SEND and learner support software for schools: a later edition

A school edition of Inclusion Studio is planned for later. It is not available today, it is not part of the pilot, and we are not giving a date. This page explains why schools need a separate edition, what the two have in common, and how to tell us you are interested.

Why is SEND software for schools a later edition?

Schools and FE providers support learners under related but different rules, so a school edition has to be validated on its own. Using the FE product unchanged in a school would risk getting duties, language and data handling wrong.

The main differences to validate include:

• Different legal provisions. Pupils are covered by section 85 of the Equality Act 2010, and colleges and other FE institutions by section 91. Both include reasonable adjustments, but the responsible bodies, processes and exceptions differ. Section 66 of the Children and Families Act 2014 applies to schools and FE institutions alike, but how it is carried out day to day differs between them.
• SEND roles and processes. Schools have a SENCO, and the SEND code of practice 0 to 25 has separate chapters for early years, schools and further education. School practice includes the graduated approach and, for younger pupils, parents and carers taking the lead in decisions. In FE the young person is generally the decision maker.
• Children’s data. Most pupils are children. Consent, transparency, and who may see what all change. A school edition would need its own data protection impact assessment, language that is right for children and families, and clear boundaries with safeguarding systems. See safeguarding boundaries and special category data in education.
• Different funding and oversight. School funding and inspection work differently from FE and apprenticeships.
• Different sources of information. Schools hold information from early years and primary phases, and local authority teams, that FE providers do not.

The government published proposals for reforming the SEND system in its February 2026 schools white paper, “Every child achieving and thriving”. Until Parliament changes the law, the existing statutory framework applies. We will check the current position before building anything for schools.

This page is general information, not legal advice.

What is shared with the FE product?

Inclusion Studio is designed so that a school edition can build on a shared core rather than start from scratch. The four-step journey, learner voice, recorded delivery, review and role-based permissions are likely to carry across. How they should be worded and sequenced for children, parents and school staff is what needs research. See the FE colleges page for how the journey works today in the pilot setting.

What about school sixth forms?

A school sixth form is part of a school, so school duties apply. Sixth form colleges are further education institutions. See sixth form colleges for that setting. The pilot starts with FE colleges and apprenticeship providers, and school sixth forms would belong in the later school edition.

Can I register interest?

Yes. If you work in a school, multi-academy trust or local authority, contact us and tell us about your setting, your current process and what you would need. Registering interest does not commit either of us, and we cannot promise dates or availability. We will use what we learn to decide what to validate and when. See the roadmap for the current position and the pilot page for what is happening first.

What would validation involve?

Before a school edition is built, we would expect to speak to SENCOs, inclusion leads, pupils and parents, review the relevant statutory guidance with sources, complete a separate data protection impact assessment, and test the wording and permissions with real users. We would also check what is happening in SEND policy at the time. None of this has started in earnest, because the pilot with FE colleges and apprenticeship providers comes first. Nothing here is a commitment on timing.

How does Inclusion Studio support this today?

For schools, it does not, yet. Inclusion Studio is pre-pilot, with a clickable prototype using fictional learners and a production application in development on synthetic data. The honest answer to a school asking if it can use it now is no. If your learners progress to college, our guide on school to college transition may help, as may the solutions overview.