How to set up your own inclusion base
Building an effective internal alternative provision has never been more important. With rising suspension rates, tightening budgets, and increasingly limited access to external placements, more school leaders are building provision in-house to act earlier, support more effectively, and keep pupils connected to school.
Whether you call it an Internal Alternative Provision (IAP), a Pupil Support Unit, or – in line with the government’s latest Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper – an inclusion base, the core mission remains the same: creating a purposeful, sustainable, and flexible space where vulnerable learners can thrive.
Our original guide brought together over a decade of insights from working alongside inclusion teams, combined with leading research on behaviour, motivation, and engagement. Now, we are expanding our frameworks to help you operationalise the latest SEND reform proposals directly on the ground.
The evolution: From static IAPs to dynamic inclusion bases
The publication of Every Child Achieving and Thriving marked a decisive shift in how inclusion is positioned within the education system. Inclusion is no longer just an aspirational principle; it is an operational expectation that schools, trusts, and local systems must deliver consistently. The ambition is clear: move away from patterns of escalation that lead pupils to a crisis point, introduce support earlier, and meet needs within mainstream education. Inclusion bases are key to translating this ambition into practice.
However, the profile of need entering these bases is rapidly changing, with a much wider, more complex cohort, including pupils experiencing anxiety-related school avoidance, fluctuating attendance, and early disengagement that may not yet be captured by formal SEND identification processes. Meanwhile, policy assumes that support can be implemented “instantly” as a pupil’s needs evolve. In reality, schools face a significant resource gap between identifying a need and having the physical staff, space, or funding to address it. Without strong mechanisms, internal provision risks becoming a costly “holding pen” rather than a purposeful intervention.
What to expect in our updated guide
To help school leaders bridge this resource gap, our updated guide focuses on flexible delivery models and curriculum continuity. When you download the updated resource, you will explore how to integrate flexible online provisions to enhance your physical inclusion base. Here is a preview of what we cover:
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Navigating the new “targeted” and “targeted plus” layers: Our guide outlines how an inclusion base can seamlessly host and deliver these targeted and targeted plus interventions.
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Eliminating the “attainment slide”: How to build a digital bridge, using DfE-accredited online learning, so pupils remain perfectly aligned with their mainstream peers.
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Deploying immediate capacity: How to design a hybrid model that allows you to scale your provision up or down instantly.
Download our guide
Explore our guide to discover principles, systems, and everyday practices that make inclusion bases thrive, and it can support you whether you are establishing your first internal unit or refining an existing offer. You’ll find practical steps, proven models, and research-informed recommendations to support pupils’ academic progress, wellbeing, and successful reintegration.
