Inclusion and Inspection: Is Your School Ready for the New Framework? - By Gerard Strong, Director Of Education At TCES

Change in education rarely arrives at the right moment. For leaders already stretched by funding and complexity, another framework can feel like a storm rolling in. Yet this one demands attention because inclusion will no longer be judged at the margins, but at the heart of inspection.

The new framework introduces six evaluation areas, with inclusion woven across each and judged through a narrative report card. This means that how a school defines, supports, and evidences inclusion will now shape its overall inspection story. And that’s no small task, particularly when the national landscape remains turbulent.

Recent headlines reflect this reality. Earlier this week, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed that the long-awaited Schools White Paper, which includes the government’s SEND reforms, has been delayed until early 2026 to allow for further consultation with families and education experts. While the intention to “take the time to listen and get it right” has been welcomed by many, it leaves schools navigating another period of uncertainty. A recent YouGov survey found that two-thirds of teachers fear the current proposals will worsen the situation, leading to more pupils with complex needs in mainstream settings without the right support. Funding pressures are biting, and teacher capacity is stretched thin. The challenge for schools isn’t just meeting inclusion expectations, it’s sustaining inclusion in practice, day after day, lesson after lesson.

At TCES, we’ve learned that inclusion isn’t achieved by policy, paperwork, or persuasion alone. It’s achieved by design: in curriculum choices, leadership behaviours, and classroom practice. Our Inclusion Charter is built on that principle, ensuring every pupil, including those with significant SEMH or EBSA needs, remains seen, heard, and supported through consistent, relational practice.

So what does “inclusion by design” look like under the new framework? And what practical steps can schools take to be inspection-ready while staying true to their values?

From Discussion to Action: What the New Framework Demands

Inclusion has been part of the education conversation for years, but conversation alone hasn’t solved the challenge. As Carl Ward, Chair of the Foundation for Education Development (FED) and founder of the National Education Assembly (NEA), recently reminded me, we need to move from discussion to action, from debating what inclusion should look like to demonstrating what it looks like in practice.

The NEA’s work aims to bridge the gap between research, leadership, and policy, ensuring that the right information reaches those making key decisions for schools. It’s an approach that mirrors what Ofsted’s new framework calls for: evidence-led inclusion, not assumptions or slogans.

At this year’s Westminster Insight School Inspections Conference, that shift from theory to practice was evident. My contribution to the panel on Behaviour, Attitudes and Attendance explored how inclusive practice only works when it’s relational and therapeutic, not reactive or compliance-driven. We discussed how the most successful schools are redefining attendance and behaviour through belonging.

• Making wellbeing a daily routine rather than an intervention.
• Framing behaviour expectations as opportunities for connection, not control.
• Strengthening family engagement as a core strand of inclusion, not an afterthought.

It’s clear that the new Ofsted framework rewards precisely this type of proactive, evidence-backed inclusion. The focus isn’t on glossy policies or abstract principles, it’s on how leaders create the conditions for every child to participate fully and thrive.

At TCES, that’s long been our standard. Whether through the Reach Out inclusion programme, the Great Minds therapeutic model, or our zero-exclusion commitment, our work has always started from the same belief: that inclusion is strongest when it’s built in, not bolted on.

Inclusion by Design: What Leaders Can Do Now

If the new framework makes one thing clear, it’s that inclusion can’t be left to chance. It must be intentional, structured, and visible in every classroom. The Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) guidance on Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools describes high-quality teaching that is “inclusive by design”, a phrase that captures exactly what the new Ofsted evaluation areas will look for.

For senior leaders, inspection-readiness will come down to three things: visible values, coherent evidence, and staff who live inclusion daily.

The EEF identifies five evidence-based habits that form the backbone of inclusive practice:

1. Explicit instruction, ensuring explanations are clear, language is purposeful, and concepts are revisited systematically.
2. Purposeful scaffolding, supporting pupils to tackle challenging tasks and removing that support as confidence grows.
3. Cognitive and metacognitive strategies, helping pupils plan, monitor, and reflect on how they learn.
4. Flexible grouping, using real-time assessment to adapt grouping, rather than relying on fixed ability sets.
5. Technology used for learning, using tools such as visualisers and speech-to-text support to make learning accessible, not gimmicky.

At TCES, these principles underpin the LIFE curriculum and the Inclusion Charter, which guide every aspect of our practice, from teaching and leadership to pastoral and clinical work. The Charter turns inclusion from aspiration into expectation: a living document that shapes decisions, training, and daily routines.

For school leaders preparing for the new inspection framework, now is the time to:

• Align improvement plans and SEFs with the six new evaluation areas, embedding inclusion and wellbeing throughout.
• Curate evidence that shows how teaching strategies adapt to need, not only for SEND pupils, but for disadvantaged learners, those known to social care, and those facing barriers to attendance or emotional regulation.
• Strengthen staff development by making inclusion everyone’s responsibility. Coaching, peer walkthroughs, and mentoring can help translate theory into consistent classroom practice.
• Use case studies and pupil journeys to demonstrate the impact of inclusion. Inspectors want to see not just systems, but stories, how a child moved from disengagement to success through relational and adaptive support.

This is what it means to be inspection-ready without becoming inspection-led: holding fast to values while meeting the new expectations with clarity and evidence.

A New Era for Inclusion: Turning Challenge into Opportunity

No one underestimates how difficult this moment is for schools. Between rising demands, funding pressures, and new inspection expectations, inclusion can feel like yet another item on an impossible list. But the truth is, it’s the thread that holds everything else together.

The schools that will thrive under the new framework are those that see inclusion not as a compliance task, but as the culture that drives improvement. When inclusion sits at the heart of teaching, curriculum, and wellbeing, it becomes the foundation for everything else inspectors will look for achievement, attendance, behaviour, and leadership.

Across TCES, we’ve seen how powerful that approach can be. Our therapeutic education model and zero-exclusion ethos have created environments where children who were once written off find purpose and progress. Whether in our specialist schools, our online provision, or our community-based programmes, inclusion isn’t an initiative, it’s who we are.

As I shared recently during my keynote “When Inclusion Gets Personal” at the Devon School Leadership Conference, true inclusion is built on one simple truth: every child deserves to be seen, heard, and supported. That principle is timeless, but the way we evidence it must evolve.

The new inspection framework gives schools a chance to reset, to show that inclusion isn’t about perfection, it’s about presence, purpose, and progress. This is the moment to make inclusion visible, deliberate, and sustainable.

If we get inclusion right now, inspection becomes not a test but a mirror — reflecting how well we have built schools where every child belongs.