Introduction

The EEF’s Guide to Inclusive Teaching contains advice about supporting every child to participate and succeed in school, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, and recognising that many pupils face multiple barriers to learning.

Accompanying the guide, the EEF has released a set of scenario-based training resources.

Inclusive teaching is about helping every child to participate and succeed in school.

It matters because learning can be enriching and joyful, and because children who succeed in school are much more likely to go on to lead happy and healthy lives.

In England, improving outcomes for children with additional needs is a system-wide priority. There is widespread recognition that too many pupils with additional needs are not getting the support they need to thrive, and a desire from schools, families and policymakers for change. This sits alongside and intersects with the goal of improving outcomes for disadvantaged children.

For teachers and school leaders in mainstream primary and secondary schools, inclusive teaching is both a challenge and an opportunity.

It is a challenge because focusing on inclusive teaching means thinking deeply about how to support children who find learning hardest.

It is an opportunity because an effective response to this challenge will build teachers’ and leaders’ professional knowledge and confidence, support collaboration across the sector, and improve outcomes for all pupils.

School leaders and classroom teachers across mainstream primary and secondary schools are the principal intended audiences for this guide. Effective support for inclusive teaching will require collaboration between school leaders, including SENCos, teachers, and wider school staff such as teaching assistants.

The guide is intended to support you to embed inclusive practice in your school and may be helpful as you develop your inclusion strategy.

This guide draws on a wide range of evidence about effective teaching, special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), socio-economic disadvantage, implementation, and school improvement. The evidence base includes findings from EEF guidance, additional systematic reviews, evaluations of educational interventions, and broader research on classroom practice and inclusive education. The evidence underpinning the guide can be found in the “Resources, tools and evidence” section at the end of the guide.