Inclusion Leadership

Are you stepping into the role of SENDCo but wondering where to start or which tasks to prioritise? Firstly, congratulations! And secondly, don't worry – this free Honeyguide checklist will support your thinking right from the start.

As a SENDCo, you have the important task of supporting students with special educational needs and disabilities, something which can feel challenging as you get used to the role. But don't worry, we're here to support you every step of the way with our comprehensive list designed specifically for new SENDCos. Whether you're a newly appointed SENDCo, taking over from a previous SENDCo, or moving from assistant SENDCo to lead SENDCo, we've outlined key tasks for your first few weeks, half-term and full term to help you feel organised and confident. 

🔒 In-line with the Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) requirements for the 31 December 2026 inclusion strategy deadline.

Every mainstream school in England must publish an inclusion strategy statement on its school website by 31 December 2026. This free pack goes beyond the DfE inclusion strategy template to include a fully guided inclusion strategy statement template, two additional tools to support your planning process, and a guidance document that walks your leadership team through each step from identifying barriers to publishing a compliant strategy.

You'll get:

☑️ Free inclusion Strategy Template – covering everything your strategy statement needs to include
☑️ SEND Reform Readiness template – to map current provision against the new tiered model before you write
☑️ Inclusion Strategy: Parent and Pupil Summary template – to communicate your strategy to families and pupils across different key stages
☑️ Developing an Effective Inclusion Strategy guidance – a five-step planning guide for school leaders

All templates are fully editable so you can adapt them for your school's specific context.

🔒 Fully aligned to the Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2026

This Inclusion Audit Pack helps SENDCos, DSLs, inclusion leads, designated teachers and SLT review inclusion, SEND and disadvantaged pupil provision across eight comprehensive areas. Aligned with Ofsted's 2026 School Inspection Toolkit, it supports self-evaluation, continuous improvement and strategic leadership for inclusive education.

☑️ Comprehensive 39-page inclusion audit document with structured prompts across eight key themes: inclusive vision and culture, identifying and meeting needs, supporting disadvantaged pupils, supporting pupils with SEND, supporting pupils known (or previously known) to children's social care, inclusive practice across curriculum and wider school life, partnerships with families and services, and evaluating impact

☑️ Complete audit toolkit includes action plan template, inclusion evidence checklist, staff, pupil, parent/carer and governor question bank, a one-page SLT/governor summary, Ofsted inclusion grade descriptor grids and guidance on conducting an effective audit

☑️ Supports comprehensive review of SEND provision, pupil premium strategies, looked-after and previously looked-after pupil provision, and wider inclusive practice with confidence and clarity 

☑️ Fully editable templates allow you to adapt all materials for your school's specific context and priorities

Ideal for SENCOs, inclusion leaders, pupil premium champions, designated teachers for looked-after children, and deputy or assistant heads with responsibility for  inclusion, whether preparing for inspection, reviewing provision or planning next steps for school improvement.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the audit pack🔗 

👉 This audit pack is part of our Complete School Leadership Audit Set, which includes eleven audits in one purchase, saving you money whilst ensuring you can evaluate your entire school provision across all Ofsted evaluation areas plus three essential good practice audits.

🔒 Fully aligned to the 2026 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit

🔒 Fully aligned to the Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2026

This SEND Self-Evaluation Form (SEF) template helps SENDCos and inclusion leaders evaluate their setting's SEND provision, strengths and development areas and is aligned with all  areas of the Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit.

You'll get:

☑️ SEND SEF template with structured criteria across all key areas of SEND leadership: leadership and governance, safeguarding, curriculum and teaching, attendance and behaviour, personal development and well-being, working with parents, assessment and identification, achievement, monitoring and evaluation, efficient use of resources, quality of SEND provision, and pupil perspectives

☑️ Reflective questions in each section to support critical, evidence-based evaluation of your SEND provision, plus guidance on where to find multiple sources of evidence to support your judgements

☑️ Ofsted Grade Descriptor Grids fully aligned to the 2026 toolkit, with particular focus on the Inclusion strand to inform your self-evaluation decisions

The template is fully editable so you can adapt it for your school's specific context and SEND cohort.

Who should use this template?

This is essential for SENCos, inclusion leaders and SEND coordinators responsible for evaluating provision for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. It's particularly valuable for new SENDCos building their self-evaluation practice, or experienced leaders who need structured headspace to evaluate SEND strategically rather than getting lost in day-to-day operational demands. Headteachers and SLT with SEND oversight will also find it useful for monitoring inclusion provision.

