Welcome to January's Lead Inclusion School update. In this month’s edition, you will find:

Events

• Dates for Your Diary
• Bupa Healthcare Innovation Project
• SOGB Unified Champion Schools
• Inclusion Live
• Networking Calls

CDP

• The Engagement Model in PE
• SEND Disney Inspired Shooting Stars

Updates

• Termly Reporting
• Case Studies
• I AM Festivals

Resources and opportunities

• Floatsation Swim Aid
• Special Olympics Great Britain. 

Events

Dates for Your Diary

• Special Olympics (SOGB) Unified Champions School Briefing, Wednesday 21 January, 3:30pm-4:30pm. Sign up here - by invitation only
• January Networking Call Lunchtime, Thursday 22 January, 12:00pm. Sign up here
• January Networking Call Afternoon, Thursday 22 January, 3:30pm. Sign up here
• Inclusion Live, Monday 26 - Friday 30 January. Sign up here
• NEW Bupa Healthcare Innovation Project – Briefing Session, Tuesday 27 January, 12:00-1:00pm. Sign up here
• The Engagement Model in PE, Monday 9 February, 3:45pm – 5:15pm. Sign up here
• SEND Disney inspired Shooting Stars, Thursday 12 February, 3:30-4:30pm. Sign up here
• February Networking Call Lunchtime, Tuesday 24 February 12:00pm. Sign up here
• February Networking Call Afternoon, Thursday 26 February 3:30pm. Sign up here
• SEND Disney inspired Shooting Stars, Wednesday 11 March, 3:30-4:30pm. Sign up here
• EE Disability Cup Festival Briefing, Wednesday 18 March, 3:30-4:15pm. Sign up here.

NEW Bupa Healthcare Innovation Project – Briefing Session

We’re excited to announce that the Youth Sport Trust has been successful in securing an additional funded innovation programme for the Youth Sport Trust Lead Inclusion School network with Bupa Healthcare. We are delighted to share this opportunity with you all in further detail, so we will be delivering a virtual briefing with an overview of the project, timelines and funding on Tuesday 27 January, 12:00-1:00pm.

The briefing will be mandatory to watch, but for those that cannot attend (due to the briefing being so soon), we will be recording the overview. Please join live where possible as there will be a space within the session to pose any questions you have surrounding this new programme. You can register for the briefing here.

Special Olympics Great Britain (SOGB) Unified Champion Schools

After a successful pilot of the programme last year, the Unified Champion Schools programme will be continuing with a few amends to the format. This programme is open to schools who took part in the pilot last year in the first instance and schools who took part last year will be receiving further information via email. There will be a briefing call on Wednesday 21 January, 3:30-4:30pm, that you can sign up for here. This will be recorded for anyone unable to attend.

Inclusion Live
Monday 26 - Friday 30 January 2026  

This week of free virtual webinars aims to upskill practitioners in how to make PE, school sport and physical activity more inclusive for children and young people with SEND. You will find the number of schools that have signed up by area so far here. Just a reminder that the Lead Inclusion School prospectus asks that you promote this opportunity to 40 members of school staff, whether that is through newsletters, email or meetings you are attending. Please continue to encourage staff to book on and make the most of this free CPD opportunity.

Further details about each session along with the booking links can be found here.

To support you in promoting these webinars to your networks, we have created this toolkit which includes email templates, social media posts and graphics that can be used to spread the message. Please do make use of this toolkit and use hashtag #InclusionLive2026 in any social media posts you do.  

Networking Calls 

Join us for one of our networking calls to share best practice, meet other Lead Inclusion Schools and ask any questions you may have.  

• Lead Inclusion School Networking Call, Thursday 22 January, 12:00pm. Please note this has moved from Tuesday 20 January. Sign up here
• Lead Inclusion School Networking Call, Thursday 22 January, 3:30pm. Sign up here
• Lead Inclusion School Networking Call, Tuesday 24 February 12:00pm. Sign up here
• Lead Inclusion School Networking Call, Thursday 26 February 3:30pm. Sign up here.

CPD

The Engagement Model in PE

Join us for this free to access CPD session on Monday 9th February 3:45-5:15pm.

This session introduces the Engagement Model as a powerful and inclusive alternative assessment tool for pupils with SEND who are working below the level of subject-specific study. With a focus on PE, the session supports teachers in understanding how to use the model to observe, assess, and respond to individual learning needs through personalised and meaningful physical activity, exploring practical examples from Special Olympics Great Britain's Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP).

