Guidance

Inclusive mainstream fund: best practice for 16 to 19 settings

Published 25 March 2026

Applies to England

The inclusive mainstream fund will help support mainstream settings delivering 16 to 19 provision, in the transition towards a reformed education system that is inclusive by design.

The grant was announced in the schools white paper Every child achieving and thriving and the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) reform consultation document Putting children and young people first which set out the government’s plan to place inclusion at the heart of mainstream by ensuring every child and young person receives high-quality, adaptive teaching and early help when they need it. Alongside provider’s core funding allocations, it should be used to equip settings to plan, prepare and embed evidence-informed best practice to build a more inclusive offer for children and young people with SEND.

To ensure that the inclusive mainstream fund is focused on providing more resource to meaningfully deliver inclusive practice, settings will be expected to use their funding to understand the needs of their cohort and strategically plan to implement whole-setting approaches to inclusion that will remove commonly occurring and predictable barriers to learning.

Providers will also be able to spend this funding on the development of targeted evidence-based support for students whose needs cannot be met through the universal offer alone.

This money may be used alongside the inclusive practice courses and package of high-quality materials that will be provided as part of the recently announced £200 million continuing professional development (CPD) programme.

The universal offer

The inclusive mainstream fund will help equip and empower mainstream settings to deliver a stronger inclusive mainstream system. Central to a stronger inclusive mainstream system is a strong universal offer built on whole-setting approaches which enable young people with barriers to learning to achieve and thrive.

As part of the universal offer, we expect mainstream settings to embed inclusive practice in line with 7 areas of inclusion:

• ambitious leadership and governance that embed inclusion in planning
• evidence-based support prioritising early intervention
• high-quality, adaptive teaching
• accessible and enriching provision
• creating a safe and nurturing culture
• supporting and working with families in partnership
• creating inclusive environments with continuous improvements to accessibility

Inclusive ordinarily available provision based on the above will benefit all learners, not only those with SEND. Young people learning alongside their peers has proven academic and social benefits for all, as high-quality, evidence-based teacher led provision that differentiates for all needs and strengths can increase engagement, belonging, and participation. The universal offer will equip leaders and teachers in mainstream settings with the tools and confidence to meet a range of commonly occurring, predictable needs whenever they arise or escalate.

Settings will be required to set out how they will use their inclusive mainstream fund allocation to improve the quality of their universal offer.

Further guidance and information on how to plan inclusive activities and approaches to meeting cohort needs will be published this summer, alongside a menu of approaches that can be drawn on to embed inclusion.

Options for spend

Ambitious leadership and governance

To embed leadership and governance which puts inclusion at the heart of planning and policies, you may choose to invest funding in understanding and planning to meet the common and predictable needs of your cohort. This could include:

• strengthening systems for data collection and analysis to better understand the needs of students across your cohort
• specialist advice to support improvement of policies and planning to consider the needs of their cohort
• sharing learning resources within a local area or with local settings, through forming peer support networks, mentorship programmes and coaching

Evidence-based targeted support

Early, evidence-based, effective support can help young people with SEND achieve better outcomes and reduce any gaps in attainment with their peers. For young people with additional needs that cannot be met through the universal offer of support alone, targeted provision should be implemented as soon as needs emerge. Settings may choose to spend their additional funding on:

• recruiting additional staff to learning support teams or to support the administrative functions of onboarding learners with SEND
• exploring how different models of support can be delivered

High-quality, adaptive teaching

Evidence shows that learners with SEND benefit most of all from receiving high-quality, inclusive teacher-led provision that differentiates for all needs. These strategies will already be in teachers’ toolkits, and could include:

• training costs for introducing new approaches to enhance teachers’ inclusive pedagogy, such as changes to teaching strategies, curriculum adjustments or access to group support
• mentoring sessions for teachers and leaders to aid their own development
• establishing peer-led models of support across different vocational and academic areas and courses to provide support between learners with similar learning and development needs and experiences
• in-house training and upskilling on reflection and personalisation of teaching strategies and curriculum for a range of needs
• adapting quality assurance and CPD around the needs of young people with SEND for the benefit of all learners

Accessible and enriching provision

All learners should be able to participate and enjoy student life, including enrichment activities, visits and social clubs. Providers should ensure that all opportunities are inclusive to maximise engagement and participation, and could consider:

• delivering activities and wider opportunities for learners to prepare for adulthood and independence
• investing in planning for adaptations into enrichment activities to ensure all learners can fully participate including scaffolded access, reasonable adjustments and clearly communicating to learners how such activities will aim to be inclusive

A safe and nurturing culture

Settings should ensure consistent processes are in place to identify and support all learners’ wellbeing needs. Diversity should be celebrated, difference should be welcomed, and all learners should feel safe, respected and nurtured. Settings could invest in:

• training and resources to support a culture of continuous improvement, such as understanding individual learning goals and adapting to learner needs
• peer networks for learners with similar needs, backgrounds and experiences
• supporting learners’ wellbeing on campus outside lessons
• planning of onboarding for new learners and transitions, with graduated exposure for those who need it, including joint transition planning with local schools

Supporting and working with families in partnership

Where appropriate, parents and carers should be treated as partners with their voices represented in the decision-making process for provision. Settings may choose to spend their additional funding on:

• delivering informal sessions or information evenings to parents and carers of learners with additional needs, particularly at the point of transition into and out of their studies
• inviting external agencies and specialists to lead workshops for parents and carers

Creating an inclusive environment

Settings may wish to utilise their additional funding for:

• creation of visual resources, such as accessible campus maps and clearly signed student services
• investment in assistive technology including recruitment of an assistive technology coordinator as part of additional learning support teams
• introducing sensory and regulation tools into classrooms and communal spaces
• introducing additional break out and sensory spaces for students needing space for emotional regulation
• increased support with transitions and outreach to feeder schools including open evenings, student advice sessions and taster days
• creating of transition packages for learners to further support their transition from school
• creation of a SEND toolkit for teachers and leaders to draw from to guide responding to learning and development needs as they emerge

What good transition practice looks like

Derby College: effective transitions from school to 16 to 19 for students with SEND 

Derby College has developed an effective approach for SEND students transitioning from school to their 16 to 19 college. The college has designed an 8 step transition package which supports students from an initial assessment to enrolment.

