Inclusion bases: Can they help solve the SEND crisis?

This blog post was first published by Special Needs Jungle on Tuesday 7 April 2026.

If you’re a parent of a child with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), you’ll know how important it is to find the right school. Across England, more children than ever are being identified with SEND, and schools are supporting more pupils with complex needs.

As well as being extremely stressful for parents, this is also putting pressure on schools, especially those known for being inclusive. Some have become local “SEND hubs”, taking on more children with high needs than others.

The government has proposed changes to the SEND system, including new “inclusion bases” in schools – spaces that provide extra support on-site. In this blog, I look at what’s happening in schools, the challenges they face, and whether inclusion bases could help.

Why inclusive schools matter

While every mainstream school has a duty to support children with special needs, in reality some schools are educating many more high-need pupils than others. Our research finds that SEND pupils tend to cluster in particular mainstream schools, which have become known for their inclusive cultures and specialist expertise. 

Through our research, which includes interviews with parents in a number of these schools, we’ve heard how transformative these settings can be. Parents often describe them as life changing, saying their children become happier, more confident and better able to learn. Importantly, families of children without SEND also value these environments, recognising the social and emotional benefits for all pupils.

But there are downsides: inclusion is not evenly spread. A small number of schools often support a disproportionately high number of pupils with SEND, placing real pressure on staff, funding and resources. Many school leaders describe reaching a “tipping point”, where taking more pupils with high needs risks affecting quality, staff wellbeing or safety. Primarily, this isn’t about unwillingness to include – it’s about capacity.

Despite this, parents often say they wish more schools could offer this kind of experience. That’s where new government proposals come in.

What are inclusion bases?

“Inclusion bases” are a key part of the government’s proposed SEND reforms. They build on existing models such as Special Educational Needs (SEN) units and resource provision (RP) ^[1] – specialist spaces within mainstream schools where pupils with SEND can get extra support, sometimes in smaller groups or with specialist staff. The idea of the new inclusion bases is to expand and standardise these kinds of supports, so that every secondary school (and many primary schools) has them, either as lighter-touch Support Bases funded by schools or more intensive Specialist Bases funded by local authorities.

For many families, this could be a positive step. It could reduce long journeys to special schools and ensure more children are supported closer to home.

What the research says

Our research findings, based on interviews with parents and staff in 15 high-SEND schools and a survey of 800 SENCOs and school leaders (over half of whom reported having a SEN unit or RP), suggests that inclusion bases could work well – but only when implemented effectively.

Potential benefits:

• Capacity boosting: Among schools that reported having a SEN unit or RP, around two-thirds of schools agreed that SEN units and/or RP enhanced their overall capacity and expertise to support a wide range of SEND.
• Stronger multi-agency collaboration: Schools with bases reported gaining confidence working with speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, occupational therapists, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), and social care, strengthening the overall quality of provision.
• Improved staff expertise: When implemented well, schools reported that techniques initially adopted by staff for the resource base, including visual timetables, structured routines, and sensory regulation strategies, enhanced learning for all pupils.

However, the evidence also highlights important risks. What can go wrong:

• Poor integration: In roughly a quarter of schools with SEN units or RP, staff perceived that the children in the base had limited interaction or friendships with their peers in the mainstream classes. However, this may partly reflect differences in how these models are designed. SEN units typically support pupils for a larger proportion of the school day (often more than 50 per cent), which can naturally limit opportunities for integration, whereas resource provision is usually part-time. Even so, ensuring meaningful links with the wider school community remains important for all pupils.
• Limited collaboration: Over a third of schools with SEN units or RP reported weak collaboration between base staff and other teachers – meaning expertise in the base was not being shared across the wider school.
• Not meeting all needs: Only a third of secondary schools and fewer than half of primary schools with a SEN unit or RP felt their base could meet the needs of all pupils who accessed it.
• Resource strain: Over two-thirds of schools with SEN units or RP said their base placed considerable pressure on resources or staffing.

Inclusion is more than a space

The key message from our research is simple: inclusion bases are not a silver bullet. True inclusion depends on the whole school – not just a dedicated space.

For inclusion bases to succeed, they need:

• Strong integration into everyday school life.
• Collaboration between base staff and classroom teachers.
• Sufficient funding and specialist staffing.
• A whole-school commitment to inclusion. 

When these elements are in place, inclusion bases could enhance what schools already do well. Without them, they risk reinforcing separation rather than inclusion.

What this means for parents

The direction of travel is positive. More support in mainstream schools, better trained staff, and dedicated spaces for SEND pupils are all steps forward. But the most important thing to remember is this: real inclusion isn’t about a specific unit or base – it’s about a whole-school mindset.

The best schools don’t just have inclusion – they live it. With the right support, more schools can do the same.