Medway Council and its NHS partners presented a local SEND reform plan to the Health and Wellbeing Board on 3 September 2026, setting out targets to reduce independent special school placements and annual assessment requests by 2029 as demand continues to outstrip forecasts.

Medway’s Health and Wellbeing Board considered a wide-ranging reform plan for the borough’s Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system when it met on 3 September 2026, with officers warning that a surge in demand was threatening to reverse recent financial progress.

Scale of the challenge

Papers presented to the board stated that Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) prevalence had risen to approximately 5.3% of the pupil population, with 4,448 children and young people currently holding plans. Requests for statutory assessment had more than doubled and continued to exceed previously forecast levels. Officers noted that although the in-year deficit on the high needs block had been resolved, the new surge in demand was placing increasing financial pressure and was likely to reverse that position.

The plan, jointly approved by Medway Council, NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board and the wider Local Area Partnership, was submitted to the Department for Education in June 2026. Implementation was described as subject to approval and confirmation of associated funding arrangements, expected in September 2026.

What the plan proposes

The reform programme is built around six priorities: outcomes-driven leadership and accountability; a new “Experts at Hand” model providing place-based multi-disciplinary support to schools and early years settings; co-production with families; commissioning and financial sustainability; workforce development; and alignment with wider children’s services reform.

The Experts at Hand model was described as the centrepiece of the programme, intended to improve access to specialist advice and support early intervention without requiring statutory assessment. Officers identified workforce shortages across Educational Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy as a significant risk, rated as “very likely” with a critical impact.

Targets by 2029

The plan sets out a series of measurable outcomes to be achieved by 2029. These include reducing annual EHCP requests to 660 or below; ensuring 65% of children and young people with EHCPs are educated in mainstream settings; reducing independent special school placements to 230 or below; and achieving attendance above 94% for children receiving SEND support. At least 85% of educational settings would be expected to access the Experts at Hand model.

Officers described the approach as “invest-to-save”, shifting resources towards prevention and mainstream inclusion to reduce reliance on expensive independent placements.

Health inequalities dimension

The report noted that children and young people with SEND were more likely to experience poor attendance, mental health challenges, social isolation, family stress and poorer transitions into employment and independent living. Health partners — including NHS Kent and Medway ICB, Medway Community Healthcare and mental health services — were identified as key delivery partners, contributing through community therapies, speech and language therapy and integrated commissioning.

The board was asked to note the plan, endorse the partnership vision, support the six strategic reform priorities and champion collective responsibility across health, education and care partners.

The council had not published the minutes of the meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.

Sources

Top image: illustrative, computer-generated. Illustrative image generated by AI. This is not a photograph of any real school or location in Medway.