Expert staff who know their pupils are at the centre of any effective inclusion base.
When an inclusion base is the right approach, investing in developing staff expertise over time helps every child benefit from high quality teaching and support. Many leaders see this as an opportunity to build and sustain expertise and confidence across the wider school, as well as within the base itself.
This article explores three principles for building and supporting the teams that make inclusion bases effective, drawing on the experience of Redriff Primary School 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 the inclusion base at Redriff Primary School
Redriff Primary School has one of the largest inclusion bases in Southwark, Central London, offering 22 places for children with autism who have an education, health and care plan. Children in the base take part in all aspects of school life, with most spending at least 50% of their time in mainstream classes.
As pupils’ needs have grown more complex, Redriff has built a confident, skilled team who can support every child across the school.
Principle one: Bring together complementary expertise
Leaders of effective inclusion bases recognise that the quality of provision cannot exceed the quality of their staff. At Redriff, leaders have brought together teachers, specialist teaching assistants, inclusion officers, learning mentors and therapists. This mix combines diverse and complementary expertise and ensures staff and pupils can always access the right support.
Leaders make sure staff have regular chances to learn from one another. The inclusion team meets every two weeks to discuss pupils, share insights from practice, and review the impact of strategies on pupil outcomes. These conversations help staff build a shared understanding, test their thinking, and improve their approaches together. The team also ensures that decisions about how best to support pupils are informed by those working most closely with pupils, and that the base remains responsive to changing needs.
Redriff’s example highlights the importance of investment in staff expertise and teamwork. Leaders should review their staffing structures, recruitment, and ongoing staff development to support the vision and effectiveness of their provision.
Principle two: Deploy the right expertise in the right place
Every child in an inclusion base deserves to be taught by a qualified teacher and supported by a well-planned team of staff. At Redriff, a qualified class teacher is always responsible each child’s progress and outcomes – even when pupils spend time in the base or join specialist teaching groups. Teachers are actively involved in planning and reviewing provision for pupils with additional needs, working in partnership with teaching assistants and support staff work, not as substitutes. The school regularly observes and gives feedback on adaptive teaching – both in the provision and in mainstream classrooms – with a focus on meaningful adjustments for pupils with higher levels of need.
Leaders also think carefully about how different roles are deployed so that every pupil has access to the right support at the right time. They check and review staffing ratios to make sure pupils have access to qualified adults who are attuned to their needs throughout the school day. The inclusion officer provides additional capacity for modelling and feedback, while the wider inclusion team ensures that support is coordinated and responsive. By focusing on ratios, leaders can give pupils the right level of support, including one-to-one help where needed.
Like at Redriff, leaders of inclusion bases should remain alert to the risks of over-reliance on support staff and keep teachers central to planning, delivery and accountability. With the right staffing mix and teachers at the heart of provision, every pupil can get expert teaching and consistent support, whatever their needs or timetable.
Principle three: Embed ongoing, whole-school professional development
Sustained, high quality professional development is essential for building and maintaining the expertise of the team supporting pupils in an inclusion base – and across the whole school. Redriff has developed a comprehensive staff development programme for all staff, shaped by a needs analysis survey and the school’s priorities.
Support staff’s contracted hours can create a barrier to them joining professional development. At Redriff, some had hours that did not align with training opportunities. Leaders worked with them to restructure contracts, so staff could join daily targeted development before pupils arrive, as well as longer sessions each half term. Training sessions are practical and focused, covering topics including communication strategies, sensory regulation, and behaviour support. Inclusion officers regularly observe, feedback, and model in class, helping teaching assistants to use inclusive strategies and ensuring all pupils can fully access to the curriculum.
To build collective efficacy (the shared belief that staff can achieve their goals) Redriff has created structured opportunities for connection and reflection among teaching assistants. This includes half-termly team sessions and a team contract with shared goals and expectations.
Leaders make sure professional development builds staff expertise both in the base and across the school. Teachers receive high quality, inclusion-focused professional development aligned with school priorities, such as the use of colourful semantics and adaptive teaching toolkits. Redriff also invests in ongoing staff development and progression, recognising that this leads to pupil progress. For example, two support staff are currently undertaking Level 6 and Qualified Teacher Status apprenticeships.
Drawing on Redriff’s example, leaders should ensure professional development is ongoing, inclusive, and tailored to the needs of all roles across the whole school – including teaching, support, pastoral, and office staff. Just as importantly, they should consider how recruitment, deployment and professional development work together to build and sustain specialist expertise over time. Monitoring the impact on staff confidence, expertise, and pupil outcomes is key to continuous improvement.
Reflective questions for school leaders
Redriff’s experience brings three principles for workforce design and development in inclusion bases to life:
- Bring together complementary expertise
- Get the right expertise in the right place
- Embed ongoing, whole-school professional development
To help school leaders reflect on how these principles can be embedded and strengthened in their own context, they can consider the following questions:
Bring together complementary expertise
- How does your leadership team ensure a high-performing team is central to the vision and success of your inclusion base?
- What processes are in place to recruit, retain and develop staff with the right expertise and values?
- How do you structure your team to bring together staff with diverse and complementary expertise?
- How frequently do you create opportunities for collaboration and shared decision-making among staff working in and around the base?
Get the right expertise in the right place
- How do you guarantee that every pupil in the inclusion base is taught by a qualified teacher, with clear accountability for progress and outcomes?
- How do you determine and review staffing ratios to ensure pupils have access to suitably qualified adults throughout the school day?
- How do you deploy support staff to provide targeted, responsive support without substituting for the teacher’s role?
Embed ongoing, whole-school professional development
- How do you identify and address the professional development needs of all staff, including teaching, support, pastoral and office staff?
- How do you ensure professional development is practical, evidence-informed and responsive to emerging priorities?
- What systems are in place to monitor the impact of professional development on staff confidence and expertise, as well as pupil outcomes?
- How do you support staff progression, including routes to higher qualifications and leadership roles?
- How do you ensure that professional development builds expertise both within and beyond the base, supporting inclusion across the whole school?
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 with Redriff Primary School, 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.
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