer/Autumn 2026
• an update on supporting pupils with medical needs.

Together, these developments strengthen our shared focus on improving outcomes for children and young people with SEND. We appreciate your continued engagement and encourage all settings to contribute to the national consultation so that Birmingham’s voice is strongly represented.

With my very best wishes

Helen

PCF Working Together Practice Sharing Event

Thank you to all colleagues and Parent Carer Forums who joined the recent West Midlands PCF Working Together Practice Sharing Event. It was a great chance for parent carer representatives and local authority partners to come together, share learning, and reflect on how co‑production is continuing to develop across the region.

Birmingham opened the session with an overview of the local SEND landscape, followed by an honest and thoughtful reflection from Pam Armstrong, Chair of the Birmingham Parent Carer Forum, on both the challenges and the progress being made as co‑production becomes more embedded in our work. We also heard from Lakhvir Sahota, our Participation and Engagement Officer, who highlighted recent activity designed to strengthen participation and co‑design with families.

Local areas then shared examples of their own approaches and future priorities, leading to a really positive discussion about what effective co‑production looks like in practice. A joint activity brought out the values that matter most when working as a partnership, along with practical ideas for building stronger relationships between Parent Carer Forums and local authority teams.

As part of the wider West Midlands programme, Birmingham has received regional development funding, which local PCF leads have agreed to distribute across the region to support this ongoing work. The session also provided a brief look towards the national SEND reforms, with each Local Area Partnership invited to consider where they currently are on their co‑production journey.

Thank you again to everyone who contributed to such a positive and collaborative event.

Raising Concerns with SENAR

SENAR is committed to fostering a constructive, supportive partnership with all educational settings across our local area.

SENAR operates on a relational and restorative foundation, prioritising open dialogue, mutual respect, and solution-focused collaboration. We recognise that differences of opinion or misunderstandings may arise from time to time. Our approach is designed to address such matters constructively, ensuring that all parties feel heard and valued whilst working towards positive outcomes for children and young people.

We encourage schools to engage proactively with SENAR staff, sharing perspectives and feedback in a manner that supports learning and improvement. Our team is committed to responding professionally and supportively, seeking resolution through discussion and reflection rather than escalation.

It is important to clarify that schools do not have a formal right or route to complain about SENAR decisions or communications via the local authority’s official complaints procedure. Should you have concerns or queries regarding SENAR’s actions or decisions, these should be raised directly with the relevant SENAR staff member. Open, direct communication helps us address issues swiftly and collaboratively, without recourse to formal processes.

If you are unsure whom to contact within SENAR regarding a particular matter, please consult the Local Offer guidance. The Local Offer provides comprehensive information on SENAR contacts, roles, and processes, ensuring you are directed to the appropriate individual or team for your concern: SENAR - Local Offer Birmingham

For clarity, the formal complaints procedure administered by the local authority is reserved for use by our families as this is their route to escalate externally should they chose to do so. This process does not extend to schools or educational staff in relation to SENAR decisions or communications. Our preferred method is to resolve any school/settings-related concerns through direct engagement and restorative conversation.

We value the ongoing partnership with schools and appreciate your dedication to supporting children and young people with special educational needs. SENAR remains committed to working collaboratively, addressing challenges constructively and ensuring the best possible outcomes for all. Should you require further clarification or support, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Ensuring Timely EHCP Processes and Updates to Finalisation Practice

This update sets out a step we are taking to improve timeliness in finalising plans and releasing funding for children and young people. Meeting the statutory 20‑week timescales remains vital to ensuring pupils receive the right support as quickly as possible, and we recognise the frustration and anxiety that delays can cause.

Despite our best efforts, some delays remain outside of the Local Authority’s direct control. These include, for example, delays in receiving essential advice from other services or challenges within the wider system. We continue to work closely with all partners to reduce these delays and to improve our shared responsiveness.

One of our main reasons for delay relates to sufficiency challenges. When a child or young person is awaiting a place at a resource base or specialist provision but is  attending a mainstream school, our current standard practice is to not finalise before/in line with the 20 weeks until the specialist placement is confirmed, As a result, the child remains in their mainstream school without the additional funding an EHCP would ordinarily release.

To address this and ensure that statutory deadlines are met more consistently, we will be implementing a change to our practice.

Going forward, where a child or young person is attending a mainstream setting and we are still consulting with specialist provisions, we will name the current mainstream school in the final EHCP. This will allow us to meet the statutory timescale and release the necessary funding to support the child or young person sooner.

