Building Your Inclusion Strategy Through a Child Rights Approach

The Government’s Every Child Achieving and Thriving White Paper places a renewed focus on inclusive mainstream education, where every child feels they belong and has the support they need to learn, participate and thrive.

Schools receiving the Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) are required to develop an Inclusion Strategy reflecting DfE’s seven principles of inclusion, which must be completed by 31st December 2026.

This practical guide shows how a child rights approach and Rights Respecting practice can support schools to develop and implement their Inclusion Strategy. It explores each of the DfE’s seven principles of inclusion, with practical examples of Rights Respecting practice, potential impact and questions for reflection.  

Grounded in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the guide helps leaders place equity, dignity, participation and belonging at the heart of inclusion. It encourages schools to consider the barriers children may experience in accessing their right to education and what schools can do to reduce or remove those barriers. This guide is suitable for schools who are already on their Rights Respecting journey and wish to align their practice with their Inclusion Strategy, as well as schools who are new to RRSA and wish to consider how to begin their journey in line with the implementation of their Inclusion Strategy.  

Most importantly, this guidance recognises that an inclusion strategy should be more than a document. It is an opportunity to consider how we can build an ethos and culture where every child feels included, valued and heard, and is able to fully participate in school life.