The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has published its new Guide to Inclusive Teaching, offering practical, evidence-informed advice to teachers to support every pupil to participate and succeed in school.

The guide focuses on improving outcomes for pupils with additional needs, recognising that many pupils face multiple barriers to learning.

It introduces a two-part model of inclusive teaching:

• Strengthening universal classroom practice.
• Identifying and implementing adaptations and additional support.

Together, these form a sustainable approach to improving outcomes for all pupils.

Read more about the universal approaches here.

Read more about the adaptations and additional support here.

Inclusive teaching myth-busting

The guide addresses some of the most common misconceptions about inclusive teaching:

• Inclusive teaching is all about what schools do differently for pupils with additional needs.
• The more adaptations teachers make, the more pupils will learn.
• Interventions are the most important way to support pupils with additional needs.
• A diagnosis automatically tells us the best way to support a pupil.
• Teachers need specialist expertise before they can effectively support pupils with additional needs.

The guide addresses these misconceptions directly, encouraging schools to focus on evidence-informed approaches that strengthen teaching for all pupils while providing effective additional support where needed.

Bust some myths here.

Supporting implementation

Embedding inclusive teaching requires deliberate planning, sustained support for staff, and ongoing monitoring. The guide included practical advice to help schools:

• Identify priorities.
• Strengthen professional knowledge and confidence.
• Build a coherent, sustainable approach to inclusion.

There are also scenario-based CPD resources and links to related guidance.

Check it out here.

Why is the guidance important?

Improving outcomes for children with additional needs is a system-wide priority, and schools are required to publish an inclusion strategy by the end of the year. The guide positions inclusive teaching as both:

• A challenge, requiring careful thinking about how to support pupils who encounter the biggest barriers to learning.
• An opportunity to improve teaching for all pupils and build professional knowledge and confidence.

Who is it for?

The guide is designed primarily for headteachers, senior leadership teams, inclusion leads, SENCOs, teaching and learning leads, and professional development leads.