LINDSAY COOPER-SMITH, ST CHRISTOPHER’S MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST, UK
St Christopher’s is a 21-primary-school multi-academy trust (MAT) in the South West. Inclusion is woven through the trust’s values and strategy, and this has strengthened its reputation within its communities, attracting more children with increasingly complex special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). In 2023/24, it was clear that the number of suspensions was rising in many of its schools. In addition, attendance for children with EHCPs (education, health and care plans) was below the national average. The trust and schools’ leadership teams had to think creatively to support all students to thrive, which led to the development of inclusion bases.
Schools across the country are setting up such provisions as a way to give children the support they need and keep them within the school community. They’re acting out of commitment and urgency, but doing so in a landscape with limited guidance, research, or evidence about what works.
Simpson and O’Brien, 2025, p. 7
An inclusion base can be a great way to meet the needs of students who struggle in traditional classroom environments. However, the provision is hugely variable and, at worst, results in students being taught in poor environments using planning that hasn’t been adapted to meet their needs. It is natural for leaders to want to alter provision for students presenting with persistent challenging and disruptive behaviour, in order that the majority have a safe, quiet and conducive learning environment. However, the first thought must always be: ‘What more can be done to keep this child learning with their peers?’
The conflicting demands of running schools led to some weak practices in these inclusion bases. As a result, there were permanent exclusions (PEx), children being educated in isolation and specialist provisions refusing placements for children with EHCPs.
Inclusion bases were bespoke to each school’s most significant area of need and/or staff expertise. It was important that the provisions could be flexible to meet the changing needs of the community. There was little evidence of prior planning or collaboration in decision-making, and little consideration of the consequences of children accessing the inclusion base.
We had to make a change. This case study describes the development process and subsequent outcomes observed in four of the inclusion bases over a 12-week period.
The trust inclusion team brought together SENDCos, school improvement leaders and headteachers to design an inclusion base framework informed by research from Academy 21 (2024) and others. The framework enabled teams to spend time focusing on decision-making prior to establishing provision. Key points for consideration were identified in the framework, with examples of best practice given and resources provided.
Stage 1
If a school wanted to set up an inclusion base or was struggling to provide suitable education for a small group of children with SEND in their setting, then they had to formulate their intent for the provision with stakeholders. Leaders were advised to observe other inclusion bases, both internal and external. A plan was then co-created with senior leaders, SENDCos and the inclusion team using the inclusion base framework, following the Education Endowment Foundation’s ‘explore and prepare’ (Sharples et al., 2024) phase of the implementation guide. Questions were posed and responded to before provision was introduced.
Points that the teams considered included:
- What are the criteria for children to access a placement?
- What is the curriculum?
- What will the environment be like?
- How will the children transition between the provision and their mainstream class?
However, despite this considered implementation, provision was insufficiently monitored, perpetuating internal segregation.
Stage 2
To mitigate this, we designed an impact report for the longest-running inclusion base in a Torbay primary school. This inclusion base had had many different iterations over the years, from an intervention hub to a full-time classroom for children at risk of PEx. Some children had become ‘stuck’ in this provision, unable to access specialist settings and unable to reintegrate into mainstream classrooms.
We designed a set of factors that the school were striving to improve, such as attendance, number of behaviour incidents, intervention progress measures, and student and parent voice. Using this data, both quantitative and qualitative, an impact report was created. This overview allowed leaders to see what was working. Student and parent voice held the most value because it showed the holistic positive change for these students.
The report identified children that could transition back to their mainstream classroom, which was the ultimate objective. The pilot of this impact report enabled trust leaders to consider where other inclusion bases might bring capacity across the trust, improve resource allocation and support school improvement priorities.
Stage 3
All trust inclusion bases now collate termly impact reports for their cohorts. There is some variation in assessments used and data collected, reflective of the area of need being met. Leaders across the school and trust monitor these and they are shared with governors.
Some of the impact measures collected in four of the more established inclusion bases in St Christopher’s MAT over 12 weeks as part of the case study are impressive.
All of the parents of children who accessed Doves in Torbay said they would recommend the provision to another family and that their child had benefited from the interventions available. One parent commented:
The staff have been amazing helping X with her anxiety. She really struggles but Forest School has been amazing for her.
The Eden Room in Plymouth played an integral part in the improvement of whole-school attendance by 2.3 per cent, and 78 per cent of the 10 children who accessed the Eden Room had a reduction in behaviour incidents. A parent commented:
The impact on X’s life has been amazing; getting him to school used to be a problem, but since Eden Room happened, we don’t have this problem anymore.
Nurture in Plymouth showed a significant impact on attendance, with one child’s attendance improving by 12.9 per cent. One child stated:
I like Nurture, it is calm and a nice start to the day. It’s nice to be part of a small group.
The Den in Plymouth, which supports three children with complex communication needs, offered intervention to support 74 per cent of EHCP implementation targets being achieved. An Outreach professional stated:
The progress in the original pupils was clear to see in terms of their emotional regulation, their engagement in learning activities and their ability to transition from a self-directed activity to an adult-led learning activity.
Conclusion
This case study has shown that when thoughtfully considered, implemented and monitored, inclusion bases can create safe, supportive spaces that allow learners to regulate and re-engage with learning, acting as a bridge back to full participation. The conditions that enable inclusion bases to thrive include a clear intent and consistent leadership, with a positive culture of development and monitoring. The power of inclusion bases has been identified in the latest SEND reform:
[W]e expect every secondary school to have an Inclusion Base, with an equivalent number of places in local primary schools, building on and strengthening the inclusive support already in place.
DfE, 2026
St Christopher’s MAT now has 10 developing inclusion bases. A network has been created to enable staff to share best practice and support each other. A resource pack is also being collated to support future provision. Comparing December 2024 to December 2025, permanent exclusions are down 40 per cent; attendance for pupils with EHCPs is up 1.1 per cent; behaviour incidents dropped by 16 per cent and there was a reduction of staff incidents by 22 per cent and an 18 per cent drop in staff injuries.
Inclusion bases must be integrated within whole-school systems, with coherent reintegration pathways, strong communication and shared ownership across staff teams. When these elements align, inclusion bases become a strategic tool for nurturing belonging, reducing exclusions, improving attendance and ensuring that vulnerable learners remain connected to their school community.
Read more from In Praxis: SEND and Inclusion
