Opinion15th May 2026

Inclusion is more than an add-on. It must be there from the start.

Leila MacTavish

Learners should not be asked to squeeze themselves into a curriculum that was not built with them in mind. This year could be a genuine turning point for inclusion, reshaping how schools understand and meet the needs of every learner.

Ark Learning InstituteArk Curriculum Plus

This article was originally published in Schools Week on Thursday 14 May 2026.

The government’s white paper promises stronger support for children with SEND, while Ofsted’s new inspection framework places inclusion at the heart heart of leadership, curriculum and behaviour judgments.

Despite years of commitment to inclusion, the system still falls short. If we’re serious about closing the widening attainment gap for pupils with SEND and those facing disadvantage, we must design inclusion from the outset.

At Ark, we’ve learned you can’t bolt-on equity – it has to live in everyday classroom practice. By prioritising quality first teaching through Ark Teacher Training (ATT), and pairing it with an inclusion first mastery curriculum, we’ve narrowed the gap for our children and helped hundreds of other schools and trusts do the same.

Without rethinking the curriculum itself, reforms risk delivering high ambition on paper, but little meaningful change in the classroom.

Building an inclusive curriculum  

Too often, inclusion is framed as an add-on: something that sits outside the curriculum, or something teachers must “differentiate” into existence. This is unsustainable and disadvantages the pupils who need the most support. Learners should not be asked to squeeze themselves into a curriculum that was not built with them in mind.

Many schools have embraced inclusive teaching principles, including the strong “quality first teaching” (QFT) practices that we champion at Ark. But QFT can only succeed when the curriculum provides secure foundations: clear progression, specified knowledge and coherent sequencing. Without these, teaching becomes more reactive than transformative.

An inclusion first curriculum ensures all pupils can access ambitious subject content. It requires us to think at the design stage about learners who are vulnerable to underachievement, not as an afterthought.

The ways humans learn are more similar than different, and adaptations that support pupils with SEND — clarity, sequencing, explicitness — benefit every learner.

‘Inclusion-first’ guide 

Too many curricula leave core knowledge implied, making it difficult for teachers to identify the gaps that hold pupils back.

When knowledge is clear, sequenced and connected, teachers can adapt without reducing ambition, and pupils stay on track for long-term success.

Much of this work is subject-specific. In English, regular fluency checks and structured rehearsal can identify disengagement early. In maths, representations, for example with pictures or physical objects, help pupils see underlying structures and prevent misconceptions. Without clear links between concepts, teaching becomes fragile, and pupils fall behind.

Regular assessment is vital – but only when we act on it. Strong curricula illuminate prerequisite knowledge and identify what is non-negotiable for future learning, giving teachers the confidence to prioritise depth over pace, and to intervene conclusively.

When the curriculum does this heavy lifting, teachers get their brain space back. Instead of retrofitting lessons in response to gaps, they can focus on what drew them into the profession – bringing their subject to life, sparking curiosity, and building joyful, inclusive classrooms.

To support leaders, Ark has developed a free Inclusion First guide – created by the curriculum specialists behind our mastery programmes used in more than 150 trusts – that offers practical tools, subject examples and a scorecard for evaluating how well a curriculum supports inclusion.

The power of an inclusive curriculum 

Hundreds of schools using Ark’s mastery programmes see strong outcomes because high-quality professional development is paired with coherent curriculum design.

Across Ark’s 39 schools, pupils eligible for pupil premium achieve above national averages, and partner schools using Ark Curriculum Plus see significant gains — including an additional three months of progress for pupils on the Maths Mastery programme for four years, rising to seven months for disadvantaged pupils, when compared to non-participating schools.

These outcomes are not accidents; they are the product of curriculum design that makes strong learning possible for all.

Our ambition is simple: teachers and leaders should feel confident that high challenge, high joy, and high inclusion are not competing priorities. Every child has the right to think hard, contribute deeply and feel they belong in the classroom.

Inclusion first curriculum design helps make that right a reality – not through superhuman teaching, but through thoughtful, evidence-based design that works for every learner from the start.