Research School Network: Inclusion Strategies: A Deadline or a Starting Point? Writing and implementing a working document
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Inclusion Strategies: A Deadline or a Starting Point?
Writing and implementing a working document
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by Aspirer Research School
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Margaret Daly
Research School Director
Margaret is the Director of Aspirer Research School and has held leadership roles in both primary and specialist settings. With over 33 years of teaching experience, she has educated children aged 3 to 19.Throughout her career, Margaret has taken on leadership responsibilities in areas such as behaviour, safeguarding and attendance, mental health, and SEND.
I can’t be the only teacher who gets an enormous sense of satisfaction from ticking things off my to-do list. Reading policies, completing compliance training, reading and responding to CPOMS notifications. There’s something quite satisfying about seeing those jobs disappear from the list, even if only briefly! Teachers and school leaders are incredibly busy, and the temptation to keep ticking off the seemingly endless list of jobs is a very real one.
With schools required to publish their inclusion strategies by 31 December 2026, I wonder whether there is a danger that we approach this in much the same way. Another job to complete, another deadline to meet. But should this deadline really be seen as the finishing line?
Monitoring for Impact
The EEF’s Guide to Inclusive Teaching(2026) identifies universal, evidence-informed approaches, such as explicit instruction, feedback, scaffolding, positive relationships and calm classrooms, that can benefit all pupils. However, as educators, we know that some children need adaptations to enable them to access the curriculum, and the adaptations we make to support one child won’t necessarily work for another.
Children develop, new pupils arrive, staff change and the needs of our communities evolve. Surely our inclusion strategies need to evolve too? After all, if we continually adapt our teaching to meet the needs of the children in front of us, why would we treat our inclusion strategy any differently?
Writing an inclusion strategy is often the easier part. Finding the time to implement it well, checking whether it is making a difference and being prepared to make changes when something isn’t working is much harder.
“Reflecting on how implementation is progressing helps people understand what’s working, for whom, in what circumstances, and why.”
This reflection helps us consider not only whether an approach is being implemented as intended, but also the difference it is making to pupil outcomes.
Keeping Our Strategy Alive Pupils’ needs change over time, and monitoring helps us identify when our approaches need adjusting. Our inclusion strategy should be a working document, one we return to regularly, not something filed away once published. Another job ticked off the to-do list and forgotten.
Some important questions to consider: - Are our chosen approaches being implemented as intended? - Are they making a difference? - What are staff, pupils and families telling us? - And importantly, are we prepared to change something when the evidence suggests we should?
December gives us a deadline to work towards, but it shouldn’t mark the end of the process.
If our pupils' needs change, surely our inclusion strategies should too?
Recommendation If you haven’t yet explored the EEF’s Guide to Inclusive Teaching, I would highly recommend taking a look. It’s packed with practical, evidence-informed approaches that can benefit all children, not just those experiencing disadvantage or with additional needs.
The scenario-based training resources are particularly useful, providing engaging starting points for meaningful professional discussions with colleagues about inclusive classroom practice.
This article explores the importance of high-quality classroom teaching alongside carefully chosen adaptations to support pupils’ individual needs.
References
Department for Education (2026) Developing an inclusion strategy using the inclusive mainstream fund. Available at: DfE inclusion strategy guidance (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
Education Endowment Foundation (2024) A School’s Guide to Implementation. 3rd edn. Available at: EEF implementation guidance (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
Education Endowment Foundation (2026) The EEF Guide to Inclusive Teaching. Available at: EEF inclusive teaching guidance (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
