South East Regional Conference: Secondary inclusion bases: a strategic guide to implementation and reform

In response to the evolving special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision reforms, this conference provides a forum for secondary school, local authority and multi-academy trust (MAT) leaders to explore the strategic and practical requirements of opening secondary inclusion bases. Sessions will focus on the leadership, cultural, and operational shifts necessary to ensure these spaces provide high-quality support while fostering a deep sense of belonging and connectedness within the whole school. Hearing from current secondary leaders, we will bridge the gap between policy ambition and the practicalities of creating sustainable, effective provision that aligns with the national move towards earlier localised intervention.

The national educational landscape is changing. As part of the SEND reforms, there is an increasing expectation for mainstream schools to provide for a wider breadth of needs. For secondary leaders, the challenge is no longer just if to provide support, but how to build a model that is financially viable, educationally rigorous, and socially inclusive. Opening a base without a robust, strategic roadmap risks creating “units” that isolate pupils; this conference ensures leaders have the insights to avoid those pitfalls.

Key themes:

• Visionary leadership: Aligning the inclusion base with the whole-school ethos so it is a catalyst for inclusive culture, not a peripheral provision.
• Operational excellence: Navigating the practicalities of staffing models, admissions criteria, and the physical design of inclusive spaces.
• A culture of belonging: Strategies to ensure pupils accessing the base remain socially and academically woven into the fabric of the wider school community.
• Evidence-based implementation: Moving beyond theory by analysing real-world case studies of successful secondary bases currently in operation.

Delegates will gain access to practical blueprints, including frameworks and models used by current leaders to successfully establish and lead high-performing inclusion bases. Beyond technical knowledge, the event will facilitate networking, allowing attendees to connect with fellow leaders to share insights and best practice. Through identifying common hurdles and exploring risk-mitigation strategies, delegates will leave with a deeper understanding of how to navigate the complexities of opening a base.

Objectives:

By the end of this event, delegates will be able to:

• Evaluate strategic readiness: Delegates will be able to assess the leadership and cultural shifts required to establish an inclusion base that operates as a core part of the whole-school community rather than an isolated provision.
• Analyse practical implementation models: Delegates will gain a deeper understanding of the operational “active ingredients”—such as staffing, physical design, and admissions—by reviewing evidence-based case studies from current secondary leaders.
• Align provision with national reforms: Delegates will be able to identify how localised inclusion bases bridge the gap between national SEND policy ambitions and the practicalities of creating sustainable, high-quality support within their own school, MAT or local authority context.

Agenda:

Speaker information will be added as soon as they are confirmed, please keep a lookout!

This is a fully funded event by the Department for Education.

If you have any questions, please contact the Whole School SEND team.