Inclusion funding 2026 to 2027: what schools, Reception and nurseries must do, and how to evidence your spend
By Tessa Hawes, founder of Mindset Mentors and MiniMe Mindfulness®
This year, on 23rd February 2026, the Department for Education has introduced two new inclusion funds. One goes to schools, and the other to nurseries and pre-schools. Each has its own rules, deadlines and evidence requirements.
This guide sets out the facts for each fund, and then shows where our live, screen-free early years sessions and our in-person programmes fit.
In this guide: The two funds at a glance · Schools, including Reception · Nurseries and pre-schools · Screen-free early years · How to evidence your spend · Guide prices
The two funds at a glance
Inclusive mainstream fund | Inclusive early years fund | |
|---|---|---|
Who receives it | Mainstream primary, secondary, middle and all-through schools and academies | Early years providers delivering the free early years entitlements |
National total | £400 million a year for schools, for 3 years | £47 million in 2026 to 2027 |
How it's paid | Maintained schools via their local authority (end of June); academies direct from DfE (early July) | Via your local authority, as a single lump sum by the end of September 2026 |
How much | £3,000 lump sum, plus £16 per primary pupil (Reception included), plus £79 per primary pupil with low prior attainment, adjusted for area costs | Set by your local authority's formula. The DfE recommends around £1,000 minimum per setting that receives it |
What it must be spent on | Activity under one of the DfE's 7 principles of inclusion | Setting-wide inclusive practice: strategic planning, workforce development, and adaptations or resources for an inclusive environment |
Deadline | Publish an inclusion strategy on your website by 31 December 2026 | Spend by 31 March 2027 |
What you must show | Barriers identified, activities funded with budgeted costs, intended outcomes, and a review of the previous year | Financial records of spend, plus a short summary if your local authority asks |
Nursery classes in schools are paid for through early years funding, while Reception is funded through the school. Check with your local authority which fund covers each of your classes.
Schools, including Reception
What you must do. Publish an inclusion strategy on your school website by 31 December 2026. Anything funded from the inclusive mainstream fund must sit under one of the 7 principles of inclusion, and the DfE advises focusing on "fewer approaches well" in year one. The fund supplements your core budget and notional SEN budget; it doesn't replace them.
Where we can support. Which principles you prioritise is your decision. This is where our programmes can sit.
DfE principle of inclusion | How we support | What you can file |
|---|---|---|
2. Evidence-based support prioritising early intervention | In-person targeted nurture groups, regulation interventions and 1:1 support, with no diagnosis needed | Session Attendance Record |
3. High-quality adaptive teaching for all learners | Reception: the 25 Superpowers mapped to the EYFS PSED educational programme. KS1 to KS2: mapped to statutory Health Education ("General wellbeing") and Relationships Education | Framework Alignment Pack (Early Years or Kids) |
5. A safe, respectful culture of belonging and participation | The same six-step session every time, with visual Session Rules and a Now and Next Board so every child can follow, including children with SEND | Framework Alignment Pack, inclusion page |
6. Partnerships with families, especially at transitions | The Parent, Carer & Teacher Hub, the School Transition Hub, and home editions of our transition Calm Kits™ | Three-voice evaluation (parents, child, teachers) |
7. Inclusive environments | Double-sided storyboards face the children while the adult reads from the reverse | Framework Alignment Pack, inclusion page |
The DfE also asks schools to support staff wellbeing and workload while they deliver the strategy. Our CPD-accredited Staff Wellbeing Experience is built for that.
Two ways to deliver in Reception:
In-house: Mr. Men Little Miss Mindset for Early Years. Your own team delivers under licence, with CPD-accredited training, 25 lesson plans and all resources.
In-person: a trained Mindset Mentor delivers MiniMe Mindfulness® sessions live in your classroom/nursery setting, with staff in the room who gain 12.5 hours CPD-accredited training by observing the 25 sessions.
