This week I report on the SEND Framework consultation, the release of the DfE’s new Child Poverty Strategy, increased access to early SEND support with a practitioner in every council from April 2026 and the launch of the new Maximising Value for Pupils programme designed to help schools and trusts plan and deploy resources most effectively to ensure value for money.

SEND Framework consultation
The DfE has launched a nationwide public engagement campaign to create a reformed SEND system. Minister for School Standards, Georgia Gould, is hosting nine face to face events, run in partnership with the Council for Disabled Children, and five online events covering the department’s five principles of reform. The themes of engagement include:

• Early intervention, including earlier in children’s lives when this can have most impact.
• Local provision, so young people can learn at a school close to their home, alongside their peers, as well as the vital role of special provision for complex needs.
• Fairness, so every school has the resources and capability to meet changing needs – stopping parents fighting for support and ensuring clear legal safeguards for children and parents.
• Effective practice, grounded in evidence to ensure excellent long-term outcomes.
• Shared working that means education, health and care services working in partnership with local government, families, teachers, experts and representative bodies.
• Attendees can share their views on a range of proposals from experts – such as children having written records of support, giving families access to independent advocacy and providing a national framework for support available to children with SEN across all settings.

A development group of key stakeholders, including SEND parent groups, will meet regularly with Ministers between now and the end of January to drive reform forward, and a toolkit will be shared with schools and settings to encourage them to share information about engagement on SEND reform with their communities. You can sign up to attend a regional engagement event using this link or can sign up to attend an online event using this link.

New Child Poverty Strategy
The government has released its Child Poverty Strategy, which aims to lift an estimated 550,000 children out of poverty by 2030. Key measures include confirmation that children in households receiving Universal Credit will become eligible for free school meals from September 2026.

DfE announces increased access to early SEND support
Every council will have a dedicated practitioner to provide direct support for children with SEND according to a recent DfE announcement. Introduced from April 2026, the initiative is part of the Best Start in Life campaign, aiming to support parents with early childhood.

Launch of the Maximising Value for Pupils programme
This week the DfE launched its Maximising Value for Pupils programme which aims to help schools and trusts plan and deploy resources most effectively to ensure value for money. Support is centred around four key areas:

• Commercial spending – harnessing collective buying power and expanding support in high spend areas, with a focus on energy costs
• Assets – helping schools make the most of financial and physical assets, including a new banking comparison tool
• Workforce deployment – seeking to address high agency supply costs
• Developing capability – strengthening digital, commercial, and operational capability across school and trust teams, featuring updated benchmarking tools

As one of the first initiatives of the programme, the government has introduced a new agency supply framework, which schools will be expected to use, that will cap agency overheads and fees.