with Cristín O’Brien, Senior Policy Advisor of The Difference
A new report has found a “crisis of lost learning” sweeping across schools in England. The Difference Education charity says children are missing out on the educational and social opportunities that come from learning in class, socialising with their friends, and gaining the skills and experiences they need to become successful adults.
“This lost learning perpetuates cycles of disadvantage and stifles economic growth, casting a long shadow over the lives of children, families and communities. New analysis finds that children lost 6.8 million days of learning in the autumn term before the pandemic (2019/20) due to suspensions and unauthorised absence, but this rose sharply to 11.5 million days in the same period in 2023/24; that is an increase of 67%. Each year, more children lose out on more days of school: there was a rise of 10 per cent alone between the autumn terms of 2022/23 and 2023/24. Permanent exclusions are also up by over one-third, and elective home education has increased by one-fifth”
We have a guest article today from one of the report’s authors, Cristín O’Brien, Senior Policy Advisor of The Difference, about the questions the report raises about the meaning of inclusion- something we’ve been thinking about a lot as changes to SEND loom…
with Cristín O’Brien, Senior Policy Advisor of The Difference
It’s great to see inclusion becoming a bigger focus in education, but what does “inclusion” really mean? And do those in charge of the reforms truly get it? Recently, Secretary of State Bridget Phillipson said that the future of education reform is “inclusive mainstream,” and even Ofsted has proposed adding “inclusion” as an evaluation area. But for those of us who have been advocating for inclusion for years, the question remains: how will this actually work in practice?
At The Difference, we’ve been working on this exact question since our founding in 2017. Over the past six years, we’ve trained 700 school leaders across the country, helping them build truly inclusive cultures, systems, and practices. Just in the last six months alone, we’ve worked with over 100 children, parents, teachers, and school leaders, gathering feedback that culminated in our new report, Who is Losing Learning? Finding Solutions to the School Engagement Crisis. This report, developing in partnership with Impetus, IPPR, and Mission 44, takes a significant step in setting out a sector-backed definition of Whole School Inclusion.
What is Whole School Inclusion?
We define “Whole School Inclusion” as “all staff supporting the learning, wellbeing, and safety needs of all children, so that they belong, achieve, and thrive.” In our new report, we lay out four key pillars of inclusion:
- ONE: Inclusion is… Built from the universal up
- TWO: Inclusion is… Culture-led from the top
- THREE: Inclusion is… Community collaboration
- FOUR: Inclusion is…Measurable
Let’s break these down and see what they mean in practice.
1. Inclusion is Built from the Universal Up
Too often, children only get an “inclusive” offer when their needs have reached crisis point. By then, it’s often too late. Their needs have escalated, and trust in the school system has been damaged beyond repair.
This is the problem with treating inclusion as something separate that is done ‘over there’, perhaps by a SENCo, or a teaching assistant. It isn’t integrated into the everyday life of the school. But when inclusion is only about addressing the needs of children who have been formally identified, it leaves a huge gap for those whose needs aren’t obvious or haven’t yet been formally recognised.
Our definition of Whole School Inclusion requires that every aspect of school life is designed with the knowledge that all children may have learning, wellbeing, and safeguarding needs. It’s about ensuring that the curriculum, policies, staff development, and even day-to-day interactions are inclusive. Research has shown that these approaches benefit every child.
For instance, the Education Endowment Foundation’s (2021) research has shown that universal strategies – such as teaching social and emotional skills to all students – can significantly reduce behaviour issues and improve overall attendance and engagement.
2. Inclusion is Culture-Led from the Top
Inclusion is about the entire culture of a school. At The Difference, we know that inclusion must be embedded into every interaction a child has within school. From the receptionist who greets the child to the headteacher or Trust leader who shapes the behaviour policy, inclusion must be part of the school’s DNA.
But here’s the issue: for most schools, inclusion expertise is treated as something niche, often left to the SENCO or designated safeguarding leads. Teachers, too, often feel ill-equipped to meet the diverse needs of their students – with one in three saying they don’t feel prepared to support students with mental health needs (DfE, 2024). This gap in expertise needs addressing, and that starts with strong leadership prioritising inclusion in professional development for all staff.
