SEND Reforms: Inclusion base guidance

New non-statutory guidance explaining how bases should operate has been published alongside further non-statutory guidance on making school estates more inclusive.

The bases are part of the government’s SEND reforms, aimed at making mainstream schools more inclusive. Under the reforms, pupils receiving support through new targeted plus or specialist tiers of SEND support will access this through inclusion bases. Some key points:

• There will be two models of inclusion bases – support bases, funded by individual schools, trusts, or groups of schools and specialist bases, funded by councils
• Inclusion bases must be run by a teacher
• Bases should try to offer access to mainstream classes
• Before setting up an inclusion base, schools should focus on developing a strong, inclusive universal offer across the whole school
• Access to an inclusion base, including for behavioural or pastoral support, should never be used as a sanction or for removal from the classroom
• Schools should not place children in a base without involving their parents or carers in this decision and families should be kept regularly informed about their child’s intended outcomes and what they’re learning
• Although some pupils may require significant adaptations, the curriculum in inclusion bases should be evidence-informed and regularly reviewed and able to evolve as a cohort’s strengths and needs change
• Mainstream lessons should be designed to break down barriers to children with SEND with mainstream and base teachers working together on this
• Schools should also consider using effective evidence-informed interventions from the base across the wider school

The inclusion mainstream fund (IMF) will provide over £500 million per financial year over the next 3 years to equip schools, colleges and early years settings with upfront funding to help them to become inclusive by design. Inclusive activity should be funded by the school’s core funding allocations, including their notional special SEN budget calculated and communicated by their local authority, as well as the IMF.

By December 2026, schools will be required to publish inclusion strategies setting out how they will deliver an inclusive whole-school approach. Boards will need to scrutinise and approve these strategies, including leaders’ plans for using the fund and ensuring school estates support the government’s vision for a more inclusive education system.