A toolkit to help schools and trusts develop their inclusion strategy before the 31 December deadline has been launched by Supporting Education Group (SEG).
The free materials are designed to help leaders think deeply about what their strategy needs to include before they use the Department for Education’s (DfE) guidance template.
“This Inclusion Strategy Preparation Toolkit will help schools and trusts do the thinking before the writing, so that the final strategy is rooted in context, aligned to need and capable of guiding meaningful implementation,” said Liz Murray, SEND Director at the SEG, who explains the process further in this accompanying article.
The toolkit mirrors the 5-step ongoing process for developing and refining an inclusion strategy in the DfE’s guidance, providing additional practical planning prompts and templates to prompt deep discussion and reflection.
This will help leaders build a clear picture of their context and needs, identify meaningful priorities and align funding with them, as well as strengthening inclusion through a ‘by design’ approach.
Also included in the toolkit is DfE data to help leaders understand how their school or trust SEND profile compares with national patterns, and identify areas that may require strategic attention.
“The real challenge isn’t completing the document – it’s doing the deep thinking behind it,” Murray added.
“Strong inclusion strategies don’t come from templates alone but from a clear understanding of need, honest reflection on what and what isn’t working and well-informed decisions about where time, resources and investment is focused.”
The preparation toolkit for inclusion strategy development is now available as a free download.
