Lead Inclusion School Update

July 2026

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

  • Dates for Your Diary

  • Updates - Youth Sport Trust Staffing, In-Person Conference and Inclusive Health Check Week

  • Reminders - Bupa Live Labs and Termly Reporting

  • Spotlight - Friars Academy 

  • Resources - Virtual Conference Recording and Slides 

  • Opportunities - Water Safety Champions and Rebound Therapy.

Dates for Your Diary

  • Summer Reporting Window is open until Friday 17 July. If you would like links resent, please email the SEND inbox.
  • Lead Inclusion School Conference at Molineux Stadium, Monday 21 September, 9:30am–3:30pm. Sign up here.
  • Inclusive Health Check Week on 21–25 September. You can access the Inclusive Health Check here.

Updates

Youth Sport Trust Staffing 

With Kelly Fellows leaving the Youth Sport Trust on Thursday 30 July, we are excited to announce that Rebecca Tyers has been promoted into the role of Development Manager for Inclusion at the Youth Sport Trust and will be leading the network. Rebecca has worked closely with Kelly over the last two years across all programmes and is excited to take the reins as we move into the second year of Inclusion 2028. 

To support the team, Abby Kennedy has started at the Youth Sport Trust in the role of SEND Inclusion Development Support. As an experienced Development Coach and School Games Organiser within the network working closely with Helen at Culverhill School (LIS in Bristol), Abby brings knowledge as a practitioner working in the landscape alongside a range of ideas to continue the growth of Inclusion 2028.

Abby Kennedy 

The team will continue to be supported by Caroline and Inaayah within the Youth Sport Trust’s Inclusion Team through the SEND inbox on [email protected] - if you have any questions, please reach out to us. 

Lead Inclusion School Conference (in person) 

This year's Lead Inclusion School Conference will take place at the Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton on Monday 21 September 9:30am–3:30pm. All Lead Inclusion Schools are required to attend. Please book your place here.

Please ensure you have booked your place before breaking up for summer as we’ll need to confirm numbers and dietary requirements with the venue. 

Further details including the agenda and parking information will be shared nearer the time. 

Inclusive Health Check Week  

Save the date! Inclusive Health Check Week will be taking place from 21–25 September. This week puts a spotlight on completing the Inclusive Health Check in the autumn term, ensuring the Check can be used as a developmental tool throughout the rest of the year. The Check can be completed by School Games Organisers (SGOs), School Games eligible schools and active partnerships. Please use this week to encourage your network to complete the Check and make the most out of the resources that are available through it. As set out in the new prospectus, the expectation is that 50 practitioners complete the Check from each county within the autumn term.  

As part of the week, we would like to share some stories from schools/SGOs that have completed the Check and used it to inform their development planning. If you know of any examples that we could share, please let us know by emailing [email protected].

Reminders

Schools Participating in the Bupa Live Labs Programme 

Schools taking part in the Bupa Live Labs programme are reminded that a key performance indicator of the programme is to train 20 adults. If your school has not yet reached this target, you will need to organise an additional Live Lab session in September to help increase participation and meet the required number. 

Termly Reporting 

A reminder that the next date that we will be pulling off data from your reporting spreadsheets will be Friday 17 July.  Please ensure your spreadsheet is up to date and if you have been working on it offline, please ensure you have sent a copy to the SEND inbox. 

Your unique snap survey link has been sent via email to complete your qualitative questions. The deadline to complete this survey will also be Friday 17 July.  

If you would like either of the links resending or have any questions, please get in touch via [email protected].

Partner Survey - We Need Your Support! 

As part of our Department for Education funding, the Youth Sport Trust has to collect data from the people who take part in our events and activities to identify their feedback. This feedback highlights the impact the Youth Sport Trust Lead Inclusion School network has which contributes to applying for future funding of Inclusion 2028. 

To do this, please can you send this link on to everyone you have had contact with as part of Inclusion 2028 this year (schools and any wider organisations) asking them to take five minutes to provide some feedback. 

Our independent evaluators ASK Research Partners will be collecting the data and will check that we are getting responses across all counties. Across this first year of Inclusion 2028, your termly reporting has highlighted that collectively as a network you have supported over 26,000 school staff and others – it would be great to hear from as many of these practitioners as possible. Please ensure all practitioners you have had contact with receive this link. 

ASK will be reporting the findings at the end of this term to the Department for Education, which we will share with yourselves in due course. 

We look forward to hearing all about the difference you have made to practitioners and pupils with SEND this year.

