SEND reform readiness
Are you ready for SEND reform?
The four-tier support model, the Individual Support Plan (ISP) duty and the staff-training duty are the reform direction, not yet law. Get ready with what is live in Cognassist today.
- May 2026
- Reform direction set by the government's schools white paper
- Not yet law
- Four-tier model, ISP and staff-training duties are proposed
- Live today
- What you can build in Cognassist to get ready now
The honest position, first
The government's May 2026 schools white paper sets the direction for SEND reform. The four-tier support model, the ISP duty, the staff-training duty and education, health and care plan (EHCP) reform are all proposed, not yet law. One strand is already live and funded: the Inclusive Mainstream Fund. Cognassist helps you get ready and evidence good inclusive practice; it does not make you compliant, and nothing here is a legal duty yet.
You get ready by building capability now, not by waiting for the law
SEND reform readiness is a capability you build, not a law you wait for. You cannot prepare for an unwritten statute, but you can build what the reform direction clearly points to, and it is the same inclusive practice the live Ofsted inclusion judgement already grades on evidenced impact. Getting ready now is not a bet on a maybe: it pays off today and positions you for what is coming.
- Whole-cohort identification, so you know every learner's needs early.
- Per-learner support planning you can evidence as you go.
- Confident non-specialists across your team, with specialists freed for complexity.
The mapping
SEND reform readiness: what the white paper signals, and what you can build today
| What the May 2026 white paper signals (reform direction, not yet law) | How you can get ready today (live in Cognassist) | |
|---|---|---|
| The four-tier support model | Universal, Targeted, Targeted Plus and Specialist provision. Proposed, not law. | A whole-cohort cognitive assessment triages every learner toward the right level of support. A signal for professional judgement, never a diagnosis and never an automatic placement in a tier. |
| The ISP duty | A per-learner record of a learner's needs and day-to-day support. Proposed, not law. | A co-produced support plan approximates it today: needs, matched reasonable adjustments, delivery, and monthly evidence scored on the Three I's. |
| The staff-training duty | Every member of staff able to support additional needs. Proposed, not law. | The platform carries the admin and Cognassist Training builds confident non-specialists across your team. |
| EHCPs narrowing to the Specialist tier | Statutory plans focused on the most complex needs. Proposed, not law. | Your specialists focus their expertise where it counts, while confident non-specialists support the rest. |
A support plan that already works the way the proposed ISP describes
The signalled ISP is a per-learner digital record: a learner's needs, the support they receive day to day, and how it is delivered. The Cognassist support plan works this way today, alongside the MIS or e-portfolio you already run rather than replacing it. It is co-produced with the learner as a strong draft to discuss, not a finished document. And it approximates the proposed ISP concept: it is not an ISP in a legal sense, the duty is not enacted, and using it does not make you compliant.
- Needs surface from the cognitive profile, so the plan starts from evidence, not memory.
- Each reasonable adjustment carries its intent, and is delivered in everyday teaching.
- The Coverage Checker rates each support record as it is written (green meets the standard, amber needs improvement, red is blank), so it is good first time, not audited after.
Capability across your whole teaching team, not just your specialists
Inclusion is everyone's job. The platform carries the admin and lowers the specialism bar, so confident non-specialists deliver good, evidenced support in everyday teaching, and Cognassist Training builds that capability across your staff with in-flow, role-based CPD. Your specialists are not replaced. Their expertise is amplified and reserved for the most complex needs. This is the capability the proposed staff-training duty points to, built now while that duty is still direction, not law.
Proof · Educationwise Academy
Identified, supported and evidenced, by everyday tutors
Educationwise Academy, an independent apprenticeship provider rated Outstanding by Ofsted, built the cognitive assessment into enrolment and its quality framework. Every learner's needs are identified early, and support is consistent, rather than left to disclosure or a tutor's instinct.
“By bringing Cognassist in, we were definitely able to identify a lot more learners and it highlights those additional needs that we wouldn't have known. We deliver a lot virtually through Teams, and if you've got somebody that perhaps struggles with attention or struggles to read off PowerPoint, our tutors have the ability to know that and can teach that learner one to one. We also have used some of the Cognassist assessment tools to be able to go to end-point organisations and look at reasonable adjustments, so we can use that as evidence.”
Go deeper
See the mechanism, the proof and the full framework, or find your provider type.
FAQ
Honest answers to the questions leaders ask
How does Cognassist help us get ready for SEND reform?
You build the capability the reform direction points to, now. A whole-cohort cognitive assessment identifies every learner's needs; a co-produced support plan records the needs, adjustments, delivery and monthly evidence; and Cognassist Training builds confident non-specialists across your team. All three are live today, and all three are the same inclusive practice the Ofsted inclusion judgement already rewards.We already run an MIS or e-portfolio. What does Cognassist add?
Cognassist works alongside the systems you already run; it does not replace them. It adds three things a records store cannot. First, it surfaces the needs to record in the first place: a whole-cohort cognitive assessment identifies areas a learner may need support with, rather than waiting for someone to know to enter them. Second, it coaches the quality of each support record as it is written, with the Coverage Checker rating each one in real time (green meets the standard, amber needs improvement, red is blank), so it is good first time, not audited after. Third, it gives leaders admin-level oversight of evidence quality across the provider.Are these reforms law yet?
No. The four-tier model, the ISP duty and the staff-training duty are reform direction, signalled in the government's May 2026 schools white paper, and not yet enacted. Funding to support inclusion has already begun, but the legislative duties have not. Getting ready now means building capability, not claiming compliance with a law that is not written.Is the Cognassist support plan an ISP?
It approximates the proposed ISP concept: a per-learner digital record of needs, day-to-day support and delivery, with monthly evidence. But the ISP legal duty is not enacted, and using the support plan does not make you compliant.How does it help us build staff capability?
The platform carries the admin and lowers the specialism bar, so confident non-specialists deliver good, evidenced support. Cognassist Training builds that capability across your teaching team with in-flow, role-based CPD, while your specialists' expertise is amplified and reserved for the most complex needs.Does the cognitive assessment place a learner in a tier, or diagnose them?
No. The assessment is a signal for professional judgement toward the right level of support, not an automatic placement in a tier and not a diagnosis. It does not establish disability under the Equality Act 2010.Does Cognassist make us SEND-compliant or guarantee anything?
No. Cognassist helps you get ready and evidence good inclusive practice. Compliance, and the statutory and inspection outcomes, are yours.Does this work for colleges and training providers?
Yes. FE colleges and independent skills providers alike use Cognassist to build inclusion into everyday learning, at scale.
Get ready for SEND reform on solid, live ground
Build the capability the reform direction points to, with what is live in Cognassist today. We help you get ready and evidence good inclusive practice, honest about what is still proposed. See how it maps to your provider.