Inclusion is not just for publication on 31st December. It is not a document to upload, a policy to publish or a compliance exercise to complete before the end of the calendar year. At The Difference we support leaders in the hard work of Inclusion improvement, everyday. The schools that will benefit most from the new requirement will not necessarily be those with the most polished strategy documents. They will be those using the deadline as an opportunity to strengthen culture, develop staff expertise and create sustainable systems that improve outcomes for children long after publication day has passed. The Department for Education’s inclusion strategy deadline presents school leaders with an important choice: treat the requirement as a publishing exercise or use it as a catalyst for meaningful change. The evidence suggests the latter is worth the effort. Among leaders who completed The Difference’s Inclusive Leadership Course, 64 per cent reported reduced suspensions immediately following the programme. Others reported improvements in attendance, staff confidence and whole-school inclusion practice. Drawing on learning from The Difference’s Inclusive Leadership Course, here are five whole-school inclusion strategies schools should be embedding now to ensure their inclusion strategy is more than a paper exercise. 1. Build a shared framework for whole-school inclusion Many schools still approach inclusion through a traditional model where responsibility sits primarily with SEND teams, pastoral leads or specialist provision. The strongest inclusion strategies challenge this assumption. The Difference’s Inclusive Leadership Course begins by exploring the principles and frameworks of whole-school inclusion, recognising that all children have learning, wellbeing and safeguarding needs, and that inclusion must be measurable across the whole school community. This is key to the ‘layered’ approach set out in the white paper, with support for students at point of presentation, not just diagnosis. But what are the steps to do it in practice? For school leaders preparing for the 2026 deadline, one of the most important questions is: Can every member of staff explain what inclusion means in our school? If the answer varies significantly across departments, phases or teams, there is work to do before a strategy is ready for publication. The most successful schools establish a common language, shared expectations and a consistent framework that helps staff understand how inclusion connects to behaviour, attendance, safeguarding, curriculum and teaching. At Xavier Catholic Education Trust, leaders used learning from the programme to develop a trust-wide approach to inclusion, creating greater consistency across schools and ensuring inclusion became a strategic leadership priority rather than an isolated intervention. 2. Move from behaviour management to a curious approach to sanctions data Many schools are seeing increasingly complex pupil needs, alongside growing concerns around attendance, anxiety and wellbeing. Responding effectively requires more than behaviour systems alone. One of the central strands of The Difference’s Inclusive Leadership Course focuses on trauma-informed practice, helping leaders consider the roots and impacts of trauma and implement approaches that improve consistency, relationships and emotional regulation across school: understanding the role emotional regulation and dysregulation play in the Inclusion outcomes we want to improve. A strong inclusion strategy should therefore set out how staff develop the knowledge and confidence to understand behaviour in context, de-escalate incidents effectively and maintain high expectations alongside relational practice. A robust approach to data can see first brushes up against the behaviour system as warning signs which prompt investigation and intervention. This is not about lowering standards. It is about creating the conditions that allow more pupils to meet them. At Thomas Aveling School, leaders used the programme to strengthen trauma-informed approaches across the school, helping staff better understand pupil needs and respond more effectively to challenging behaviour. Similarly, Dixons Brooklands embedded relational practice as part of its inclusion work, supporting stronger relationships between staff and students. The wider programme impact is significant: 82 per cent of participating leaders on the Inclusive Leadership Course reported improved de-escalation of incidents following the course. When lower level behaviour improves, fewer children’s challenges escalate to the metrics which might keep us up at night: persistent absence, or soaring suspensions. 3. Put belonging at the centre of your strategy If inclusion is ultimately about ensuring every child can participate, belonging is one of the clearest indicators of whether it is working. Yet belonging is often missing from school improvement conversations because it can feel difficult to measure. The Difference’s Inclusive Leadership Course links belonging to other outcomes, through our Lost Learning Continuum. Meanwhile, leaders can take away resources to lead professional development across the school to strengthen belonging through relationships, restorative practice and whole-school culture. For many schools, culture shift means moving beyond a focus on whether pupils are present in school and considering whether they genuinely feel part of it. Many develop their own surveys, or begin to use readily available ones to understand: Do pupils feel known? Do they feel safe enough to participate and contribute? Do they feel successful and know their contributions are valued? One leader on the North East cohort described the programme as helping their school develop “a holistic culture” that could respond to challenges thrown up in student surveys. Knowing how students feel is important, but knowing what to do to change it is even more so. A powerful peer group of other schools, going through the same journey, helps leaders find answers to what will work for their cohorts, in their context. 4. Make community voice part of decision-making We know students, families and staff can make work more impactful when they’re part of the change. But how to do that meaningfully? Too many school strategies are written for communities rather than with them. The Inclusive Leadership Course work on asset-based, bias-informed and community voice practices support leaders to create meaningful opportunities for students, families and staff to influence decision-making. Co-op Academies used learning from the programme to strengthen asset-based community engagement, helping schools move beyond consultation towards genuine partnership with families and local communities. Community voice helps schools identify barriers that may otherwise remain invisible. It also strengthens trust, improves parental engagement and ensures inclusion strategies reflect lived experience rather than assumptions. This is particularly important as schools prepare inclusion strategies for publication. Leaders should be able to demonstrate not only what their priorities are, but how those priorities were shaped by the experiences of the people they serve, and are part of an ongoing dialogue. 5. Prioritise sustainable inclusion provision The publication deadline may encourage some schools to focus on short-term initiatives that look impressive on paper. The better question is whether systems are being built that will still be improving outcomes in three years’ time. The final stages of the Inclusive Leadership Course focuses on developing effective Inclusion Provision, helping leaders identify clear measures of success, strengthen their offer and create sustainable approaches that reduce lost learning and improve outcomes. Importantly, this work connects inclusion directly to school improvement. It encourages leaders to define outcomes, evaluate impact and establish consistency across their wider offer. The result is a strategy that becomes a working document rather than a forgotten one. Marvel College developed its internal alternative provision offer, helping create more sustainable support for pupils at risk of exclusion. Carmel College used the programme to tackle repeat exclusions, while The Two Counties Trust adopted a whole-school approach to reducing exclusion across its schools. These examples reflect wider programme outcomes. After 12 months, 80 per cent of schools reported reduced internal and external exclusion, while 100 per cent reported new developments and impact linked directly to course learning. What next? The deadline is a moment — not the mission. The requirement to publish an inclusion strategy by 31 December 2026 is important. But publication should be viewed as a milestone rather than a destination. The schools making the greatest progress are treating the deadline as an opportunity to develop expertise, build shared language, strengthen provision and create cultures where every child belongs. That work cannot be completed in a single document. Nor can it be completed by a single leader. It requires sustained professional development, strategic thinking and a whole-school commitment to improvement. Because inclusion is not just for 31st December. Learn more about The Difference’s Inclusive Leadership Course The Difference’s Inclusive Leadership Course is a year-long specialist programme for mainstream primary and secondary senior leaders. Through six in-person training days, practical school-based assignments and evidence-informed leadership frameworks, the programme helps schools develop whole-school inclusion strategies that improve attendance, reduce exclusion and strengthen belonging. More than 850 senior leaders nationally have completed the programme, with schools reporting measurable improvements in attendance, exclusions, wellbeing and safeguarding outcomes. Book your place on the 2026/27 Inclusive Leadership Course