Families, young people, and settings will be informed when this happens. We will make it clear that:

• the mainstream school is being named to meet statutory obligations and secure funding in a timely way, and
• the Local Authority will continue to monitor for available places and consult when appropriate.

We hope this approach ensures both transparency and more timely support.

We understand that settings may have questions regarding fulfilling the provision in Section F. Please contact your SEN services and SENAR so that we can work collaboratively to ensure that Section F is delivered.

We appreciate there also may be questions regarding funding. In line with current practise, if required, the 6+ funding for pupils requiring Resource Bases and 6+(S) for pupils requiring specialist provision will be made available.

We will also be scheduling further Q&A sessions to support colleagues with any additional questions. Dates will be confirmed shortly. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for these sessions, please complete the following form: Q&A sessions-SENAR – Collaboration.

Delivering Better Value Programme: Workstream One

Transition to Business as Usual

We are pleased to confirm that the Delivering Better Value Workstream One has now formally transitioned into Business as Usual (BAU). The focus of this workstream has been on developing a shared understanding across the local area including schools and settings about what needs can, and should, be met in mainstream, resource bases, and special schools. The four main areas of activity have been around:

• Further development and embedding of the Ordinarily Available Guidance (OAG)
• SEND Advisory Service redesign: early intervention – right support, right place, right time
• Developing guidance around what good provision looks like
• Improve the Transitions process and offer.

We would like to thank everyone involved for their commitment and contributions throughout the workstream. The progress achieved provides a strong foundation for Birmingham to build on when implementing the SEND Reforms.

Work is continuing around Curriculum Pathways and around developing an Autism-Friendly Birmingham and we will bring you further updates from the newly established Reference Groups for these two projects in the coming months.

Delivering Better Value Programme: Workstream Two

Delivering Better Value Programme Workstream Two focus is reviewing high needs grant top up funding arrangements, including SEND Support Provision Plans; to ensure that there is clarity for schools and settings about how much money for identified provision they will receive for each pupil and how the decision about funding has been made.

Previous communications through forums meetings in the Autumn Term did signal that the timeline of the current workstream has been amended and will continue beyond the original proposed completion date of April 2026. To confirm the revised start date for the beginning of implementation will be in April 2027 and not during the 2026/27 financial year. The extension was necessary to ensure the objective of a revised, robust fair and transparent new top up funding framework would be place including the strategic and operational implementation plan. The additional time has enabled additional deeper financial dives and the utilisation of more recent financial data to inform additional modelling for proposed options.

The extension has allowed a more realistic time framework to continue and complete the work on the revision of current provision descriptors for the new funding framework.  The Phase One workshops took place in January and February 2026. We are seeking ongoing engagement from schools and other stakeholders to support Phase Two developments that will start in the summer term to review and refresh the graduated provision levels.  Please send expressions of interest to DeliveringBetterValue@birmingham.gov.uk.  We will also be sharing more information via the School Noticeboard and SENCO bulletin during this half term.

It was also equally important to allow timely consideration of the potential impact of the proposed DfE SEND reforms on any planned developments. With the publication of the Schools White Paper in recent weeks, we need to now take the necessarily steps to ensure strategic and operational alignment and provide flexible adjustments as needed in light future information on the SEND reforms from the government.

With the extended timeframe there are natural queries if any interim arrangements will be in place for 2026/27 financial year. Current top up funding processes will remain the same and it will be business as usual. There are some process adjustments with SEN Support Provision Plan requests for summer and autumn term 2026 only to ensure transition arrangements are completed. The changes are summarised in the following SSPP Transition Arrangements briefing.

SEN Support Provision Plans (SSPPs) Transition Arrangements Summer/Autumn 2026

Birmingham’s SEND and Inclusion Department continue to commit to providing transitional support funding to children without an EHCP through the SSPP processes.  Outlined in this briefing are the arrangements for this year’s processes.  Further support can be gained through the Area SENCO Team (EYIS), SEND Advisory and Inclusion, and Educational Psychology Services.

Nursery to Reception Transition SSPPs

Maintained nurseries

MNS should work with SEND Advisory Support Service Teams or Educational Psychology and parents to produce an SSPP.  These must then be submitted to one of the nursery panels for consideration of funding (see table below for deadlines).

