Improvement to support for inclusion

Significant changes to the way mainstream schools are being supported to be inclusive are being rolled out in 2025.

It's all part of the Local First Inclusion programme, developed by Norfolk County Council with schools.

Aims of the Local First Inclusion programme

It aims to provide more help for schools to consistently support children with SEND.

The programme wants to ensure that:

• Children get help early
• Wherever possible, children can get the right support to attend their local school

It's vital to get this right. Most of the 29,000 children and young people with SEND in Norfolk are learning in mainstream early years, schools and further education settings.

Support for schools

By the end of the year, every mainstream school will be offered:

• Team Around the School (TAS) meetings. These are with teachers, council SEND advisers and other education professionals. TAS meetings will ensure schools have everything they need to support the children they have that need extra help.
• Zone Inclusion Partnership (ZIP) meetings. This is so schools in the same local area can share best practice and work more closely together. (Norfolk's schools are organised into 15 zones.)
• Free access to the Educational Psychology and Specialist Support (EPSS) service (from September 2025)

We have also launched a new SEND and inclusion support line which has responded to more than 2,600 calls.

Further information

Read more about the Local First Inclusion SEND improvement programme