If you lead a primary school in England, 31 December is probably already circled in your diary.
Every school must publish an inclusion strategy statement by that date, including the activities it is investing in to reduce barriers to learning and participation, along with budgeted costs. It's a condition of the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, and the DfE has provided a template to help.
The good news is that this doesn't have to mean a brand-new programme or another thing bolted onto a full timetable. The strongest strategies often show how everyday teaching is already inclusive by design, and that's where Teach Active comes in.
The seven principles
All funded activities need to align with the DfE's seven principles of inclusion. Here is how Teach Active supports each one.
1. Ambitious leadership and governance. Your strategy will be scrutinised by governors and trustees, so it helps to have clear, well-defined activities to point to. Teach Active gives leaders one whole-school approach that is easy to name, cost, explain and review, rather than a patchwork of small interventions. CPD resources and the AI Lesson Assistant help keep delivery consistent from class to class.
2. Evidence-based early intervention. The DfE wants schools to support children early, without waiting for a diagnosis or statutory process. Teach Active lessons run with the whole class, so every pupil benefits from movement-based learning from day one.
3. High-quality adaptive teaching. Our Maths and English lessons give children more than one way into the learning. They act things out, move through problems and work together, which often helps the pupils who find sitting, listening and writing hardest. The AI Lesson Assistant helps teachers adapt lessons for the pupils in front of them without hours of extra planning.
4. Enriching provision beyond the classroom. Active starters and movement breaks bring physical, engaging learning into every part of the school day, so enrichment isn't limited to those who attend a club.
5. A safe and respectful culture that fosters belonging. Ice breakers, team activities and movement breaks help build classrooms where children feel part of something. Children who feel they belong are more likely to want to be in school and ready to learn.
6. Strong partnerships with families and wider services. Teach Active isn't a family engagement programme, but lessons children enjoy give you a positive story to share with parents and carers. Talking about active, engaging learning gives you an easy way into conversations about how your school supports every child.
7. Inclusive, accessible environments. Active learning doesn't depend on specialist equipment or purpose-built spaces. It can happen in the classroom, the hall or the playground, so it fits the environment you already have.
The physical activity link
You may also be thinking about physical activity. The PE and Sport Premium is changing: direct payments are moving to a new PE and School Sport Partnerships Network, with a one-off transition payment for 2026/27. But the aims behind it haven't gone away. There is still a strong emphasis on reaching children who traditionally participate less, including children with SEND, girls, less active pupils and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Every Teach Active lesson gets every child moving. You aren't choosing between your inclusion priorities and your activity priorities, because the same approach supports both, and it reaches children who might never join an after-school club.
Making it easy to evidence
For each activity in your strategy, a simple structure works well: the need or barrier you've identified, what you're doing about it, what it costs, and how you'll know it's working. Teach Active can be one clear entry, with a defined cost, whole-school reach and links to several of the seven principles.
Check with your own leadership team or local authority on exactly what your allocation can be spent on, and use the DfE's template as your starting point.
Talk it through
Every school's cohort is different, and so is every strategy. Our Co-Founder and Managing Director, Jon Smedley, can talk you through inclusion funding and how Teach Active supports it, so you're not starting from a blank page in December.