Inclusive Mainstream Fund 2026–27: What it means for your school

The Department for Education has introduced the Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) as part of its wider SEND and inclusion reforms—designed to help schools deliver inclusive education by default, not exception.

Worth over £400 million per year for schools, the fund provides additional, targeted investment to support earlier intervention, remove barriers to learning, and strengthen whole-school approaches to inclusion.

For many school leaders, the IMF represents both an opportunity and a responsibility—to embed sustainable inclusive practice while ensuring clear accountability for how funding is used.

What’s changing?

The IMF is not a competitive bid or short-term initiative. Instead, it is a formula-driven grant allocated to all mainstream schools (via local authorities or directly to academy trusts).

Its purpose is to:

• Strengthen inclusive practice across the whole school
• Enable early, targeted support without the need for diagnosis or statutory processes
• Reduce commonly occurring barriers to learning
• Support high-quality teaching and universal provision for all pupils

Critically, the fund is designed to complement—not replace—existing budgets, including schools’ notional SEND funding.

How funding is allocated

Funding is calculated using a national formula and includes:

• A £3,000 lump sum per school
• A per-pupil allocation (£16 for primary, £14 for secondary)
• Additional weighting for low prior attainment (LPA) pupils
• Adjustments based on local costs
• This approach ensures funding reflects both school size and pupil need, providing a consistent baseline for investment in inclusive provision.

What schools need to do

Schools receiving IMF funding will need to demonstrate how they are delivering impact. A key requirement is to publish an inclusion strategy, outlining:

• How pupil needs are identified and met
• Whole-school approaches to inclusive practice
• Plans to address predictable and commonly occurring needs across the cohort

The emphasis is clear: strategic, whole-school transformation, not isolated interventions.

Turning funding into impact

While the funding provides additional resource, the challenge for many schools lies in:

• Translating funding into joined-up, evidence-based practice
• Aligning inclusion with wider priorities such as attendance, behaviour, and attainment
• Building staff confidence in adaptive teaching and early intervention
• Demonstrating measurable impact for governors and inspectors

How Capita Entrust can support you to make the most of your funding

At Capita Entrust, we work in partnership with schools to move from funding to impact—supporting leaders to design and deliver sustainable, inclusive approaches.

We can support your school to:

1. Develop a robust inclusion strategy

• Align your current provision to IMF expectations
• Identify gaps and prioritise actions
• Produce a clear, publishable strategy with measurable outcomes

2. Strengthen whole-school inclusive practice

• Embed evidence-based teaching and SEND approaches
• Develop staff capability in early identification and intervention
• Support leadership teams to drive cultural and operational change

3. Maximise the value of your funding

• Map IMF alongside existing budgets and priorities
• Ensure investment is targeted, measurable and sustainable
• Provide tools and frameworks to demonstrate impact

4. Enhance inclusion through outdoor education

• Use outdoor learning and experiences to support engagement, wellbeing and belonging
• Provide inclusive opportunities that help pupils develop confidence, resilience and social skills
• Extend learning beyond the classroom to remove barriers for pupils who may struggle in traditional settings
• Integrate outdoor provision into your wider whole-school inclusion strategy

5.  Deliver practical, school-led solutions

• Provide operational SENCo support to free up your SENCo to focus more strategically on whole-school SEND and inclusion priorities
• Offer specialist SEND, behaviour and inclusion expertise to support assessments, recommendations and practical next steps
• Support schools to work towards a whole-school Inclusion Friendly Award, celebrating inclusive practice and identifying areas for development
• Build staff capacity around SEND and inclusion through targeted training, coaching and practical guidance
• Provide SENCo support, mentoring and advice to strengthen confidence, consistency and impact across your provision 

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Final thought

The Inclusive Mainstream Fund marks a significant step towards a more inclusive, proactive education system. But funding alone won’t deliver change.

Schools that take a structured, strategic approach—grounded in evidence and focused on outcomes—will be best placed to improve experiences and attainment for all pupils.

Talk to our education experts about how to make the most impact from your Inclusive Mainstream Fund contact us (link to website contact us form) or email information@entrust-ed.co.uk