Published 23 February 2026 · What it means for SEND settings
The biggest shake-up to SEND in a generation. New legal duties, new digital plans, new inclusion standards — and a lot more paperwork before it gets easier. Earwig was built for exactly this.
On 23 February 2026 the Government published its long-awaited Schools White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving. For SEND settings, special schools and SENCOs, it represents the most significant shake-up to the system in a generation.
The changes are substantial. The timelines are real. And the administrative demands on schools are going to increase — at least in the short term.
The good news: every new demand maps onto something Earwig already does.
Teachers trained to identify and meet a broader range of needs from the outset.
A new legal duty to produce an Individual Support Plan for every child with an identified need — reviewed annually, with parents involved in its creation.
Only children with a Specialist Provision Package will retain or be granted an EHCP. The transition is expected to be largely complete by 2035.
Schools begin moving towards new standards in behaviour, attendance, family engagement and inclusion.
Major SEND and curriculum changes, National Inclusion Standards and staff training.
Digital ISPs in place for every child with identified SEND.
Every school will be legally required to create, maintain, review and share a digital Individual Support Plan for every child with an identified need — a significant documentation and workflow challenge, especially where SEND populations are large.
ISPs must be reviewed at least annually, with parents meaningfully involved. Schools will need systems that manage this at scale — potentially for the majority of the roll, not a handful of pupils.
The White Paper emphasises accountability. Schools will need to show that support is working — capturing, organising and reporting on evidence of progress against each child's targets.
For pupils who hold EHCPs today, schools must manage a careful, well-documented transition. Annual Review paperwork will need to be sharper, faster and more evidence-rich than ever.
New standards arrive from 2028. Ofsted will keep scrutinising how well schools identify, support and track pupils with SEND — with particular attention where SEND trends look out of step with local context.
Earwig wasn't built in response to the White Paper. It was built to do these things — and it has been doing them for a decade.
The EHCP-based objective setting and assessment module makes it easy to set individual targets, link them to outcomes and track progress over time. As the system evolves from EHCPs to ISPs, Earwig evolves with it.
Staff capture photo, video and written evidence in seconds, in the classroom. Every record is tagged and linked to the relevant targets, so a full timeline of a pupil's progress is one click away.
Families get a live window into their child's learning and can contribute observations of their own. You get the engagement the White Paper requires, without extra workload for staff.
The report generator produces precisely formatted reports with the data already filled in. Teachers and SLTs add the commentary. Schools using Earwig for Annual Reviews describe the difference as transformational.
The Engagement Model, your own EHCP-derived targets, a specialist therapy programme, or anything in the Earwig Framework Library — all in one place. Staff learn one system. Nothing falls through the gaps.
Schools using Earwig have consistently impressed inspectors — with evidence, with progress tracking, and with the ability to show exactly how each child's outcomes are being pursued.
Ofsted loved Earwig, how focused we were on the EHCP and the evidence against it — we gave them automatic Earwig reports. Ofsted said it was 'fabulous'.Ellie Capas QE2 School, Hampshire
The most impressive feature of Earwig is its flexibility. Earwig has had a very positive impact at our school — the phrase that commonly comes to mind is 'one-stop shop'.William Webster Deputy Head, Ickburgh School, London
Yes, we were outstanding again! We used Earwig to show the pupil evidence to match the curriculum areas that they looked at as part of the deep dive.Sue Hewitt Head Teacher, Beacon Hill School, Essex
I love the report panel — incredibly time saving, it's so simple I can even delegate it. It's amazing!Jody Tranter Snowflake School, London
The Earwig team works closely with the DfE and with special school leaders across the country, so the platform evolves in step with policy.
Earwig will be ready. We track the consultation as it moves towards legislation.
Earwig reflects it. Frameworks, forms and reporting adapt to what's actually required.
Earwig is cloud-based and updated daily. You are always on the latest version.
The consultation is open. The direction of travel is clear. Now is the time to make sure your school has the tools to meet what's coming — rather than scrambling to catch up once it arrives.