By Stuart Kime
The current education policy picture in England now places everyday inclusive teaching, sustained professional learning and collective expertise firmly within school improvement. The Great Teaching Toolkit (GTT) gives schools practical infrastructure to act on that direction – provided it is actively used as a process for professional learning, not simply held as a library of resources. Here’s a summary of the policy direction and how the GTT can help.
A clearer direction of travel
Read together, three current policy developments signal an important shift for professional learning in England.
From 7 September 2026, Ofsted’s updated school inspection toolkit places everyday high-quality inclusive teaching and sustained, evidence-informed professional learning in clearer view.
By 31 December 2026, mainstream schools must publish an inclusion strategy explaining how funding will be used to meet the needs of their cohort and improve inclusive practice.
From 1 October 2026, the Academy Trust Handbook expects trusts to embed inclusion across their provision.
Read together, these policies suggest that inclusion policy is becoming teaching policy. Inclusion is made real in the curriculum, the classroom environment and the interactions between teachers, teaching assistants and other adults, and pupils. It concerns whether every pupil can access learning, participate, belong and succeed, all without lowering our ambitions for them.
None of these policies suggests that professional learning is the whole answer to every challenge we face in education. Specialist knowledge, reasonable adjustments and targeted support remain essential for inclusive practice. But they do place the expertise of the adults who teach and support pupils at the centre of the work. As Sir Martyn Oliver argued in July 2026
developing effective teachers must be one of the most impactful things leaders can do.
Indeed, Sir Martyn went on to say that:
Evidence Based Education speak about moving the conversation about teacher growth towards a more meaningful, sustained approach that helps every teacher recognise their strengths and become even more effective than they already are. When you see it in action, it is truly inspiring.
Where the policy points, and where the GTT supports
The GTT is not a policy-compliance product. Its relevance is more substantive and enduring: it can help schools build the deep expertise and professional learning culture these documents treat as central to a truly inclusive education for all.
| Policy reference | What it emphasises | How the GTT can support |
|---|---|---|
| Inclusive Mainstream Fund and inclusion strategy | A stronger universal offer; high-quality adaptive teaching; evidence-informed activity; fewer approaches implemented well; a published strategy by 31 December 2026. | Use the GTT as one universal activity within a balanced strategy: connect identified barriers to a focused development cycle, protect time for collaboration, and gather feedback to refine practice. |
| Ofsted toolkit (from 7 September 2026) | Everyday high-quality inclusive teaching; sustained and coherent professional learning; purposeful collaboration; time and resources; adaptations for pupils facing barriers. | Use a shared evidence-informed model, development cycles, Great Teaching Teams and feedback tools to help staff improve a precise aspect of teaching over time. |
| Academy Trust Handbook (from 1 October 2026) | For trusts: inclusion embedded across provision; consistent approaches; effective deployment of expertise and resources; monitoring access, participation and outcomes. | Use a common language for teaching quality across schools. The School Environment and Leadership model and survey can help leaders examine the conditions that support improvement. |
Where the GTT fits, and where it does not
- It can support universal, high-quality-teaching; sustained professional learning; a common language for improvement; purposeful collaboration; and disciplined use of feedback.
- It does not replace specialist SEND provision, targeted support, statutory duties, reasonable adjustments or collaboration with families and external professionals.
- It is not an inspection-preparation product, a guarantee of a judgement or a complete inclusion strategy. It is one valuable part of a wider, context-specific approach.
Your next steps
Speak to one of the team to find out how the Great Teaching Toolkit can support your inclusion strategy.
If you’d like to include the Great Teaching Toolkit as part of your inclusion strategy for developing high-quality inclusive teaching, here’s a statement you can adapt to reflect your context and approach:
As one part of our wider inclusion strategy, we will use the Great Teaching Toolkit to strengthen the universal offer by building teachers’ and teaching assistants’ expertise in recognising and reducing barriers to learning and participation. Staff will work through sustained, evidence-informed development cycles focused on [priority or barrier], with protected time for collaboration, practice, feedback and review. We will monitor implementation and use evidence from staff, pupils and classrooms to decide what to sustain, adapt or stop.
Update: The GTT now includes an Inclusive Education course. The course provides teaching assistants, teachers and leaders with insights into inclusive teaching, and how their roles can work together to create a more inclusive educational experience for all learners.
What next?
What next?
Your next steps in becoming a Great Teaching school
