The government has said children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) will benefit from its new government guidance setting out how schools, colleges and early years settings should create more inclusive learning environments.
The Department for Education said the guidance, published on 24 June 2026, is the first of its kind and aims to ensure children and young people with SEND can attend their local school, early years setting or college and “know they belong there”.
The government said families have for years faced a “postcode lottery”, with many having to fight for appropriate support, travel long distances to access it, or wait months or years for help.
Its press release said the new guidance sets out, for the first time, what families should expect from SEND provision.
Adding that this builds on the government’s commitment that every secondary school will, over time, have an inclusion base – “a dedicated space providing targeted teaching and specialist support those who need it”.
According to the guidance, inclusion bases will be run by a qualified teacher, will never be used as a sanction, and will provide access to an adapted curriculum designed to meet pupils’ needs.
The government said the bases are intended to help children “spend more time in mainstream classes alongside their peers”.
The guidance also covers the design of school, early years and post-16 education buildings. It recommends adapting physical spaces to better meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including improvements to acoustics and lighting, creating quiet or sensory spaces, and installing features such as ramps and handrails.
It also suggests schools use approaches such as structured walkthroughs or “Day in the Life” exercises to understand how children with SEND experience their environment and identify barriers to navigating school buildings.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Every child and young person deserves to feel included, without fighting for the support they need to succeed.
“We are giving schools a clear, practical blueprint to become truly inclusive, from calmer classrooms and sensory-friendly spaces, to specialist support embedded right in the heart of the school, so children can learn alongside their peers rather than miles from home.
“Every child deserves to attend a school where they belong, where the environment works for them, and where the right support is simply part of the school day. That’s what we’re building.”
The government said existing inclusion bases have delivered positive results, with 80% of parents who want their child to attend a base reporting a positive experience.
Examples cited by the Department for Education include autistic pupils in Sheffield accessing up to 100% of mainstream lessons with tailored support, all pupils leaving a base in the city moving into education, employment or training, 80% of pupils using a base in Nottinghamshire achieving strong GCSE passes in English and maths, and pupils in Oxfordshire who had previously struggled to attend school averaging 93% attendance.
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