True inclusion lives in your subject vision and QA – not just in interventions. But are you looking in the right places?
Inclusion isn’t a plan or a strapline. It’s a principle that should shape how you lead your subject.
When I stepped into headship after leading achievement in a relatively affluent school, I entered a very different context: high deprivation, high need and limited resources.
We couldn’t rely on a raft of interventions. The answer had to be in the classroom – in the everyday routines of planning, modelling, vocabulary, scaffolding and feedback.
Inclusion couldn’t be something added after the fact. It had to be designed in, not bolted on. That experience reshaped my thinking – not just about inclusion, but about what quality assurance should look like if we really mean “every child.”
Inclusion isn’t just about support. It’s about ambition
Inclusive practice isn’t about making things easier. It’s about giving every pupil a way in and a route up. Clarity, not simplification. Confidence, not dependence.
To make that happen, teachers need support and pupils need ambition. Both matter. And as subject leaders, it’s our job to hold space for both. That starts with a clear, inclusive subject vision and QA that looks in the right places.
You can’t QA what you haven’t planned for
If inclusion only appears in SEND documentation or interventions, it won’t show up in outcomes. It needs to be part of:
- Your subject’s curriculum intent
- The language you use in feedback and CPD
- How you define “great” teaching in English
How you QA what’s happening across classrooms
Formal lesson observations often dominate QA. But they rarely give a full picture of inclusive teaching. You need more than one window.
6 high-impact, informal QA activities
Here are six time-efficient QA strategies – and how to use each as a lens for inclusion:
1. Pupil voice conversations (with their books if possible)
Ask: “What helps you most when writing is hard?”
Look for: Awareness of tools like oral rehearsal, sentence stems, live modelling.
Inclusion lens: Do pupils recognise inclusive strategies, even if they don’t name them? Are they empowered or dependent?
Why it matters: Too often, pupils quietly disengage because they don’t know how to access the task. These conversations reveal whether strategies are embedded in pupil thinking, not just visible in planning.
2. Book sampling across contexts
Ask: “Where do we see participation and scaffolding?”
Look for: Progression in structure, use of scaffolds, variety of supports.
Inclusion lens: Are writing frames used only for some pupils, or planned into teaching sequences? Is there evidence of supported redrafting?
Why it matters: Books tell a story not just of outcomes, but of access. A lack of visible scaffolding may suggest a missed opportunity or worse, assumed understanding.
3. Working alongside colleagues and helping their planning
Ask: “How are barriers being anticipated?”
Look for: Intentional oral rehearsal, vocabulary pre-teaching, modelling.
Inclusion lens: Is planning addressing likely barriers or just listing activities? Do teachers feel confident about when and how to adapt?
Why it matters: Planning conversations is where intent meets action. If adaptations are planned, they’re more likely to happen.
4. Peer conversations and shadowing
Ask: “What’s working in your class and why?”
Look for: Shared routines, adaptations in action, language around inclusion.
Inclusion lens: Does professional dialogue centre around participation? Can staff articulate how and why adaptations help?
Why it matters: When teachers learn from each other, it normalises inclusive practice. It also builds confidence through peer modelling. It is far more powerful than top-down guidance.
5. Moderation with process questions
Ask: “How did this pupil get there?”
Look for: Scaffolds used, modelling provided, support faded over time.
Inclusion lens: Are we only celebrating polish or understanding process? Do we know what support led to success?
Why it matters: Without context, moderation risks celebrating final outcomes over inclusive process. Digging into the ‘how’ helps you surface what works and for whom.
6. CPD feedback loops
Ask: “What have we tried and what’s shifted?”
Look for: Strategy take-up, teacher confidence, refinements.
Inclusion lens: Is CPD sticking? Are strategies being adapted thoughtfully, not just copied?
Why it matters: QA isn’t just about pupils. It’s about practice. These loops help ensure that professional learning is moving the needle, not just filling the calendar.
Inclusion in QA means looking for participation – not just polish
It’s easy to review outcomes and miss the invisible scaffolds that helped pupils get there. It’s even easier to miss those who didn’t get there at all. Inclusion in QA is about who you’re looking for:
- Pupils who started slowly but improved through redrafting
- Pupils who used scaffolds to build confidence
- Pupils who found ways to express ideas they couldn’t initially write
If QA doesn’t surface these pupils, improvement plans risk leaving them out.
How Leading English can help
At Leading English, we support schools to embed inclusive practices in daily routines. Our support includes:
- Three whole-day visits from an implementation partner
- Tailored guidance using the EEF Implementation Model
- Strategic CPD, planning support and real-time coaching
This isn’t a scheme. It’s a toolkit for building confident, inclusive, curriculum-aligned teaching that works for all pupils.
