School inclusion strategy: what to include before the December 2026 deadline

What schools are being asked to do

The February 2026 Schools White Paper proposes that every school publishes an inclusion strategy setting out how it identifies and meets the needs of pupils with SEND, how it works with families, how its staff are trained, and how it uses its funding. The first statement has been signalled for 31 December 2026. Schools already publish a SEN information report under the SEN and Disability Regulations 2014; the inclusion strategy is expected to go further, with a clearer link between provision, money and impact.

A suggested structure

The Inclusive Mainstream Fund

The White Paper announced an Inclusive Mainstream Fund of around £400 million a year to help mainstream schools build inclusive provision, with illustrative averages of roughly £14,000 for a primary school and £48,000 for a secondary school. Expect to be asked what the money bought and what difference it made. A costed provision map that tags each intervention with its funding source answers the first question; entry and exit measures for each pupil answer the second.

Whole-staff SEND training

The reforms expect SEND training for all staff from September 2026. Keep a simple log of who completed what, when, the provider and the hours. It feeds the workforce section of the strategy, supports Ofsted conversations about the quality of education for pupils with SEND, and shows gaps by role.

Writing it without starting from scratch

Most of the facts in an inclusion strategy already exist in the school: the SEND register, support plans, the provision map and training records. Sendiphany’s Inclusion strategy builder sets out the sections above, inserts your own figures from those records with one click, tracks completeness, and exports to Word for governors and the website.