Will my child lose their EHCP?

In the DfE Education Hub explainer (13 May 2026) the Department for Education has been clear: every child with an EHCP today will keep statutory provision throughout the transition. There is no proposal to revoke or downgrade existing plans.

That protection sits on top of the law that is already in force. Under section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014, the local authority must secure the special educational provision specified in Section F — and the named placement in Section I. That duty has not changed.

The DfE's May 2026 explainer sets out specific protections for children who already have an EHCP, or who might have one in the next few years:

• Children in special schools are not affected by the reassessment plans at all. Their EHCPs continue as now.
• For children in mainstream schools, only those who are seven years old or younger today would be considered for reassessment — and that would happen in roughly three years' time, to see whether an Individual Support Plan could meet their needs.
• Everyone else keeps their existing EHCP until at least age 16.
• No changes to the support given by EHCPs will begin before September 2030.
• The Government has promised a "triple lock" of transitional protections so that no child loses effective support as the system changes.
• EHCPs themselves will continue — in a reformed, digital form — for children with the most complex needs, alongside new Specialist Provision Packages. The White Paper does not abolish EHCPs.

Source: Schools white paper: What parents need to know about changes to the SEND system — DfE Education Hub, 13 May 2026. These are policy commitments, not yet law — the Government has said it will legislate via the new Education for All Bill announced in this year's King's Speech.

The White Paper proposes a phased transition starting no earlier than 2030. The Government has said any move from an EHCP to an Individual Support Plan would happen only at the end of an education phase:

• End of nursery / start of primary
• End of primary / start of secondary
• End of Key Stage 4 / post-16 transition

No child would be moved mid-phase, and decisions would still need to be reviewable. Until Parliament passes legislation, none of this is binding.

Some councils may try to argue that an EHCP is no longer needed because of the reforms. This is not a lawful reason to refuse, amend or cease a plan. The current statutory tests in sections 36, 37 and 44 of the 2014 Act still apply, and the SEND Tribunal will test any decision against those tests — not against a policy document.