Nurseries and pre-schools
What you must do. If your local authority allocates you inclusive early years fund money, spend it on setting-wide inclusive practice by 31 March 2027. Keep financial records (a spreadsheet or receipts), and be ready to give a short summary of how it was used if your local authority asks. You don't need to apply; the funding isn't tied to individual children.
Where we can support. The DfE names three types of eligible activity. Here's how the licence meets each one.
DfE eligible activity | How we support | What you can file |
|---|---|---|
Workforce development | CPD-accredited training for your team, plus the 11-hour CPD-accredited Mini Me Time™ course for every early years team member | Training records |
Adaptations or resources for an inclusive environment | Visual Session Rules, a Now and Next Board and double-sided A3 storyboards, built so every child can follow the session, including children with SEND | Framework Alignment Pack, inclusion page |
Strategic planning | The 25 Superpowers mapped to the EYFS PSED educational programme: all 3 PSED early learning goals, and 8 of the 9 goal statements (hygiene and personal care stay with your setting) | Framework Alignment Pack and Session Attendance Record |
The DfE's best practice guidance also suggests supporting families and transitions. The Parent, Carer & Teacher Hub, the School Transition Hub and the Ready 4 Big School Calm Kit™ are included in the licence.
Screen-free early years
From 1 September 2026, the EYFS requires providers to have regard to DfE guidance on children's screen use. That guidance advises avoiding screens for under-2s, except video calls, and keeping 2- to 5-year-olds to a maximum of one hour a day, less where possible.
Everything we deliver to children aged 3 to 5 is screen-free: live sessions, audio meditations, stories, pictures and games, delivered by a person in the room. Our early years sessions add no screen time to a child's day.
How to evidence your spend
You don't need a mountain of paperwork. Ofsted's September 2026 early years toolkit states that inspectors do not expect written evidence for each standard. When you work with us, you get:
A Framework Alignment Pack. The Early Years pack maps the 25 Superpowers to EYFS PSED; the KS1/2 pack maps them to PSHE and statutory Relationships and Health Education. Each pack includes a coverage checklist for your lead to confirm and file.
A Session Attendance Record, which shows what was taught and which children took part.
A three-voice evaluation, capturing feedback from parents and carers, the child, and your practitioners or teachers at the start, middle and end of the programme. It's useful for the "review" section of a school inclusion strategy, or a nursery's summary to the local authority.
An optional Impact Report, with your evaluation data written up for your self-evaluation, governors or group. This is priced separately.
Guide prices
Schools must publish budgeted costs, and nurseries must show what they spent, so here are our guide prices. They're exclusive of VAT, and Mindset Mentors Ltd is not currently VAT registered.
Programme | Delivery | Guide price |
|---|---|---|
Mr. Men Little Miss Mindset for Early Years licence (single site) | In-house, screen-free, ages 3 to 5 | £1,800 in year one, then £595 a year |
MiniMe Mindfulness® sessions in nurseries | In-person, screen-free | £60 per hour (discounts for blocks) |
MiniMe Mindfulness® sessions in schools | In-person | £300 per day, or £200 per half day |
Staff Wellbeing Experience (CPD-accredited) | In-person plus online | £400 per half day, or £600 per full day, plus £21 per person |
Multi-site licences for groups and trusts are tailored on a discovery call. In-person delivery depends on location and availability.
Next step
Book a free discovery call. We'll show you where our programmes sit against the fund your setting receives, and send you the Framework Alignment Pack.
MR. MEN™ LITTLE MISS™ © THOIP 2026 (a Sanrio company). All rights reserved. Used under licence.
Sources: DfE, Inclusive mainstream fund for schools: methodology 2026 to 2027; DfE, Developing an inclusion strategy using the inclusive mainstream fund; DfE, Inclusive early years fund: conditions of grant; DfE, Inclusive early years fund: best practice guidance; EYFS statutory framework for group and school-based providers, published 13 July 2026, effective 1 September 2026.
