Four principles for designing physical spaces for inclusion bases

The physical space shapes how pupils learn, regulate, build independence, and how they connect with others. Where this is most effective, leaders shape environments around the needs of pupils to enable high quality learning, while fostering a sense of belonging and connection to the wider school.

This article explores four principles for designing effective physical spaces for inclusion bases, drawing on the experience of The GORSE Academies Trust and insights from our community of practice. It also includes a set of structured reflective questions to help leaders consider how the principles apply in their own contexts.

This article is part of our inclusion base insights series, which shares practical insights and reflection questions to help leaders shape effective inclusion bases for their pupils and context.

A note on terminology: you may use different terms to describe inclusion bases, such as enhanced provision, SEND unit, resource base, or nurture room. The schools featured in our case studies also use different terms internally. Throughout this series, we use ‘inclusion base’ for consistency and to reflect the government’s recent guidance.

Introducing inclusion bases in The GORSE Academies Trust

The GORSE Academies Trust is a medium-sized trust based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with a mission to remove the link between poverty and academic underperformance. The trust has designed inclusion bases, including Rainbow Base, Horizons, and Little London Bridge, to support pupils with autism and complex communication needs. Each setting enables pupils to access mainstream education while providing specialist support, high staff-to-pupil ratios, and bespoke facilities.

Principle one: Define the environment intentionally

Leaders of effective inclusion bases are thoughtful about the environments they create. Across GORSE, leaders set out to create calming spaces that promote emotional regulation and respect for the environment. Natural materials, neutral colours and carefully chosen resources help pupils feel safe, grounded and ready to learn. Staff explicitly teach routines and expectations for caring for shared spaces, so pupils develop a sense of ownership and pride.

As their bases have grown to support more pupils, the trust’s leaders have created larger spaces with dedicated zones for group work, individual regulation and sensory input, and where staff can see pupils at all times. The design is grounded in an understanding of pupils’ physical, developmental and sensory needs. It allows for more precise grouping of pupils, targeted teaching and ensures that the environment remains adaptable and enabling.

GORSE’s example highlights the importance of intentionally planning and designing spaces for inclusion bases. Leaders should consider how well their environment supports learning as a first priority, balances calm and stimulation, adapts to changing needs, and fosters a sense of safety and belonging for all pupils.

Principle two: Group pupils thoughtfully

The way pupils are grouped has a significant impact on the curriculum, teaching and environment a base can provide. Across GORSE, cohorts intentionally include enough pupils to allow leaders to form smaller groups with similar developmental stages or need profiles, ensuring that both the environment and pedagogy are tightly aligned. This is not without its challenges – there is more operational complexity involved in running larger groups. However, leaders carefully considered the costs and benefits, ultimately deciding to prioritise curriculum coherence. The environment has shifted towards larger classrooms over time as a result.

For example, in primary settings, some older pupils require access to play-based learning to develop early communication or motor skills. Standard early years equipment is not always suitable, so leaders have worked with local manufacturers to design bespoke, larger-scale resources that are safe and dignified for older children. Being able to build a sustainable group according to these needs made the design decisions easier and helped the base meet pupils’ needs more effectively.

Carefully grouping and adapting resources has ensured that all pupils can access developmentally appropriate experiences. Leaders across the trust’s inclusion bases regularly review the composition of peer groups and adapt the space as needs change, maintaining a balance between group and individual learning.

This example shows how thoughtful grouping can shape both learning and social development in inclusion bases. Leaders should reflect on whether their approach enables pupils to learn alongside peers with similar needs, supports flexible groupings as cohorts change, and allows all pupils to access developmentally appropriate experiences safely and with dignity.

Principle three: Prioritise hygiene, care and safety

In effective inclusion bases, decisions about care, hygiene and safety are closely connected to pupils' dignity and independence. The facilities for personal care, handwashing and intimate care in GORSE’s bases are designed to support accessibility, privacy and independence. Rather than changing pupils on beds or lying down, the bases offer cubicles with enough space for an adult to assist with toileting, which models an environment like the cubicle toilets pupils may use in future.

Leaders also prioritise pupil safety in all their decision-making. For example, when sourcing play equipment for older primary pupils, they worked closely with their supplier to adapt and reinforce equipment so that pupils can access developmentally appropriate play without compromising their safety or dignity.

This approach demonstrates the importance of robust planning for hygiene, care and safety. Leaders should consider how their facilities, procedures and staff training promote dignity, independence and security for every pupil.

Principle four: Build consistency with mainstream spaces

The connections between specialist and mainstream spaces are as important as the spaces themselves. At GORSE, mainstream classrooms reflect elements of the inclusion base, and the base is designed to feel cohesive with the rest of the school. Visual supports and routines are used across settings so that pupils feel at ease and supported when they move between spaces. For example, pupils take visual timetables with them into mainstream lessons. Staff from mainstream classes are involved in planning and reviewing provision in the base, building a shared understanding and consistency.

Leaders also carefully consider the location of each base. They have positioned spaces to offer seamless access to the mainstream environment, supporting meaningful inclusion in wider school life. They have also provided intentional ‘thresholds’: quiet corridors, transition zones or alternative entry points designed to allow pupils to move to and from the base without becoming overwhelmed.

Achieving a sense of balance and flow between environments has required thoughtful iteration. For example, in one school, therapy rooms were situated along a busy corridor due to the design of the building. Leaders found this created distractions and was not ideal for pupils who needed a calm setting, prompting them to review and adapt the environment.

The alignment between environments that leaders have created at GORSE highlights the importance of helping pupils feel connected to the wider school. Leaders should consider how consistency of routines, supports and expectations across settings strengthens pupils’ sense of belonging and security, while balancing this with the need for inclusion bases to allow calm, purposeful transitions.

Reflective questions for school leaders

Four key principles for designing physical spaces in inclusion bases emerge from The GORSE Academies Trust’s experience:

• Define the environment intentionally
• Group pupils thoughtfully
• Prioritise hygiene, care and safety
• Build consistency with mainstream spaces

To help school leaders think about how they can apply these principles successfully in their own inclusion base, they can consider the following questions:

Define the environment intentionally

• Does your cohort need a specific kind of space?
• What is the goal of the space: is it learning or regulation?
• How have you thought about the sensory experience of pupils in your base?
• What role do routines and expectations play in creating a sense of ownership and pride in the environment?

Group pupils thoughtfully

• Are pupils learning alongside peers with similar needs and developmental stages?
• How flexible are your groupings as cohorts change or grow?
• How does your physical space support you to group pupils effectively and flexibly?

Prioritise hygiene, care and safety

• How do you adapt resources and classroom design to ensure all pupils can access developmentally appropriate experiences safely and with dignity?
• What facilities and procedures are in place for hygiene, care and safety, and how are these tailored to individual pupils?
• How do you involve staff and external partners in sourcing and maintaining specialist resources?

Build consistency with mainstream spaces

• How consistent are routines, supports and expectations across the base and mainstream classrooms?
• What strategies are in place to support smooth transitions and a sense of belonging for pupils moving between spaces?

Ready to make sense of inclusion bases in your own context?

If you’ve found this case study thought-provoking, our Leading Enhanced Provision programme gives you a supportive space to work with peers and expert facilitators to make sense of your own unique context. There are no quick fixes or simple answers – just honest conversations about what inclusion bases mean for you, wherever you are on your journey.

Plus get exclusive access to an in-depth digital school visit, giving you a closer look at how different schools are approaching inclusion bases in practice.

Join us to reflect, connect, and build your confidence in leading inclusion bases.

Learn more about the Leading Enhanced Provision programme and how to register.