POLICY UPDATE Policy Number: Four Issued By: Lorna Beard
Date: October 2026
This policy update will be supported by a new series of Podcasts set for release throughout the Autumn term. Watch this space for more news on that!
Safeguarding The start of the school year always starts with an updated version of Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSiE). This year is no different and sees a number of changes that could directly impact on learners with SEND within schools. It is widely accepted that children and young people with SEND face more safeguarding risks than their peers that aren’t identified as having SEND. This can be due to several factors including dependence on adults for care, communication difficulties, social isolation and challenges in recognising and reporting abuse. School staff need to accept and recognise this and may need support in this expectation. The KCSiE statutory guidance document uses the terminology of Family Help which aligns with the changes in the document Working together to safeguard children 2026 which became statutory guidance in the Spring. This guidance replaces the 2023 framework. This new strategy moves away from early help to a family help approach, which aims to transform the support system for children and their families by promoting early support and intervention, strengthening collaboration across multi-agencies and ensuring that children remain safely with their families wherever possible. In KCSiE 2026, there is an expectation that all staff are expected to recognise the pathway from a mental health concern to a safeguarding assessment. There is an expectation that staff will have a sharper focus on recognising and reporting abuse that could have previously been explained as part of a child or young person’s SEND profile.
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There is a clear expectation that DSLs, SENCOs and all other staff know how to share relevant information and make relevant referrals. The volunteer supervision exemption has been removed, with schools expected to reaudit all existing volunteers and obtain enhanced DSB checks along with a children’s barred list check for all those that work within scope. Trainee teachers are explicitly confirmed to be subject to the same allegation procedures as substantive staff. There are also updated expectations on mobile phone use and policy, as well as challenges for Alternation Provision and EOTAS which may apply to some learners. There are changes in policy surrounding EYFS settings, with policy strengthening welfare and safeguarding requirements. One of these changes considered screen time and adds clarity to the requirements for all children and young people. It is expected that screen time should be avoided for children under the age of 2. It is considered safe for children aged between 2 and 5 years old to use screens for up to one hour a day. However, the guidance makes it clear that this must be time that is planned carefully and intentionally for specific learning and development aims. There is clarification within the guidance on the use of screens for children and young people with communication and SEND needs, recognising that some may need a more tailored approach. It states that screen based assistive technology can be an important tool to help children and their family’s communication, taking part in everyday activities, and creating an inclusive learning environment. It allows practitioners to determine whether assistive technology will support children’s learning on a case-by-case basis.
Attendance Over the summer term there was a focus on school attendance, and children’s belonging and engagement with the publication of Working together to improve school attendance GOV.UK. New guidance states that school registers must be ‘taken at the same time for all registered pupils’ in both the morning and the afternoon. In practice this may not have been happening for all pupils, particularly those on part-time timetables, and those on phased returns. Schools will need to think about how to manage this new expectation. In the document there is additional clarification about requesting medical evidence surrounding a learner’s attendance as well as the school’s actions under the Equality Act 2010. It is clear that reasonable adjustments for disability must be actively considered and time limited phased returns should be considered prior to any other interventions.
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There is explicit reference to reasonable adjustments which gives SENCOs and leaders a stronger case for structured specific arrangement plans and will ensure a stronger record of planning. Any school inspector will be expected to consider emotional, mental health and medical needs when considering the absences of a learner with SEND and will examine the joint working of the school with parents and other professionals.
Remote Education Schools should note that there is explicit reference to the fact that remote education is a ‘last resort’ mirroring the expectation set out in the DfE’s remote education guidance Providing remote education: guidance for schools - GOV.UK. Remote education should only be provided once all other adjustments have been explored. There must be a structured return to school plan with pupils still coded absent on registers. Remote provision should not be coded as present in school and schools should understand that they will face challenge if remote provision is viewed as a long-term solution.
SEND Reform From the release of the SEND Reform White Paper ‘Every Childre Achieving and Thriving’ in February 2026 (Every child achieving and thriving - GOV.UK) there has been much anticipation about what would be different for schools at the start of the new academic year. This academic year sees the introduction of the Inclusion Mainstream Fund (IMF) and the expectation for schools to produce an Inclusion Strategy Report. The IMF is a new grant for all mainstream schools in England with all schools receiving a payment in 2026 – 27. This payment will be automatically allocated via an applied formula through either the Local Authority or direct payment to a Multi-Academy Trust. It is anticipated that this funding will support schools to be more ‘inclusive by design’, enabling schools to provide early support for pupils without having to wait for formal diagnosis. This will reduce barriers to learning for all pupils, strengthening whole school inclusive practice and reducing reliance and the burden on the current statutory processes. In the guidance Inclusive mainstream fund: 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK, there is a list of key expectations for schools to follow when allocating this funding and clear expectations of what should be the foci. 1.Whole school inclusion ensuring that the principles of inclusive practice are embedded across Teaching and curriculum School culture and behaviour Leadership and governance
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2.Early identification and support Needs identified early Support provided without diagnosis 3.Strong universal provision Focus on high-quality adaptive teaching Remove ‘common and predictable’ barriers for pupils 4.Targeted support Evidence based interventions for pupils requiring more than universal provision. All schools must publish an Inclusion Strategy Report by December 2026. This report must set out how pupil need is identified, how barriers are removed and how inclusive practice is embedded. There is a requirement that support is not limited to those with an EHCP or diagnosis. There is also a very clear message that inclusion must be rooted in whole school practice. The Inclusion Strategy report must outline a school’s strategy to meet the outlined principles summarised below and the impact of this strategy, with clearly defined actions taken to improve practice as well as outlining what is being collected and measured. The seven principles of inclusion are: Ambitious leadership Early evidence-based support High-quality teaching for all Inclusive wider opportunities such as clubs Culture of belonging and attendance Strong partnership with families and services Accessible environments. There are also specific versions of the IMF for 16-19 providers as well as for Early Years. Details of these can be found on the gov.uk website.
Inclusion Bases There was guidance released in June 2026 around Inclusion Bases which supports schools by providing guidance as well as case studies of good practice.
Ofsted Lee Owston, National Director of Education for Ofsted, wrote about the up-and-coming changes in the Ofsted inspection framework for September 2026. Whilst this was released in the summer term, we thought it worth drawing your attending to his article, which can be found at Lee Owston, National Director, Education – Ofsted: education.
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This article highlights all changes to educational inspections and draws attention to changes around the inspection of inclusion. In the article, Mr Owston stresses the importance of inclusion being referred to in its widest possible sense, with inspectors considering a fourth contextual group as those facing other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. He goes on to say that Ofsted have reflected on their learning since the previous change to the inspection framework and have introduced the term ‘leaders who have an inclusion role’ into their materials. This is to reflect the responsibility of all leaders for inclusion. There is an expectation of inspectors that they consider the view of others beyond the SENCO when considering the objectives for inclusion. The objectives for inclusion are: School leaders will be required to show evidence of how they have identified and responded to inclusion pressure points Leaders will need to engage proactively with pupils and their families to help reduce barriers to their learning and /or wellbeing Inspectors will look at whether leaders ensure that any inclusion base meets pupils’ needs effectively and supports them to participate meaningfully in wider schools' activities.
Further Update We also will draw your attention to new guidance to support SEND vaccination delivery Supporting vaccination for SEND children and young people - GOV.UK.
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