The aims of this CPD include:

• To explore the purpose and structure of the Engagement Model
• To understand how the model applies specifically within PE for pupils in specialist settings
• To equip teachers with practical strategies to implement the model as both a baseline and formative assessment tool
• To share national insights and approaches from Lead Inclusion Schools who have successfully trialled the model in PE.

You can sign up here, please share with your networks.

SEND Disney Inspired Shooting Stars

The Disney Inspired Shooting Stars training has been reviewed and we are pleased to let you know that the training has been shortened and shifted to a later time to start after school, hopefully increasing the number of people able attendees. 

SEND Disney inspired Shooting Stars is an inclusive, extra-curricular programme designed to motivate primary school pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to develop their physical literacy. Created by The FA, it integrates movement with storytelling to enhance agility, balance and coordination, while fostering confidence and positive self-image.

Bring Marvel magic to your extra-curricular activities with exciting, adaptable missions that inspire pupils to get active and have fun.

• SEND Disney inspired Shooting Stars, Thursday 12 February, 3:30-4:30pm. Register here
• SEND Disney inspired Shooting Stars, Wednesday 11 March, 3:30-4:30pm. Register here.

Updates

Termly Reporting

Thank you for taking the time to complete the termly reporting winter response, 48 schools completed this within the allocated window - a polite reminder to ensure these dates are in your diary and you are completing your excel spreadsheet on a regular basis to ensure these timelines are adhered to. We are on a tight turnaround to report to the Department for Education, so your proactiveness in meeting the deadline is much appreciated.

After reviewing the reporting, we've included some top tips below for the next reporting window, if you are unsure on how to action the below, please speak to your Development Coach or alternatively contact the SEND inbox.

• When completing the 'Inclusive Sport Activities' tab, please ensure that you have filled in all the demographic data including number of pupils with SEND, ethnicity and gender. If you haven't got this information to hand, please make a note for future events to capture this. If the boxes light up red, this is indicating that one of these columns is incomplete or your numbers aren't adding up correctly.
• Please ensure the funding tab is completed indicating whether the project is 'Inclusion 2028', 'Sport England' or 'The Football Association' - the other box is for innovation work and therefore shouldn't be used at this time. Please ensure this column is completed for every row added.
• When completing the 'CPD' tab, if you are having a meeting with an individual - you will still need to complete the columns highlighting how many schools and what type of staff (teachers, teaching assistants, SGOs) that were involved in the meeting or CPD. If these columns are incomplete, the meeting or CPD activity will not count towards your numbers and therefore will be removed from the sheet.
• If there are schools you are working with that are not on your 'schools' tab, please make a note of these are the bottom of the list. At the end of March, before the new objectives are set, we will provide a new sheet including these schools.

Please continue to use the same excel document that you have just submitted for this reporting window. We will be able to identify the new activity completed by the date inputted into the spreadsheet so please do not start a new excel document.

If anyone has any questions, please do reach out!

Case Study

We are still waiting for case studies to be sent in.

As part of Inclusion 2028, we are asking for each Lead Inclusion School to send us one case study by Tuesday 31 March showcasing the impact of Inclusion 2028 locally. We have listed some examples below as ideas, but you are welcome to provide alternatives:

• The journey of a young person or group of young people impacted by Inclusion 2028
• The journey of an educational practitioner(s) with improved confidence or knowledge of inclusion
• Influencing senior leaders or external organisations about Inclusion 2028 and the impact this has had locally
• A festival or programme that has been delivered: showcasing the sustainable impact of Inclusion 2028.

To support you in writing the case study, we have provided an individual and school template which can be found below. Please ensure the relevant consent forms have been completed and shared when sending to the [email protected] inbox.

The individual case study template can be found here and the school case template can be found here. Consent forms can be found here.

I AM Festivals

Please don’t forget to let us know the date of your I AM festival by emailing [email protected]. Reminders will be sent in February for those not yet received.

Resources and Opportunities 

Floatsation Independence for All Abilities in Water

This swim aid is for all abilities and is the most successful swim aid in the world getting people floating and then enabling them to float independently. Floatsation® is a swimming aid made of a unique matrix of balls giving total support, flexibility and independence in water for people of all abilities, disabled and non-disabled, young and old. 
DfE are happy for the PE pupil premium to be used to buy this equipment and training as it enhances swimming provision for all abilities and promotes inclusion. Find out more here. Please note that funding may be available for some schools/organisations/swim schools. 

Special Olympics Great Britain National Summer Games 2026

The Motor Activity Training Programme (MATP) National Challenge event will be held at the Gymnastics & Martial Arts Centre at the Alexander Stadium, Birmingham on Saturday 29 August and Sunday 30 August. If you are an MATP coach and want your athletes to represent their region at National Summer Games, you can register your interest here.