Coventry SEND plan targets faster school support

Contents

Faster expert help before long statutory assessments
The funding Coventry expects to receive
Parents pushed for stronger co-production
Cabinet approval is the next formal step

More than 4,000 children and young people in Coventry are currently supported through Education, Health and Care Plans, after the number more than doubled over the past decade.

Coventry City Council is now asking Cabinet to approve a Local SEND improvement plan that would reshape how children with special educational needs and disabilities are supported in mainstream schools, how families access Coventry SEND support, and how the city manages rising demand over the next three years.

The plan is due to be considered on 9 June 2026. If approved, the final version must be submitted to the Department for Education by 19 June 2026.

Faster expert help before long statutory assessments

The central change is a new Experts at Hand offer for mainstream schools. The model is intended to give schools quicker access to specialist support, so children can receive help earlier without families always having to wait for lengthy statutory assessments.

The council says the plan has been developed with the NHS, schools, the Parent Carer Forum and other local partners. Its stated aim is to help more children with SEND thrive in their local mainstream school, while keeping specialist support available for pupils with more complex needs.

That shift matters because SEND systems across England have faced growing pressure from rising Education, Health and Care Plan demand, longer waits and stretched school capacity. Coventry’s proposal does not remove the need for statutory assessment where it is required, but it puts more emphasis on earlier help inside local schools.

Families following SEND changes in other areas may recognise similar themes around oversight, EHCP demand and mainstream inclusion. Beehive readers can compare this with recent coverage of SEND oversight changes for families in Redbridge and the Ofsted findings on children with SEND in Sefton.

The funding Coventry expects to receive

The plan comes with government grant funding for the local authority and direct money for schools through the national Inclusive Mainstream Fund. The source figures set out a phased increase for Coventry’s local SEND reform funding.

Funding or date	Detail
Local authority grant, 2026 to 2027	Around £3 million
Estimated local authority grant, 2028 to 2029	Around £5.9 million
Average primary school funding	£19,000 per school
Average secondary school funding	£39,000 per school
Cabinet decision date	9 June 2026
Department for Education submission deadline	19 June 2026

The council also says Coventry is among a minority of councils nationally without a High Needs Block deficit. That is the ring-fenced funding used to support pupils with complex needs.

This does not mean the city faces no pressure. The plan itself acknowledges growing demand and national financial strain in SEND services. It does mean Coventry says it starts from a stronger financial position than many local authorities as reforms are introduced.

Parents pushed for stronger co-production

Feedback from parents and carers has changed the emphasis of the plan, according to the council. The latest version places more weight on co-production and includes a sharper focus on children who are not attending school full time.

For families, the practical test will be whether mainstream schools can access specialist expertise quickly enough, and whether support is visible before problems escalate. For schools, the challenge will be turning new resource into workable classroom support, staff confidence and consistent practice across different settings.

Councillor Abdul Salam Khan, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Equalities, said every child in Coventry deserved the chance to achieve and thrive, and that children and young people with SEND needed “the right support, in the right place, at the right time”.

He said the Experts at Hand model was intended to make a practical difference by allowing schools to draw on specialist expertise more quickly rather than families waiting for lengthy assessments before a child gets help.

Cabinet approval is the next formal step

Cabinet members will be asked to approve the Local SEND improvement plan at their meeting on 9 June. If they do, Coventry’s Local Area Partnership will use it as the basis for delivering national SEND reforms over the next three years.

The final plan must then be sent to the Department for Education by 19 June 2026. The council says implementation will continue with families, schools, NHS partners, children and young people involved as the reforms move from proposal to delivery.

Source: Coventry City Council