Individual Support Plans (ISPs) sit alongside Education, Health and Care Plans under the 2026 SEND reforms. EHCPs are retained for learners with complex needs. Implementation guidance is still in consultation.
Individual Support Plans (ISPs) are new SEND documents. They were announced in the Department for Education's February 2026 Schools White Paper, 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving'. They are designed to make planning simpler for learners with identified special educational needs. They do not replace Education, Health and Care Plans for learners with the most complex needs. EHCPs are retained.
The Schools White Paper, published 23 February 2026, announces a phased reform of the SEND system in England. Two planning instruments will sit alongside one another:
The transition is phased: from 2029, new assessments will route to either an ISP or a specialist EHCP. Current EHCPs will stay valid until at least September 2030. The full transition window extends beyond that.
Visual schedules, sensory adaptations, low-demand routines. Built in.
Continue working under the 2015 SEND Code of Practice. The graduated approach (assess, plan, do, review) and SEN Support remain the standard way of working for most learners. For learners with current EHCPs, those plans stay in effect.
Avoid presenting ISPs to families as a finished decision that cannot be changed. The final details are still being consulted on. These include templates, legal timeframes, appeal rights, and funding paths. Schools that build internal systems before legal guidelines arrive risk having to change them when final rules are published.
SENCOs should follow DfE announcements and NASEN guidance for updates on how to use these plans. Once the official statutory guidance is published, we will expand this guide.
Free for teachers. Visual schedules, sensory adaptations, low-demand routines, built into the plan.
We will update this article when the Department for Education publishes detailed guides and legal rules for Individual Support Plans.
