Inclusion Lead School Newsletter
Welcome to the November edition of the Lead Inclusion School newsletter. In this month’s edition, you will find:
- Inclusion Live 2026: 26-30 January 2026
- Reporting
- Networking Calls
- SEND Shooting Stars Training
- School Games Regional Conference Workshop, 'Inclusion Starts With Us'
- Barclays Girls Football in Schools Strategic Lead Awards
- Water Safety Champions
- Comets in Schools
- Youth Sport Trust Conference Awards
- Girls Active National Report
- Get Set for Milan
Updates
Inclusion Live 2026: Monday 26 - Friday 30 January 2026
Inclusion Live bookings will be launching on Wednesday 12 November. 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. This year, we will have six webinars covering a range of topics and featuring expert speakers and real-life examples from schools. Visit the booking page to see more details on each webinar and book your space.
To support you in promoting these webinars to your networks, we have created a toolkit inclusive of email templates, social media posts and graphics that can be used to spread the message. Please make use of this toolkit and use the hashtag #InclusionLive2026 in your social media posts.
Reporting
Thank you for continuing to update your live reporting spreadsheets. A quick reminder: we’ll be pulling the data on Friday 19 December, so please ensure your spreadsheet is fully up to date by then. If you’ve been working offline, please send us your file by the same date.
We’ll also be sending out your unique Snap Survey links shortly, which include a few additional questions. The deadline for completing the survey is also Friday 19 December.
If anyone is struggling to access or complete their reporting, please reach out to the SEND inbox or your Development Coach for support.
Dates for your diary
Networking Calls
We have two Lead Inclusion school networking calls during November. If you would like to join us for an informal networking session to share best practice and ask any questions, please use the links below to register:
- Lead Inclusion School Monthly Networking Call - Tuesday 18 November, 12:00-1:00pm. Register here
- Lead Inclusion School Monthly Networking Call - Thursday 20 November, 3:30-4:30pm. Register here.
SEND Shooting Stars training
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. The Youth Sport Trust are hosting virtual training sessions to upskill practitioners nationwide in how to deliver this extra-curricular club, and on completion, will send the resources to support delivery. On the last training in October, we had 10 attendees from Essex, Wiltshire, The Wirral, Durham, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Cheshire, and the West Midlands.
Schools can book a place on one of the virtual teacher training sessions and find more information here.
- Tuesday 25 November, 2:30-4:30pm
- Thursday 12 February 2026, 2:30-4:30pm.
Please signpost this training to those within your network. Every county must ensure one practitioner within the county has attended one of the training sessions.
Stories from the network
School Games Regional Conference Workshop, 'Inclusion Starts With Us'
Over the last fortnight, we have been at each School Games Regional Conferences delivering a workshop called ‘Inclusion Starts With Us’, where young people from some of our Lead Inclusion Schools shared what would make events or activities more inclusive for them.
A big thank you to our leads from Culverhill School, Swiss Cottage School, John Jamieson School, and Chadsgrove School for helping to facilitate this session. It was great to hear directly from pupils and our leads who shared some fantastic top tips with School Games Organisers.
Barclays Girls Football in Schools Strategic Lead Awards
On Wednesday 15 October, the Youth Sport Trust, alongside The FA and Barclays, hosted the Strategic Lead awards to recognise individuals who have made outstanding contributions in ensuring there is equal access to football in schools.
It was great to see Paul (our Lead Inclusion School lead in Derbyshire) win the ‘Outstanding Primary Practice’ award alongside his colleague India for their work in engaging primary schools in girls' football opportunities.
Dave (our Lead Inclusion School lead in Blackpool) was also recognised for ‘Outstanding Inclusive Practice’ for his work in engaging special schools in football across Lancashire.
Congratulations to you both!
Opportunities
Water Safety Champions
As part of our work to improve water safety education through Inclusion 2028, we are recruiting a cohort of young water safety champions who will advocate for water safety amongst their peers. The idea is that the water safety champions will deliver a presentation to their peers (either in an assembly or in smaller class groups) on the water safety code and staying safe in and around water. To support the champions in doing this, they will be provided with:
- Slides/resources
- A short pre-recorded virtual briefing video
Insight suggests the best time of year to hold this assembly is before the Easter holidays, as temperatures start to rise and more young people spend time outside.
Across the country, we are looking to recruit at least 70 champions, with at least 50% of champions having a special educational need and/or disability. The champions can be from mainstream, specialist, or alternative provision settings, and the recommendation is that they are aged 10 and above. We aim to recruit approximately five champions per setting.
If this is something your school or other schools in your county would like to be involved in, please email Rebecca Tyers by Friday 19 December; we will be in touch with further information.
Comets in Schools
A reminder to please use this form to express interest on behalf of schools in your area to take part in the Comets in Schools programme. Please submit responses as soon as possible, but no later than Friday 12 December. There are two spaces on the form; however, if you would like to submit expressions of interest for more than two schools, please write them on the same line or submit the form multiple times if you run out of space.
Youth Sport Trust Conference Awards
The Youth Sport Trust Awards celebrate schools, settings, trusts, and individuals who, working alongside the Youth Sport Trust over the past year, have made a real and impactful change to the lives of young people.
The Awards are presented at the Youth Sport Trust Awards Dinner on the eve of the annual conference.
This year, there are seven categories open for nominations. We know there is some fantastic work happening across this network, so it would be great to see Lead Inclusion Schools among the submissions. To view the categories and nominate a setting or individual, see here.
The closing date for nominations is Friday 28 November 2025.
Useful Resources
Girls Active National Report
Last month, the annual Girls Active National Report was published, summarising almost 18,000 responses to the Girls Active Survey, which was distributed in Autumn 2024 and Summer 2025.
This year, the research focuses on the fact that girls with multiple characteristics of inequality, such as being from a low-income family, a non-majority ethnicity, or having SEND are being left behind in PE and school sport. These girls are significantly less likely to enjoy PE, feel confident, or be active every day.
To read the report and learn more about resources available to support girls being active, visit our website.
Get Set for Milan
Get Set for Milan is Team GB and ParalympicsGB's official Milano Cortina 2026 activity programme for schools, families, and local communities. It’s designed to help children and their families get active together, try new things, and most importantly, have fun!
Children across the country are challenged to make a virtual journey between all the major sporting venues of Milano Cortina 2026, following Team GB and ParalympicsGB athletes as they make the trip in real life. Teachers, group leaders, and families create teams, then everyone gets active at home, in school, or at local sport and community groups, logging their physical activity on the Get Set for Milan website, where each active minute becomes virtual kilometres powering the team from Milano to Cortina.
To find out more and register a team, visit the Get Set website.
All Newsletters
Catch up on the other Inclusion Lead School Newsletters.
Inclusion Newsletters