Inclusion bases are likely to become an increasingly familiar part of mainstream education. This article explains what they are, what emerging evidence tells us, and the questions that can help leaders shape effective bases for their pupils and context.
This article is part of our inclusion base insights series, which shares practical learning from schools and trusts developing inclusion bases.
Why inclusion bases matter
More mainstream schools are developing inclusion bases for pupils with additional needs. In its recent guidance, the government says it expects to see more of them in schools by the 2027/28 academic year.
For many leaders, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge. An inclusion base has the potential to strengthen support for children and young people with additional needs, build expertise across a school and enable more pupils to learn in their local community. But like any significant change, an inclusion base needs careful thought, planning and ongoing review if it is to meet pupils’ needs.
Schools are therefore grappling with important questions. Which pupils is an inclusion base designed to support? How can it strengthen inclusion, rather than unintentionally creating separation? How should pupils move between specialist and mainstream teaching? And what knowledge and expertise do staff need to make provision successful?
There is no single answer to these questions. The evidence base is still developing, national guidance is relatively new, and schools are taking different approaches depending on the needs of their pupils and communities.
This series aims to help leaders navigate those decisions.
Rather than offering a blueprint, it brings together the experiences and insights of schools and trusts that have developed inclusion bases. Our aim is not to promote one model, but to share practical examples and questions that can support reflection, discussion and informed decision-making.
What is an inclusion base?
An inclusion base is a way for mainstream schools to provide targeted or specialist teaching and support for children and young people with additional needs. The aim is to help more pupils remain in their local school, close to family and friends, while accessing the support they need to learn and thrive.
Across the sector, schools and trusts use terms such as enhanced provision, SEND unit, resourced provision, resource base and nurture room to describe this kind of support. Throughout this series, we use ‘inclusion base’ as an umbrella term, reflecting the government’s recent guidance while recognising the range of language still used in schools.
Government guidance describes a continuum of different approaches. In some schools, pupils spend most of their time in mainstream classrooms with additional specialist support. In others, pupils spend more time learning in a dedicated space while continuing to take part in wider school life. Whatever the model, the aim is the same: to provide specialist support while enabling pupils to remain connected to their mainstream school and community wherever appropriate.
Inclusion bases are one way, but not the only – or the default – way to meet children’s needs. They should build on universal high quality teaching, school leadership and policies which support all children.
What does the evidence say about inclusion bases?
Research into inclusion bases is still developing, but it already points to some useful lessons for schools.
The National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) found both potential benefits and risks. Schools with inclusion bases often reported increased expertise in supporting pupils with SEND, stronger relationships with specialist services, and greater confidence in meeting a wider range of needs. Some schools also found that approaches first developed within inclusion bases – such as visual timetables, structured routines and sensory regulation – benefited many pupils beyond those accessing the provision.
At the same time, researchers and school leaders have identified important caveats and considerations, including notable concerns about segregating pupils. How can pupils remain connected to mainstream classes, friendships and the wider life of the school? How can specialist provision complement, rather than replace, inclusive practice? How can schools ensure pupils have access to highly skilled teachers and staff with the expertise to meet their needs?
The emerging evidence suggests that the quality of an inclusion base depends not simply on the model a school adopts, but on the decisions leaders make about how it is designed, delivered and continually improved.
Six questions to help shape effective inclusion bases
Through our work with schools, trusts and local authorities, one message came through consistently: effective inclusion bases can look very different.
Leaders were responding to different pupils, different communities and different local systems. Rather than searching for a single model to replicate, they were asking many of the same questions as they designed, reviewed and refined their approach.
Across those conversations, several themes consistently emerged. Contributors emphasised that inclusion bases should be part of a wider commitment to inclusive mainstream education, underpinned by high quality teaching, strong leadership and sustained investment in staff expertise. They also stressed that an inclusion base is one possible approach, rather than the right answer for every school or every pupil.
Those themes shaped the questions that became the framework for this series:
- Which pupils is the inclusion base designed to support?
- What is the inclusion base trying to achieve, and how will success be measured?
- How should the physical environment support pupils' needs?
- What does an ambitious curriculum look like for pupils accessing an inclusion base?
- What teaching approaches best support pupils to learn and thrive?
- How can schools build and sustain the expertise needed to make inclusion bases successful?
These are not intended as a checklist or a blueprint. Instead, they are questions to support reflection, professional discussion and informed decision-making.
In this series, experienced school and trust leaders share how they approached each of these questions in their own settings. We hope their experiences help you reflect on your own context and make informed decisions that improve the experiences and outcomes of the children and young people you serve.
