What can I do if my child's TA support is cut?

Find out which framework the support sits under first

Check first whether the TA support is named in Section F of an EHC plan: if it is, the council has an absolute legal duty to secure it and cannot cut it without issuing a formal amended plan. That one question decides everything else, so start there. A teaching assistant (TA) cut means very different things depending on whether your child has an Education, Health and Care plan (EHC plan) with that support written into Section F – the part of the plan that names the special educational provision – or is on SEN Support without a plan.

Ask the SENCO in writing what is changing

Email the school's SENCO (special educational needs co-ordinator) and ask three things in plain terms: what exactly is being reduced, why, and is this support named in Section F of an EHC plan? Put it in writing so you have a record and a date. Schools sometimes frame a TA cut as a budget decision; the budget is the school's concern, but if the support is in a plan, a budget is not a lawful reason to remove it.

If it is Section F provision: the council has to secure it

Where the support is named in Section F, the duty to deliver it sits with the local authority, not the school, and it is absolute (section 42 of the Children and Families Act 2014). There is no “best endeavours” defence and no budget defence – if the school cannot or will not deliver it, the council must step in another way. IPSEA sets this out: the duty is not affected by how the school chooses to spend its funding. The provision must also continue unchanged until a final amended plan is issued, so a mid-year cut announced informally is unlawful. Write to the council's SEN team, name its section 42 duty, and ask for immediate reinstatement.

If there is no EHC plan: the route is different

On SEN Support, there is no individual legal entitlement to a set amount of TA time, so demanding reinstatement on legal grounds will not work. If your child's needs have grown and the support is no longer enough, the right move is to request an EHC needs assessment from the council yourself (section 36 of the Children and Families Act 2014). You do not need the school's agreement to do this.

How to escalate if it is not resolved

Complain through the council's formal complaints process, in writing, asking for a final response.
If that fails, take the complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which handles council delay and undelivered EHC plan support.

One thing on the horizon, not the present: the February 2026 Schools White Paper proposes a new Individual Support Plan and changes to the SEND system. None of it changes the law today – current EHC plans are protected and no EHCP changes take effect before September 2030.