Review I
Inclusion Base Review
Is our base working for pupils, and does it meet the DfE guidance and the inclusion expectations in the Ofsted toolkit?
A structured review of an existing inclusion base, drawing on founding a special school and on my Tes article on making inclusion bases work. It looks at the base itself and at how it connects with the rest of the school. Whatever your school calls it, an inclusion base, an additionally resourced provision (ARP), a resource base or a SEN unit, the review applies the same tests, for both support bases and specialist bases.
What it covers
- Purpose and needs analysis
- Admission, review and exit, so the base never becomes a sanction
- Environment, zoning and regulation spaces
- Staffing, training and supervision
- Curriculum and links with mainstream classes
- Safety, recording and impact, seen through a SEND lens
What you will have at the end
- An 8 to 12 page report with Secure, Developing or At risk judgements and the evidence behind them
- A matrix against each expectation in the DfE inclusion bases guidance
- A draft admission and exit protocol
- A 90 day action plan with owners and success measures
- A one page trust summary when several bases are reviewed
Reviewed against the DfE inclusion bases guidance, the Ofsted school inspection toolkit and the SEND Code of Practice, using the versions in force when the review takes place.
Questions
Questions schools ask.
How long does it take?
3 days in total: one day reviewing documents and anonymised data, one day on site, and one day writing the report.
Can you review several bases across a trust?
Yes. Each base is reviewed to the same method, with an extra day for a trust summary that compares them.
Is this a mock inspection?
No. It is an independent review against published guidance. There is no overall grade and nothing that imitates an Ofsted judgement.
Let's talk
Twenty minutes is usually enough to know whether a review would help.
If it would not, I will say so, and point you to free support instead.
Book a 20 minute call