🔒 Fully aligned to the 2026 Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit

Ofsted inspection can feel overwhelming when you're a SEND coordinator, especially if you're new to the role or haven't experienced an inspection under the current framework.

Designed specifically for SENDCos, this focused preparation pack translates the 2026 School Inspection Toolkit into practical guidance about your role during inspection. You'll understand when and how you'll engage with inspectors, what questions they're likely to explore and how to demonstrate the excellent inclusion work you're already doing day-to-day.

You'll get:

☑️ SENDCo Inspection Role Guidance – clear explanation of when you'll be involved during inspection, what happens during the inclusion meeting and case sampling, and what inspectors want to understand from you

☑️ Example Ofsted SENDCo Questions – realistic questions you might be asked during your inclusion meeting with inspectors and inclusion learning walks, helping you practise articulating your approach and identify any areas to strengthen

☑️ Further supporting documents – including a leader action checklist to build your inspection knowledge, an inclusion inspection readiness tool to evaluate your current practice against toolkit statements, and editable grade descriptor grids highlighting inclusion across the framework

This Ofsted SENDCo resources pack helps to build your confidence to articulate your work clearly and supports you to prepare effectively without creating unnecessary workload. All templates are fully editable so you can adapt them for your school's specific context and use them as part of your ongoing SEND leadership, not just for inspection preparation.

👉 Looking for further support on preparing for inspection? These resources are also available as part of the full Ofsted Inspection Preparation Pack too.

🔒 Fully aligned to the final Ofsted School Inspection Toolkit 2025

Support your school prepare for Ofsted's new School Inspection Toolkit 2025 with this comprehensive Inclusion update pack - everything you need to understand the changes, brief your team, and ensure your school is inspection-ready.

☑️ Staff & Governor Briefing PowerPoint (23 slides) – Ready-to-use presentation covering all new inclusion requirements, from identifying, assessing and meeting needs to support for pupils who face barriers to learning

☑️ Toolkit vs. Handbook Comparison Document – Clear side-by-side analysis of what's changed from the scattered requirements about disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND in the old Ofsted framework to the new strengthened requirements in the standalone Inclusion evaluation area, plus the inclusion threads that run across the entire toolkit

☑️ Understanding Ofsted's Toolkit Guide – Easy-to-digest breakdown of the new evaluation criteria, with practical considerations for school leaders who hold responsibility for inclusion

☑️ Leader Action Checklist – Strategic planning tool to help you implement the changes across your school community

☑️ Editable Grade Descriptor Grid – Customisable toolkit reference for your leadership team

Perfect for: Headteachers, SLT members, and anyone responsible for inclusion (such as SENCos, DSLs, designated teachers and pupil premium champions) preparing for Ofsted inspection under the new 2025 School Inspection Toolkit, or wanting to ensure their provision in inclusion meets the latest requirements.

Save hours of research time – we've analysed the new toolkit so you can focus on implementing the changes that matter most for your pupils' outcomes.

🔎 Want a closer look? Click here to preview the update pack🔗 

🔒 Fully aligned to the April 2026 DfE guidance on restrictive interventions

Get your school compliant with the April 2026 DfE guidance on restrictive interventions with this practical seven-resource pack for headteachers, SENDCos, behaviour leads and pastoral teams. The guidance replaces the 2013 Use of Reasonable Force advice and introduces new statutory recording and reporting duties – this pack helps you understand what has changed, audit your current practice and policy, and get the right systems in place.

You'll get a:

☑️ Leader Action Checklist that works through every area of the guidance – from statutory recording and reporting duties to policy, SEND support, staff training and governing body oversight – so you can identify your most urgent actions and plan your response 

☑️ Policy Checklist to audit your existing policy against the new statutory requirements and identify any gaps before governors are asked to ratify it 

☑️ Behaviour Risk Assessment Form and Pupil Behaviour Support Plan Template to support individual pupils where there is an identified risk of needing to use reasonable force, with a focus on de-escalation and preventative strategies

☑️ Use of Restrictive Intervention and Reasonable Force Log with every statutory recording field built in, so leaders can record incidents compliantly and meet the same-day notification duty with confidence

☑️ Staff Training Presentation – a ready-made PowerPoint covering the guidance changes, staff legal powers, the three-part assessment and recording responsibilities – all ready to use in a staff meeting with no preparation needed. Please note: this is not safe handling or physical restraint training that instructs staff how to safely restrain a pupil.

☑️ 12 Restrictive Intervention Scenarios to build staff confidence in applying the guidance – ideal for drip-feeding into briefings and staff meetings across the year