SEND Law Hub
Planning for adult life must start in Year 9 at the very latest. This is a legal duty, not a conversation to have in Year 11. The law requires real, specific, joined up planning for employment, housing, health and independence.
The 'Every Child Achieving and Thriving' Education White Paper was published in February 2026, alongside a companion document 'SEND Reform: Putting Children and Young People First'. These introduce significant proposed changes including Individual Support Plans, a new three-tier support model, and Specialist Provision Packages. The law documented here — the Children and Families Act 2014 and SEND Code of Practice 2015 — remains in full force until legislation and the updated Code are brought into effect. We will update each page as official text is published. See our SEND Reform 2026 page for a full breakdown.
From Year 9, every EHCP must include preparation for adulthood across employment, independent living, health, and community participation. This is not optional and it is not something to add at 16.
Children and Families Act 2014. Code of Practice § 8.6 to 8.12
From Year 9, EHCP annual reviews must include transition planning covering employment including supported internships and apprenticeships, independent living, community participation, and health. The legal duty requires high aspirations to be embedded in the plan from this point.
All bodies must think and plan for adulthood from the earliest years. It should not be left to a single meeting in Year 11.
Year 9 is the legal minimum start. Outcomes must be specific and ambitious — not vague aspirations written to satisfy inspection. Every EHCP section should be pointing forward to what the young person's adult life will look like and what needs to happen to get there.
At every review from Year 9, ask which section of the EHCP covers each of the four adulthood areas. If any are missing, request amendments in writing.
Code of Practice § 8.13 to 8.26
Pathways into adulthood should cover supported internships and apprenticeships, higher and further education, employment, supported living, independent travel training, health management, friendships, social participation, and community inclusion.
Local authorities must ensure there is sufficient provision of post-16 study programmes for young people with SEND, and where a young person needs a full programme, they should receive five day provision.
The plan should reflect what the young person wants their adult life to look like and work backwards from there. Work experience, travel training, independent living skills, social opportunities — these are all part of what should be planned and delivered, not extras.
Request specific provision for employability support, travel training, independent living skills, and social participation. Ask what the local authority is commissioning for post-16 SEND provision and whether five day provision is available.
Code of Practice § 8.42 to 8.45
Health transition planning should start by age 14 wherever possible. NHS bodies should coordinate with education and families to ensure a supported handover to adult services, with no gaps in provision at 18.
If your child is receiving health support through CAMHS, specialist paediatrics, or any other children's health service, start asking around age 14 what the adult equivalent is, when referral happens, and who is responsible for making the transition seamless.
Ask current clinicians in writing: what is the adult equivalent of this service, when does referral happen, who makes the referral, and who is the named transition lead. Get dates confirmed.
Care Act 2014. Children Act 1989. Code of Practice § 8.46 to 8.52
Where a child is likely to need adult care or support after 18, the local authority must carry out a Care Act transition assessment early enough to have a plan in place by the time they turn 18. The assessment must consider the young person's wellbeing, outcomes and the support needed to achieve them.
Do not wait until 17 or 18. Request the Care Act transition assessment around age 16. This gives time to plan, get the right support commissioned, and avoid a cliff edge where everything stops at 18.
Write to adult social care requesting a Care Act transition assessment and state the young person's age and likely needs. Chase if there is no response within a reasonable period.
Children and Families Act 2014 Sections 36 to 40. Code of Practice § 8.71 to 8.75
EHCPs can be maintained until age 25 where the young person is still in education or training and the plan is still needed. Local authorities must continue annual reviews. Any decision to cease an EHCP is appealable to the Tribunal.
EHCPs do not automatically end at 18 or 19. A young person can hold an EHCP all the way to 25 if they remain in education or training and the plan is needed. The local authority cannot simply decide it is done.
If a cease is proposed, insist on written notice and note the appeal deadline immediately. Contact IPSEA or SOS SEN for support with any Tribunal appeal.
'Every Child Achieving and Thriving' — DfE, February 2026
The white paper commits to making employment pathways, supported internships, work experience and careers support part of the standard entitlement for all children including those with SEND. The expectation is that every child leaves education with genuine experience of the workplace, not just qualifications.
This directly reinforces the existing duty to include employment and vocational pathways in EHCP adulthood planning from Year 9. Families can now point to the white paper's commitment when pushing back against plans that contain only educational outcomes and nothing on work, independence or community participation.
If a Year 9 annual review produces no vocational or employment planning, ask specifically what provision the school is putting in place for work experience, supported internships, careers guidance and travel training — and reference both the Code of Practice Year 9 duty and the white paper's explicit commitment to this for all children with SEND.
The white paper identifies low aspirations as one of the central failures of the current system. It commits to high aspirations as a non-negotiable element of the reformed framework. This gives families stronger language when challenging plans that set low ceilings on a young person's outcomes — the government's own reform document describes it as unacceptable.
The forthcoming Experts at Hand service (£1.8 billion) will bring speech and language therapists, EPs and other professionals into mainstream settings. Once commissioned, these professionals should be able to contribute to realistic, ambitious transition planning from Year 9, not just at Specialist tier EHCP reviews. This is not yet available — use the existing statutory request routes to get professional input now.
Year 9 legal duty to include adulthood planning across all four areas — unchanged. Care Act transition assessment duty — unchanged. EHCP continuation to 25 — unchanged. Health transition planning — unchanged. Five day provision where needed — unchanged. The white paper does not reduce any of these rights. It adds aspiration, investment and a sharper focus on employment outcomes.
