(England) Reform plan: secondary schools must have 'inclusion bases' for SPED students
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Feb 10, 2026, Guardian: English secondary schools must offer inclusion areas for neurodiverse and Send pupils
Special spaces are a key part of government’s planned overhaul of special educational needs support
Secondary schools in England must provide specially designed areas for neurodiverse children and pupils with special educational needs, ministers have said.
Universal “inclusion bases” are spaces away from classrooms where children with additional needs can get support for some lessons. They are seen as a key part of government plans to overhaul special educational needs and disabilities (Send) support.
Ministers have been frantically promoting a vision of a more inclusive education system, ahead of the publication of a landmark schools white paper, widely seen as the most high-stakes policy reform the government has attempted since the welfare rebellion last year.
Send provision is one of the issues MPs are most contacted about. Some fear a backlash against plans that are expected to raise the bar at which children in England qualify for an education, health and care plan, the document that legally entitles children to extra support.
The inclusion bases already exist in some schools. They are part of a £3.7bn investment to redesign the system and create up to 60,000 bespoke places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools. They could be set up in spare classrooms or purpose-built, said a spokesperson from the Department for Education on Wednesday.
New guidance published this spring will set out expectations that schools should improve inclusivity and accessibility, which could mean creating breakout rooms, accessible changing facilities, outdoor learning spaces such as sensory gardens, as well as improving lighting, acoustics and ventilation.
Avnee Morjaria, lead author of an Institute for Public Policy Research report on reforming the Send system said: “It is vital that children with Send feel school is a place where they can belong and inclusion bases are an important part of making schools more inclusive.” . . .
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the school leaders’ union NAHT, said clarity was also needed for primary schools, adding that the government also needed to focus on ensuring schools had the staff and training they needed. Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said inclusion bases were “only one half of the equation” and schools also needed funding for specialists and training.
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