£500m for SEND: New Inclusion Guidance for Schools and Colleges

• First of its kind guidance on creating dedicated teaching and support spaces for children with SEND
• Buildings to be designed around children and young people with SEND under new guidance
• Guidance to help schools, colleges and early years build SEND inclusivity

Children and young people with SEND across the country will be able to attend their local school, early years and college and know they belong there, as the government delivers a first of its kind package of advice to guarantee inclusion for all.

For years families have faced a postcode lottery that has left hundreds of thousands fighting for the right support, travelling miles to access it or waiting months or years to receive it.

Today, the government is taking an important step to end this lottery through clear expectations on how settings can design their SEND provision so children and young people can thrive.

For the first time, new guidance sets out what families can expect to see on the ground, building on the commitment that every secondary school will, in time, have an inclusion base – a dedicated space providing targeted teaching and specialist support those who need it.

Inclusion bases will be run by a qualified teacher, never used as a sanction, and allow access to an adapted, broad, ambitious curriculum to meet the needs of every child, serving as a bridge to school life rather than a barrier to it.

That means more time for children in mainstream classes alongside their friends and will put a stop to inconsistent and patchy provision where children feel excluded from the wider school – being left out of lessons, trips or activities.

The bases go hand in hand with an overhaul on physical spaces including classrooms, with landmark guidance for schools, early years and post-16, setting out a roadmap for how settings can adapt buildings that are shaped around the real experience of a child or young person with SEND. Whether that’s starting their day through an alternative entrance or taking time out in a calmer space, every child will be able to navigate the day with confidence.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

“Every child and young person deserves to feel included, without fighting for the support they need to succeed.

“We are giving schools a clear, practical blueprint to become truly inclusive, from calmer classrooms and sensory-friendly spaces, to specialist support embedded right in the heart of the school, so children can learn alongside their peers rather than miles from home.

“Every child deserves to attend a school where they belong, where the environment works for them, and where the right support is simply part of the school day. That’s what we’re building.”

The results where high-quality inclusion bases already exist are striking. Eight in ten parents (80%) who want their child to attend a base report a positive experience, and nationwide they are delivering strong outcomes.

In Sheffield, autistic pupils access up to 100% of mainstream lessons with tailored support and every single pupil from the base has entered education, employment or training after leaving, in Nottinghamshire 80% of pupils accessing a base achieve strong passes in GCSE Maths and English and in Oxfordshire, pupils who previously struggled to attend school at all are now averaging 93% attendance.

To make sure the whole site meets the needs of children, the Inclusive Estates guidance suggests tools for understanding the daily experience of a child or young person with SEND, such as structured walkthroughs or “Day in the Life” approaches to identify challenges in navigating the physical space.  It will include tangible improvements including adapting acoustics and light, introducing quiet and calm spaces like sensory gardens or installing ramps or handrails.

Schools, early years settings and colleges in every area of the country will also shortly receive their share of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, with over £500 million allocated this year to support settings to invest in high-quality adaptive teaching, inclusive whole-school approaches and evidence-based support.

Sector Reaction

Annamarie Hassall MBE, CEO nasen, said:

“This guidance reflects the strong practice already happening across many schools, where dedicated staff are finding creative and effective ways to support children and young people with SEND to feel included and succeed. Importantly, the guidance has been developed with the sector, for the sector, includes examples of current practice set out as six principles along with clearer, shared language. We welcome the guidance in helping to create greater consistency and understanding across the system so that every learner can truly achieve and thrive.”

Hayley Harding, Founder, Let Us Learn Too, said:

“For too long, too many families of children and young people with SEND have had to battle for support that should never have depended on where they live. This guidance represents an important step towards making inclusion something children experience every day, not just a principle written on paper. Inclusion is about more than a place in a classroom, it’s about belonging, understanding and making sure every child can access learning, friendships and opportunities in a way that works for them.”

Kiran Gill, Founder and Chief Executive, The Difference, said:

“Every child deserves to belong in their school, not to be left out of lessons, trips and friendships. The Difference welcomes guidance that designs schools around children with wellbeing and safeguarding needs and is clear that inclusion bases should be a bridge into mainstream learning, never a sanction. Teachers want this for every child – so it must come with the training, time and specialist support to make it possible. The challenge now is to make inclusion real everywhere, and to measure it, so it stops being a postcode lottery.”

Jane Harris, Chief Executive of Speech and Language UK, said: 

“Requiring every school to have an inclusion strategy is a welcome step and something Speech and Language UK has long pushed for. It should create greater accountability for governors and school leaders to build truly inclusive schools.

“30% of children with SEND have speech and language challenges, and many more struggle with talking and understanding words because of poverty and disadvantage.

“We hope this guidance encourages schools to invest in evidence-informed language support at every key stage, including targeted group language programmes and adaptive teaching for the three children in every classroom with lifelong challenges such as Developmental Language Disorder.”