Hertfordshire's health and education officials have welcomed the "ambition" shown by the Government in SEND reforms outlined in the Schools White Paper, published in February.

And they say they will now take time to work through what the reforms for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) would mean for the local area, services and families.

Under the proposed changes, only the children with the most complex needs would qualify for Education Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), which set out a child's needs and the provision they require.

And those children who do then qualify for an EHCP would be reassessed at the end of each phase of education.

Under the plans, all children with SEND – including those with EHCPs – would have individual support plans, which would set out the support children should have.

And there would be three distinct layers of support available – targeted, targeted plus and specialist support.

Following the publication of the White Paper on Tuesday (February 23), members of the Hertfordshire SEND Partnership – which brings together education and health officials from across the county – say they will now be looking at the implications of the proposed reforms.

"We welcome the ambition shown by central government to improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND through the reforms proposed in the Schools White Paper and SEND consultation," says the statement issued to the Local Democracy Reporting Service on behalf of the Hertfordshire SEND Partnership.

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"As these proposals move through the formal consultation process, we will take time to work through the detail and understand what they mean for our local area, our services, and our families.

"Throughout this period, our commitment remains unchanged; increased investment to continue building on improvement has been allocated from the county council's budget, including £6.3m into services and support and £140m investment to increase much-needed specialist places across the county.

"We will continue to support children, young people and families through our refreshed, co‑produced SEND Strategy, and we will keep partners and families updated as national plans develop."