Young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) deserve equal access to the sports they love, yet a clear gap remains between what they want (participation in traditional school sports) and what is typically offered (often limited to disability‑specific activities). Inclusion in Action seeks to close this gap by equipping teachers with practical confidence and empowering young leaders to transform school culture.

Every county in England will host an immersive Live Lab: an in-person CPD for practitioners to attend locally, sharing best practice and knowledge of how to deliver inclusive traditional sports. Each school will use this inspiration to co-design inclusive extracurricular clubs with their pupils, ensuring everyone can participate fully and help shape the activities they want to see.

The need has never been greater. In 2024/25, 19.2% of pupils in England (1.7 million children) were identified as having SEND - a 5.6% increase from the previous year. Yet support systems have not kept pace: 14% still do not have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP), funding is not increasing at the same rate, and absence rates remain worryingly high. Pupils with an EHCP record in particular have an overall absence rate of 13.7% and a persistent absence rate of 36.9%. 

School sport can be a powerful part of the solution. When pupils feel included and have something positive to look forward to, behaviour improves, belonging increases, and attendance can follow. However, four in five teachers say they want more guidance on supporting SEND pupils, and trainee teachers receive minimal PE training with no mandatory requirement for inclusive PE before entering the profession. As a result, pupils with SEND are often excluded from PE or redirected elsewhere. One pupil recently shared that they spent an entire PE lesson bouncing a ball against a wall “to beat their best score” while their classmates played tennis together.

In 2024, ParalympicsGB launched the Equal Play campaign, calling for no child to be left on the sidelines, but recent data from Activity Alliance found that still only one in four pupils with SEND regularly take part in PE or school sport. Inclusion in Action, powered by Bupa Healthcare, directly addresses this challenge by giving teachers the tools and young people the voice to reshape what inclusion looks like in practice. The result is a school environment where pupils with SEND aren’t separated or substituted: they are included, valued, and given every chance to shine.

To find out your nearest Inclusion in Action Live Lab or for more information about the programme, please contact the Youth Sport Trust Inclusion Team at [email protected].