Inclusion bases for English secondary schools announced
3 mins read
Wednesday 11 February 2026
The government has today announced that each mainstream secondary school in England must have an inclusion base. An inclusion base is the umbrella term for SEN (special educational needs) units, resource bases and specialist units. These are designed spaces away from the classroom where children with SEN can get additional support.
Contact welcomes measure but cautions against under-resourcing
Anna Bird, Chief Executive at Contact, said:
“We welcome any initiative that increases inclusion in and accessibility of schools. To function well, inclusion bases must be appropriately resourced. That means they need access to teachers, teaching assistants and therapists, as well as designated space.
“Calls to Contact’s helpline suggests the bases that already exist vary dramatically from school to school. If they are appropriately funded, staffed and resourced and effectively interact with the wider mainstream school, they have the potential to improve inclusion. If not, disabled children are segregated from their peers and not given the chance to feel welcome and thrive at school.”
In the autumn we ran focus groups for parents about their experience of SEN units for their children. Here, too, parents reported that the bases their children used varied widely. One parent described how flexible support helped their daughter access mainstream lessons:
“She has some classes where the staff from the unit will drop in partway through to see how she’s doing. With other lessons like English or Geography, where there’s a lot of writing, there will be someone from the unit in the classroom with her.”
Other parents raised serious concerns about staffing and quality:
“The hub he’s in has never had a qualified teacher teaching the class. There is only a teaching assistant and a lunch supervisor. I feel it’s more like a daycare than a school.”
Guidance must set clear expectations
The government will publish guidance this spring setting expectations that schools should improve inclusivity and accessibility. This guidance must make clear that inclusion bases should be appropriately funded, staffed and founded on the principle of inclusion.
Anna Bird added: “We were concerned that more units are opening without guidance. So we welcome the government’s intention to publish guidance in the spring.”
We have already shared the findings from our parent focus groups with officials at the Department for Education (DfE). We also supported parent carers to speak directly to DfE officials about their experiences of SEN units and bases.
Contact’s SEND policy lead Imogen Steele wrote about her experience of being taught in a specialist unit at a mainstream school.
