#29 | EHCPs “Protected Until 2030” Then What?

We talk through the latest SEND reform leaks and why the “EHCPs protected until 2030” line doesn’t feel like protection at all. We get into the DfE promo videos, the staged “mainstream SEND classroom” example, and why it looks like the narrative is being set before the white paper drops.

Key themes:

- EHCPs “protected until 2030” and what that implies after

- Mainstream capacity promises vs real-world needsThe stereotype kit: fidgets, coloured cards, tidy optics

- Safety Valve scheme and the financial incentive to reduce EHCPs

- 90% deficit write-off and the conditions attached

- Reform plans, targets, and the fear of rights being weakened

- Teacher burnout and what happens when support is missing

- The human cost: meltdowns, exclusion, self-harm, families breaking

Zoom out and it all looks like money first, optics second, and families last. You can’t fix systemic failure with a glossy brochure and a box of fidget spinners. If the plan is to push more kids into mainstream, where’s the plan to build specialist places, train staff properly, and stop the constant crisis management.

If you’re living this, you’re not imagining it. You’re not being dramatic. You’re seeing the gap between what they say and what actually happens.