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How to review your school's inclusion strategy

Your board is responsible for scrutinising your school's inclusion strategy, including how it uses its inclusive mainstream fund (IMF) allocation. Understand what the published strategy must include, and how to hold your leaders to account when scrutinising it.

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on 1 September 2026
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 46968
Contents
  1. Your school must publish an inclusion strategy
  2. Your board should scrutinise the strategy
  3. Make sure your leaders have effectively identified common barriers
  4. Check activities are effective and appropriate
  5. Discuss with leaders how different funding streams work together
  6. Review how leaders will evaluate the impact of the strategy
  7. Questions to ask school leaders

This article is based on the DfE’s non-statutory guidance on developing an inclusion strategy using the inclusive mainstream fund, and the governance guides for maintained schools and academy trusts. 

Your school must publish an inclusion strategy

The strategy must:

  • Be published on your school website by 31 December 2026
  • Include details of any activity leaders have invested in to alleviate barriers to learning and participation, and budgeted costs

It should explain how your school plans to use its inclusive mainstream fund (IMF) grant alongside its core budget and notional SEN budget to build a strong inclusive core offering.

Spend its IMF allocation on activity in line with the 7 principles of inclusion (see more about these below) Publish an updated strategy annually  If your school has created a multi-year strategy, you must make sure this is reviewed annually and this is