Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) 2026-27: What schools need to know
Supporting inclusion, strengthening provision and improving outcomes for children
What is the Inclusive Mainstream Fund?
The Department for Education’s new Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) is intended to help mainstream schools in England strengthen inclusive practice and improve support for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Part of the Government’s wider SEND and Alternative Provision reform agenda, the funding focuses on helping schools build stronger mainstream provision through earlier intervention, inclusive practice and more consistent support for children across a range of needs. For many schools, the IMF may provide an opportunity to review and strengthen:
For many schools, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge. Leaders are already balancing increasing levels of need, stretched services, rising emotionally based school avoidance, dysregulation, behaviour concerns, attendance pressures, and growing complexity within classrooms.
Many leaders are also understandably cautious about how wider SEND reforms will translate into day-to-day reality within schools.
However, there is growing recognition across the sector that mainstream schools need practical, sustainable approaches that support children earlier, reduce barriers to learning and strengthen inclusion in ways that are achievable within real school environments.
As schools begin planning how funding may be used, many are reviewing how they can strengthen inclusive provision not only at whole-school level, but also through targeted SEMH support, emotional literacy, family engagement and clearer ways of evidencing impact and outcomes.
What can schools use Inclusive Mainstream Funding for?
Government guidance indicates that Inclusive Mainstream Funding should support stronger mainstream inclusion and improve outcomes for children and young people with additional needs.
For many schools, the focus is not simply on introducing new initiatives, but on strengthening sustainable provision that can support children earlier and more consistently within mainstream education.
Direct support and provision
Systems and implementation
SEMH and inclusion in mainstream schools
Social, emotional and mental health needs can affect every aspect of a child’s school experience, including relationships, confidence, emotional regulation, attendance and readiness to learn.
Many mainstream schools are seeing increasing numbers of children who require additional support with:
Increasingly, SEMH support is being recognised as an essential part of inclusive mainstream provision rather than something viewed separately from learning, behaviour or SEND support.
Evidencing impact and outcomes
As schools strengthen inclusive provision through the Inclusive Mainstream Fund, many are also reviewing how they will monitor progress, evaluate impact and demonstrate how approaches are improving outcomes over time.
Government guidance increasingly emphasises the importance of schools being able to explain:
For many schools, this is likely to form an increasingly important part of inclusion planning and wider accountability expectations. Schools will be expected to publish an inclusion strategy explaining how they are identifying and meeting commonly occurring and predictable needs and embedding inclusive practice across the school.
Further support and resources
As schools begin planning for June 2026 funding and preparing statutory inclusion strategies, now is the ideal time to explore how existing provision aligns with emerging national expectations.