The college offers one-to-one transition and support packages that are designed to find the right level of support for each student. The transition packages are designed to enable regular engagement with the student and offer an insight into college life to reduce anxiety and enable a successful transition from school to college.

In one example, a student applied to Derby College and shared their support plan including their education, health and care (EHC) plan. The college admission process includes the SEND and learning support team inviting the student for an initial assessment before developing a bespoke 10-month transition package to ensure a successful transition from school to college.

The student attended site tours and met with student support services to provide an initial view of the college before developing a support plan with the learning support team and attending 2 curriculum taster day. The student successfully enrolled and progressed from a level 2 to a level 3 course the next academic year.

The 8 steps of Derby College transition package

Step 1: site tour (repeated on 3 occasions)

Step 2: meet and greet with ‘student support services’.

Step 3: attended year 11 annual review

Step 4: curriculum interview

Step 5: support planning meeting with the ‘learning support team’.

Step 6: student support service transition day (repeated on 2 occasions)

Step 7: curriculum taster day (repeated on 2 occasions)

Step 8: enrolment and induction

Examples of how settings have improved inclusion

Universal support service (USS): strengthening transition processes in college settings

A member of the senior leadership team within a college group described how the USS SEND provider review led to significant improvements in their transition processes for learners with SEND, including those with an EHC plan.

One leader explained that, because the college operates across multiple campuses, achieving consistency in processes and protocols had always been a challenge. Engaging in the college SEND provider review prompted a full reconsideration of transition arrangements, resulting in clearer, more consistent practice across all sites.

A key change was the introduction of an initial interview with a member of the additional learning support (ALS) team for every learner with SEND. This step ensures that reasonable required adjustments are identified and crucial information (such as safeguarding details) is received from secondary schools promptly. Following this, a collaborative meeting takes place, involving wider stakeholders, including:

• ALS staff
• curriculum staff
• the learner’s parent or carer
• a representative from the secondary school

According to leaders, this strengthened transition process has already led to tangible improvements. Learners are more likely to be placed on the right course, attendance has increased, and achievement levels have improved. The ALS team also feels better prepared to deliver bespoke training and make well-informed reasonable adjustments.

Leaders were clear that these improvements would not have been implemented if they had not engaged in the USS SEND provider review.

Stoke on Trent College: how inclusive learning support can transform lives and improve outcomes

Stoke on Trent College’s inclusive learning support initiative empowers SEND and high needs learners through a personalised, neurodiversity-informed model.

Bespoke timetables, sensory-aware environments and alternative communication methods ensure learners feel safe, understood, and ready to engage. Learners benefit from flexible scheduling, assistive technology, and wellbeing coaching, enabling them to balance education with life commitments.

The curriculum embeds real-world skills travel training, financial literacy, independent living and is enriched by employer partnerships and supported internships, including a pioneering collaboration with major supermarket chain. Learners gain practical experience through internal placements and community projects, fostering independence and employability.

Targeted support for vulnerable groups includes multi-agency collaboration, short awards, and proactive mentoring. Achievement and retention rates for high needs learners exceed college and national averages, with strong outcomes in English, maths, and progression. Inclusive values are embedded across leadership, teaching, and support services, underpinned by strategic investment in safeguarding, mental health, and enrichment.

This initiative is scalable, sustainable, and sector-leading offering a replicable model of inclusive excellence that transforms lives and communities.

Wirral Met College: how inclusive support can empower learners to manage their own needs

Wirral Met College identified increasing numbers of students with identified sensory processing differences and high levels of expressed anxiety within college.

Engaging the advice of external expertise, they:

• developed their understanding of sensory processing needs within a trauma-informed context
• reviewed their curriculum offer
• reviewed the physical environment of their specialist high needs provision

The result was the construction of a suite of very high specification, fully accessible training rooms, with a design ethos intended to raise students’ aspirations for independent living and meet their access and sensory regulation needs. The facilities incorporate design features that naturally support sensory regulation, as well as providing specialist sensory regulation spaces.

Alongside training their staff they also developed a sensory regulation curriculum for their students, empowering them with the insight and skills to manage their own neurodiverse needs. This has greatly strengthened the learner voice for some of their most vulnerable students, who not only played a very active role in designing the new facilities, but are now also established as a standing body, the neurodiversity council, helping to drive further change for the benefit of all students.

SEND CPD to support your workforce

Universal SEND Services

Funded by the Department for Education (DfE), the Universal SEND Services programme offers free training, resources and support for all schools and colleges.

The programme is designed to help professionals in all roles develop inclusive practice and improve outcomes for learners with SEND.

In partnership with the Education Training Foundation, the programme brings together evidence-informed CPD and practical tools you can use straight away.

Online SEND CPD units

Build your confidence in supporting learners with free, online CPD units. Each short unit explores common barriers to learning and offers clear, practical strategies you can apply in your classroom or setting.

Developed with specialists and those with lived experience, the units are flexible, easy to access and suitable for all roles and all phases.