Developing an Effective Inclusion Strategy Pack

This pack helps you tackle the most common challenges leaders face when developing and publishing a compliant, meaningful inclusion strategy.

"What does our inclusion strategy statement actually need to include?"

The template works through every required element: barriers to learning and participation identified with evidence, activity funded to address them with tier and budgeted cost, intended outcomes with measurable success criteria, and (from 2027/28) a review of the previous year. A pre-publication checklist at the end of the template checks your strategy against both the four content requirements and the three IMF grant conditions before you publish.

"How is the inclusion strategy connected to our Inclusive Mainstream Fund allocation?"

The activity table in the Inclusion Strategy Template requires you to identify which of the seven principles each activity aligns with, whether it is Universal, Targeted, Targeted Plus or Specialist, and its total budgeted cost split across IMF and core budget. The SEND Reform Readiness template helps you build the evidence base for those decisions before you start drafting, so the strategy reflects your actual provision rather than aspirational planning.

"Do we have to use the DfE's inclusion strategy statement template?"

No, schools are free to use their own format provided it covers the same ground. The Honeyguide Inclusion Strategy Template is structured to meet all DfE requirements while providing substantially more guidance than the official version, including worked examples, guided considerations and prompts that help leaders complete each section with the right level of specificity.

"How do we involve parents, carers and pupils in our inclusion strategy?"

The Inclusion Strategy: Parent and Pupil Summary template makes this straightforward. It includes a parent and carer version for the school website or newsletter, KS1/KS2 talking points for staff to use in assemblies and circle time, and a pupil-friendly written summary suitable for older year groups. Using it means families and pupils receive a version of the strategy they can actually read and act on.

"How will Ofsted assess our inclusion strategy?"

From September 2026, the updated Ofsted inspection toolkit includes specific reference to whether leaders have developed and published an inclusion strategy. Inclusion is now a standalone graded judgement under Ofsted's renewed inspection framework, and inspectors will look at whether the strategy is embedded in everyday practice, not just whether it exists on the school website. This pack supports leaders to build a strategy that can genuinely evidence that connection.

"This feels like a whole-leadership task – how do we manage it?"

It is a whole-leadership task, and the guidance document is clear about that. It sets out who should be involved (SLT, SENDCo, SBM, pupil premium lead, attendance and behaviour lead, and governors), how to align the strategy with your pupil premium statement and school improvement priorities, and how to set short-term and longer-term outcomes that are ambitious but realistic. The five-step framework gives the process a structure that makes it manageable rather than overwhelming.