Kent
Parent advocacy and practical SEND help for families in Kent.
Use this page as a local starting point: Kent County Council's official routes for the formal process, then practical In Your Corner guidance for organising the evidence, questions and next action.
Official Kent SEND routes
Kent SEND Information Hub
Kent County Council's Local Offer covers education, health, social care, parent support and local SEND services.
Visit official information ↗IASK
Information, Advice and Support Kent is a free, confidential and impartial SEND information, advice and support service.
Visit IASK ↗SEND Enquiries Hub
Kent County Council's contact route for EHC assessment/plan updates, annual reviews, placements and general SEND enquiries.
Contact the SEND Enquiries Hub ↗EHC assessment and appeals
Kent County Council publishes information about EHC processes, mediation support and appeals.
View EHC and appeal information ↗Current Kent SEND update — November 2026
Kent County Council, NHS Kent and Medway ICB and their partners have published proposed actions responding to the six areas for improvement identified by Ofsted and CQC. The draft is a system improvement plan: it does not change individual SEND rights or pause action on an individual child's education and support.
What the draft covers
Proposals include oversight of reduced timetables and missed education, better monitoring of EHCP work, clearer communication, interim support while children wait, preparation for adulthood and action on geographical variation.
Read and respond on KCC's website ↗Keep up with changes
Our update watch brings together consequential Kent, Medway and national SEND/NHS changes and links back to the original public source.
Kent & Medway updates →Practical IYC routes
The DfE's 29 October statement lists Kent among the partnerships with approved local SEND reform plans. This is a strategic approval linked to funding and delivery monitoring, not confirmation that all existing provision is delivered. The draft inspection improvement-plan consultation has closed; families await the final response. Read the government approval update → · Primary source ↗.
How to use the two systems together
Use Kent County Council's official information for the formal local process and contact routes. Use IYC where you need help making the problem easier to evidence and communicate: what was decided, what the evidence shows, what question remains unanswered and what the next appropriate route may be.
Practical parent-advocacy guidance, not legal or clinical advice. Reviewed 9 November 2026 against the official sources linked on this page. See how we write, check and correct guidance.
Official Kent sources
Kent draft SEND Local Area Strategic Improvement Plan ↗Ofsted: Kent area SEND inspection 2026 ↗KCC response to SEND inspection — 18 September 2026 ↗Kent SEND Information Hub ↗Information, Advice and Support Kent (IASK) ↗Kent SEND Enquiries Hub ↗Kent mediation support and appeals ↗Kent EHCP secondary phase transfers ↗Kent post-16 SEND transport assistance ↗Kent County Council Early Help for families ↗Reviewed 19 October 2026. Local routes can change; Kent County Council and relevant NHS services remain the source of truth for their current processes.
Kent families may wish to respond to the council consultation by 23 November 2026; proposals are not implemented changes. Read the 12 October SEND briefing →