3. Inclusion is Community Collaboration
Inclusion isn’t just about school staff; it’s about families, communities, and schools working together with wider services. But too often, school staff don’t know where to start. More than half of teachers have not had any training on how to communicate effectively with parents (Teacher Tapp, 2024). As a former social worker, who received hours of training on how to conduct trauma-informed and strengths-based conversations with struggling parents, this shocks me. We expect teachers to feel confident in difficult dialogue without any guidance or support. This is a huge barrier that needs to be addressed if we are to see real progress.
I recently visited Pears Family School, an alternative provision where parents are directly involved in the school day. They work to build trust and repair the negative associations many parents and carers have with the education system. They do this as they know a parent’s perception of their child’s school intimately impacts how a child will engage. This visit, along with recent research that found nearly 40% of parents are not confident their child’s needs are met in secondary school (CSJ, 2024), drove home to me the importance of repairing parents’ and carers’ relationships with school in turning the tide on lost learning.
4. Inclusion is Measurable
A common criticism of inclusion is that it’s too vague and impossible to measure. But that’s simply not true. Just like any other aspect of school improvement, we can evaluate a school’s journey toward inclusion in concrete ways.
Our report includes tools that schools can use to track their progress and provides case studies of The Difference’s partner schools that are using data to drive inclusion. For example, the Ted Wragg Trust has developed a centralised dashboard that collects data on exclusions, absences, and special educational needs across their schools. This data allows leaders to proactively identify areas for improvement and measure the impact of interventions.
Similarly, at Morpeth Secondary School in Tower Hamlets, student experience surveys have highlighted areas where they can improve, leading to changes in staff development and policy. Such tools are vital to making inclusion a reality, and we believe they should be adopted across all schools.
What’s Next?
Many schools are already embracing the principles of Whole School Inclusion, but too often they are doing so without the support they need and within an accountability system that doesn’t reward their efforts. The journey toward inclusive education can be complex, but it’s clear that with a well-defined framework, strong leadership, and measurable progress, schools can make inclusion a reality for all children.
We hope that our report provides a helpful roadmap for schools, policymakers, and communities and that it will help create a system where every child can belong, achieve, and thrive.
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Also read:
- Find all our articles about SEND research
- Research: Children’s SEND needs missed through schools’ “blind spots” to pupil inequalities
- Challenging society’s negative narrative to understand the positivity of caring for a child with disabilities
- Research finds unfounded FII accusations cause “devastating and often life-long impact on children and families” and over 80% of allegations dropped
- Get involved: NEW research study into the experiences of families who have children with multiple long-term conditions
- Successful Additionally-Resourced Schools: A 13-step strategy and a 7-point “purpose”
- Alternative Provision, SEND, and Inclusion: Should AP even exist in an inclusive system?
- Beyond EHCPs: Why Inclusion Needs More Than a Document
- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms
- How health and family support systems are failing children starting school
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals
- When things go right: Shining a light on SEND Practitioners making a positive impact [Giveaway!]
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children
- Have your say on the future of transport for disabled children and young people
- Unison voices major concerns over SEND reform health plans for sick and disabled children out of school in the EOTAS consultation
- Top Tips for the EOTAS & EHCP consultation: Protect your child’s rights to statutory SEND support
- Navigating constraints: Why a former PCF chair thinks the current model is missing the mark for families
- Dear Secretary of State for Education, Lucy Powell: an Open Letter from Special Needs Jungle and SEND legal charity SOS!SEN
- Research: Disabled young people define inclusive education as “learning in the place that’s right for them”
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- The Unacceptable Truth: 20 SEND legal rights at risk from the Government’s SEND reforms - September 9, 2026
- WEBINAR RECORDING! The implications for children’s legal rights to EHCPs and EOTAS of the Government’s SEND proposals - September 3, 2026
- From suspicion to support: why the Government’s child protection reforms matter for disabled children - August 28, 2026
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