Welcome to this week’s update, which covers national SEND reform, possible changes to SEND Transport in Herts and an update on how we use the feedback we hear from families.
✨ SEND Reform Update
The Government has released its ideas for reforming the SEND system. It’s a very detailed plan, and there will now be a 12‑week consultation period where families and professionals can share their views.
There are some official summary documents on the government’s website, which are a useful starting point to understand what is proposed and how it might affect your child.
The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) is holding a webinar, which is another way for parents to understand the consultation. This webinar will be for information only and is not part of the official consultation.
📅 Webinar for Parent Carers
HPCI will be preparing a detailed consultation response, and we welcome your feedback to help shape this – we want to make sure we represent your views as much as possible. You can comment via Facebook, email (contact@hertsparentcarers.org.uk), or use the feedback form on the HPCI website.
🚌 Transport Consultation for 16–18 Year Olds
Hertfordshire County Council is consulting on proposed changes to transport arrangements for 16-18 year olds, which will affect many young people with SEND.
It’s important that parents of younger children and teens respond, as the changes will affect students entering year 12 from September 2026 onwards. We encourage all families to take part if they can.
HPCI will share its own response once it’s further developed. Families who want their views included can email HPCI directly.
The consultation closes 12 April, and full details plus the response form are available on the HCC website here: Post-16 home to school / college transport consultation 2026
📣 “We Heard; We Did”
Some parents recently received tribunal responses from HCC that cited the future SEND reforms mentioned above as justification for current decisions.
HPCI and parent carers raised concerns about this. Herts County Council have confirmed that this is not their policy, apologised, and stated it should not happen again.
We’re really grateful to the families who brought this to our attention.
As always, we encourage you to continue sharing concerns so we can raise issues with the services involved and help ensure improvements for children and young people with SEND in Hertfordshire. If you have any feedback, you can always submit this via our feedback page.