Plans submitted to the March panel, if successful, will be allocated funding for the full Summer Term 2026. Plans submitted to the May panel, if successful, will be allocated funding for the second half of the Summer Term 2026.   All funded plans will also have 3 Support Units allocated to the child’s reception school for one term. The aim of this is to ensure that schools have some funding to support initial transition into the setting.

Once school places for September are allocated consider working with the receiving school to update the provision section of the plan ready for September. The aim of this is to support the school in identifying the specific provision they will need to have in place for the child to make a successful transition from day one of reception.  Where schools feel that the provision identified is beyond that which is ordinarily available from within their existing resources (please reference OAG and the ranges in the funding guidance), they can then resubmit the plan for further consideration. This must be done by 5pm on 20 July 2026. These plans will not require new parental consents or outside agency sign off.

Any resubmitted plans will be considered by 1 October 2026. If additional funding is allocated, this will be agreed for a maximum of two terms covering Autumn 2026 and Spring 2027. Schools will be notified as the plans are reviewed in panels throughout September 2026.

PVI settings

PVI settings will follow the process as above for the majority of cases with plans being signed by the Area SENCO Team.   

Nursery classes in schools

For children requiring SSPPs in nursery classes in schools, SENCos need to follow the usual school procedures for SSPPs. They do not need to submit to the specific nursery panels.

Timetable:

Type of plan	Deadline for submission	Panel Date	Notification of funding
New SSPP from PVI or maintained nursery	12th March 2026 5pm   5th May 2026 5pm	25th March 2026   20th May 2026	By 13th April 2026   By 1st June 2026
Co-produced plan by PVI and Reception school (no funding for PVI)	26th June 2026 5pm	10th July 2026	By 17th July 2026
Resubmitted co-produced SSPP for increased funding in Rec	20th July 2026 5pm	Throughout Sept	By 1st Oct 2026
SSPPs from nursery classes in schools	Follow usual school procedures.

Where any EY setting identifies that an SSPP is needed to support transition funding for Reception but do not require funding for the summer term, they should not submit this plan to either of the first two panels.

When the child’s school for September 2026 is allocated, the EY setting should work with the receiving school to co-produce the plan and submit to the additional panel being held in July. (See timetable for submission dates).  Plans submitted to this panel must have input from the EY setting and School to be considered.

Yr 2 – 3 in separate Infant and Junior Schools and Year 6 – 7

Schools should follow the usual school procedures for creating and reviewing plans.  Where an SSPP is being developed or reviewed during the summer term the Infant school or Primary school should include the Junior or Secondary school so that the plan is co-produced and reflects the provision that is to be delivered in the receiving school. Infant/Primary schools should not be submitting plans in the summer term reflecting only the provision for their setting. Plans that do not reflect the provision for the receiving school will not be considered for funding.

Any existing SSPPs where funding has already been allocated into the next academic year will automatically be allocated to the receiving school once it is confirmed that the pupil is attending.

Temporary change to SSPP process for Autumn Term 2026

To support ensuring that all transition plans are processed in a timely manner we have made the decision to pause processing of any SSPPs that are not transition plans during the first half of the Autumn Term 2026.  During this period new SSPPs can be submitted, and funding will be backdated to the start of the Autumn term. Any existing SSPPs that are due to be reviewed in the first half of the Autumn Term 2026 will be allocated an additional half term of funding based on the current funding to ensure that there is not a gap in funding while the processing of new plans is paused. Normal processing will resume at the start of Autumn 2. 

Supporting Pupils with Medical Needs

Schools are supporting pupils with an increasing range of medical needs, and the Local Area Partnership is committed to ensuring School Leaders are clear about expectations, confident in decision‑making and supported in practice.

In partnership with schools and NHS colleagues, we have developed a city‑wide Medical Needs Policy Template. The template provides a clear, statutory‑compliant framework that schools can adapt to their context, alongside practical guidance on:

• Administering medication safely
• Personal and intimate care arrangements

To support implementation, a series of webinars will be delivered during the summer term, offering senior leaders the opportunity to understand the policy, hear from partners and ask questions.

We are also proposing a Medical Needs Advisory Partnership Panel, giving schools access to multi‑agency advice on complex or individual pupil situations. The panel will bring together education and health expertise to support confident, inclusive decision‑making at school level.

This work is designed to ensure that medical needs are never a barrier to learning, and that Headteachers are not navigating these challenges alone.