Spotlight

Spotlight - Friars Academy  

Case Study: Building Confidence Through Sports Leadership 

At Friars Academy, Year 10 student Luke has discovered a new sense of confidence and purpose through his involvement in the I AM Leaders programme.  

Luke has always enjoyed participating in sport, particularly quieter and less competitive activities. He is also known for his willingness to support others both in lessons and during break and lunchtime sessions. However, like many young people, he faced challenges with confidence and communication. He found classroom situations difficult and often felt "frozen" when someone asked him a question. Sports leadership offered a chance to step outside his comfort zone and develop valuable life skills.  

As part of the programme, Luke completed I AM Leaders training, helped design activities, and delivered sessions at the I AM Leaders Festival alongside other young leaders. 

"I have learnt a lot about communication and different ways of communicating with people. In school this has helped me as I was always quiet."  

One of the most rewarding aspects of the experience has been working with younger children and pupils with special educational needs. Although he admits feeling nervous before his first leadership session, repeated opportunities to lead have helped build his self-belief. 

"I was very scared and nervous. However, I have done quite a few now and my confidence is increasing. Lots of people say how well I do when leading, which I like."  

Luke's journey also highlights the importance of resilience and finding personal strategies to succeed. His advice to other young people considering sports leadership is both practical and encouraging: 

"If you like helping people and enjoy sport, I would say give sports leadership a go and try it out. If they are finding it difficult, group with someone who is experienced in sports leadership and keep trying to build your resilience." 

Looking ahead, Luke plans to continue his leadership journey in Year 11, supporting events and festivals both within his own school and across other schools. He is excited about the opportunities ahead and is even considering a future linked to sports leadership and helping others. 

Resources

Lead Inclusion School Virtual Conference: recording links and slides 

Welcome and Opening with Vicci Wells. Watch here. The slides can be found here

Learning, Adapting and Evolving: Inclusion 2028 Year One Review with ASK Research and Rob Belbin. Watch here 

Workshop. Preparing for Practice: Supporting Teacher Trainees to Thrive. Watch here. The slides can be found here 

Workshop. Strength in Place: Using Local Networks to Advance Inclusion. Watch here. The slides can be found here 

Workshop. Inclusive Youth Leadership: The Why, What and How. Watch here. The slides can be found here 

Workshop. Who’s Not in the Room? Bridging Gaps for Alternative and Specialist Provision. Watch here. The slides can be found here 

Enhancing Enrichment: How can Inclusion 2028 enhance a future enrichment framework. Watch here. The slides can be found here.

Opportunities 

Water Safety Champions 

As part of Inclusion 2028 we are recruiting young people to be Water Safety Champions. Water Safety Champions are a group of young people with and without SEND that will advocate for water safety in their schools by promoting the water safety code and awareness of how to stay safe in and around water.  

Schools taking part will receive resources over the next two years that the champions can deliver to their peers with the support of staff. This could be through small group activities or whole school events such as assemblies. In return for filling in a short reporting survey for us to let us know the impact of the work, participating schools will receive a certificate for the champions and resources for their schools.  

We recommend having between 6-10 champions per school and that they are aged 10 and above. If your school or any other schools in your area are interested in taking part, please contact [email protected] and we can send you further information/resources. 

 

Discover the Benefits of Rebound Therapy 

Rebound Therapy is a specialist activity that uses a full-sized trampoline to provide therapeutic exercise, movement opportunities and recreation for children, young people and adults with a wide range of disabilities and additional needs. 

As well as being great fun, Rebound Therapy can help improve strength, balance, coordination, communication, confidence, independence, body awareness and relaxation. Many practitioners also report increased concentration and engagement in learning following sessions. 

The internationally recognised Rebound Therapy Practitioner Course equips candidates with the skills and knowledge needed to safely deliver sessions. Over two practical days, participants cover topics including safe practice, risk assessment, programme planning, measuring outcomes and supporting individuals with a range of needs. No previous qualifications are required. 

On successful completion, candidates receive a Rebound Therapy Practitioner Certificate, approved by the AfPE Professional Development Board and worth 20 CPD points. 

The course is popular with SEN teachers, teaching assistants, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, support workers, coaches and leisure professionals. It also provides the first step in a fully inclusive pathway into trampoline coaching. 

To see Rebound Therapy in action, watch this short video. 

Rebound Therapy offers a fantastic way to promote inclusion, improve wellbeing and help individuals develop physical, social and emotional skills in a motivating and enjoyable environment.

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