UK Mandates Inclusion Areas in Secondary Schools

- The new mandate for inclusion areas is part of a broader 10-year education estates strategy, which aims for all secondary schools to eventually have dedicated safe spaces for students who need targeted support. - Two models for these inclusion areas are proposed: "support bases" funded by individual schools or academy trusts, and "specialist bases" funded by the local authority. - The updated area guidelines, known as Building Bulletin 104 (BB104), are non-statutory but provide recommendations for the design of spaces for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), superseding previous guidance from 2008. - These spaces can be created by repurposing existing rooms, such as spare classrooms, or through new construction. The government is set to release new guidance in the spring to assist schools in converting existing spaces. - The creation of these inclusion areas is backed by a £3.7 billion investment aimed at redesigning the SEND system and creating up to 60,000 new places for pupils with special needs in mainstream schools. - This initiative is part of a larger government push for inclusivity, which also includes the "Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools" (PINS) programme, a £9.5 million project to train teachers and improve support for neurodivergent students in primary schools. - The move comes after concerns were raised by MPs about the state of England's school buildings, particularly following the Raac concrete crisis in 2023. - The new guidance on physical spaces will address elements like breakout rooms, accessible changing facilities, sensory gardens, lighting, and acoustics to better accommodate diverse sensory and physical needs.