Three principles for setting aims and measuring success in inclusion bases

This article explores three principles for setting a purpose and aims, and measuring against them, drawing on the experience of The Willows inclusion base at New Marston 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 Willows

The Willows is a school-led inclusion base at New Marston Primary School, Oxford, which is part of River Learning Trust. It was set up in September 2024 to support children aged five to eight whose primary needs relate to communication and interaction. Each class is led by a qualified teacher and experienced staff. The Willows offers an adapted curriculum, and like any classroom, the pupils have individual targets. Smaller class sizes of eight allow more bespoke support from the qualified teacher.

The base operates Monday to Thursday, with pupils returning to their home schools on Fridays to maintain connections with their peers and communities.

Principle one: Define the rationale

Leaders of effective inclusion bases are completely clear about why it exists, who it supports, and what it is setting out to achieve. At The Willows, early decisions about the base were shaped by a clear view of the challenge it was intended to address.

Across several primary schools, pupils with complex communication and interaction needs had previously been supported through intervention with teaching assistants and reduced timetables. Leaders recognised that meeting these pupils’ needs within mainstream classrooms often required significant additional one-to-one support which, given the constraints of education, health and care plan (EHCP) funding, was not a sustainable long-term solution. They concluded that even a strong mainstream offer would not consistently serve these pupils as effectively as a dedicated inclusion base.

The Willows team articulated a clear rationale: to establish a dedicated, expertly staffed inclusion base to meet children’s communication and language needs more fully than in mainstream settings. They then consulted with families through the admissions process. This in turn shaped the curriculum, with a focus on supporting pupils towards meaningful, aspirational outcomes both within and beyond the school gates.

Being explicit about this rationale – and reinforcing it through documentation, family engagement and staff development – enabled the team to define success in concrete terms. It also allowed the team to develop a clear theory of change: a shared understanding of how the base’s inputs and approaches were expected to lead to improved outcomes and experiences for pupils, and how this compared to alternative forms of support.

This example highlights a key feature of effective inclusion bases: articulating a well-defined rationale underpinned by a clear theory of change. When the purpose is clear – who the base is for, the challenge it will address, and why this approach has been chosen above and beyond the mainstream offer – it provides a foundation for setting meaningful aims for each child and for the base as a whole.

Principle two: Measure what matters

Leaders of effective inclusion bases work with staff, families and external partners to define what success would look like, both for individual pupils and for the base. At The Willows, this stakeholder engagement resulted in three clear objectives:

1. Pupils make progress that is significant for them, compared to their previous experience.
2. Pupils grow in independence and confidence, taking part in a wider range of activities both at school and at home.
3. Pupils develop their communication, so they can express their wants and needs more effectively.

To evaluate how well the base is meeting its aims, The Willows use a blend of validated assessment tools. These include VB-Mapp to assess and track small step objectives based on communication and language delays, and PIVATs for objectives aligned to mainstream curriculum areas for children working below age-related expectations. Leaders also incorporate staff observations, specialist advice, and feedback from families. They set personalised targets for each pupil, broken down into small steps, and track progress at both pupil and base level.

The team provide regular professional development for staff in both the base and in the mainstream schools, building their expertise in both formative assessment and how to implement and interpret results of validated tools. Staff notice and celebrate small steps in learning, social behaviour and listening skills.

This example suggests three key questions leaders can ask themselves when deciding how to measure success in inclusion bases:

• Which needs is this base intended to meet?
• Which pupils will the base serve, and how will this be kept under review?
• What does success look like for them, both now and in the future?

Once leaders understand what success looks like for the base and the pupils, they can define measures that can help them evaluate how well the base is meeting its aims. There may be validated assessment tools that can help, though in other areas they may be more reliant on teacher and expert judgement.

Measuring what matters means setting clear aims and using a holistic set of success measures to measure progress towards these. Measures need to be meaningful for each pupil but also provide insight into the overall success of the inclusion base.

Principle three: Review regularly

As with all education settings, regular reviews are central to effective inclusion bases. At The Willows, each term, staff, families and external experts come together to reflect on what is working and what could be better. They ask questions such as: Are we meeting the needs of every pupil? Is this base still the right fit, or do we need to adapt?

For example, early on, teaching staff aimed to set up a range of different, simultaneous activities pupils could choose from. However, in practice pupils found this overstimulating and disruptive. This led to a change to short, focused teacher-led inputs, followed by a short task.

Leaders ensure they include the right people in review processes. Pupils at The Willows return to their mainstream schools each Friday, so staff from these schools are always involved in reviews.

The Willows schedule reviews at least every six weeks to monitor progress, set new targets and respond to changing needs. Annual reviews for pupils with EHCPs provide a structured opportunity to consider whether the base remains fit for purpose. The team revisits the central question: does the base still meet the needs of the pupils it serves? They make adaptions in response to changing needs and evidence from reviews.

The Willows’ experience underlines that reviewing and evaluating provision in inclusion bases is an ongoing process. Effective leaders plan for regular reviews from the very beginning, building in opportunities to reflect on:

• The current needs of the pupil population and the local context, and how these shape the purpose and role of the base.
• The effectiveness of the base as a whole.
• The progress and experiences of each individual pupil.
• The views of all stakeholders, including staff, pupils, families and external experts. These could be collected through surveys or more informally, through conversation.

Regular reviews ensure that the base remains responsive and effective, allowing leaders to adapt aims and approaches as needs change.

Reflective questions for school leaders

The Willows’ example brings three principles for setting aims and measuring success in inclusion bases to life:

• Define the rationale
• Measure what matters
• Review regularly

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

Define the rationale

• What is the rationale for your inclusion base, and how clearly is it expressed?
• What other options have you considered for meeting pupils’ needs, and how do they compare to your proposed or existing inclusion base?

Measure what matters

• How ambitious are your aims, and how well are they understood by all stakeholders?
• How accurately will your measures of success allow you to evaluate your aims?
• How well do your measures of success balance academic, social, emotional, physical and life skills development?
• Is the base as a whole set up to measure success in a range of ways?
• Do measures of success for individual pupils account for a range of areas?

Review regularly

• What systems do you use for assessment and monitoring, and how do they inform improvement planning?
• How do you assess and monitor the effectiveness of the base as a whole?
• How do you use formative assessment to track and respond to individual pupils’ progress?
• How do you involve all stakeholders in reviews and target-setting?
• What does this look like at a whole-base level? Who needs to be involved and how
• What does it look like at an individual pupil level? How are families and other adults around the child brought into the process?

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.

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