Ofsted now inspects inclusion as a standalone evaluation area (Ofsted, 2025a), and inclusive literacy sits at the heart of that work. At the expected standard, inspectors look for evidence that:

'Leaders identify pupils' needs quickly and accurately, including any emerging or changing needs. This includes the needs of disadvantaged pupils, those with SEND, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.'

(Ofsted, 2025b)

Vocabulary and reading comprehension are how pupils access every subject, and they are often where barriers show up first. Every pupil is entitled to the academic language that unlocks the curriculum. This guide sets out the challenges and practical strategies for learners with SEND, disadvantaged learners eligible for the Pupil Premium, and learners who have English as an additional language (EAL). It also covers how Bedrock Learning's adaptive platform is designed to help. For a wider view of Ofsted's inclusion evaluation area, see also ofstedinclusionframework.co.uk.

In January 2026, over 1.8 million pupils in England had special educational needs: 538,547 with an education, health and care plan (EHCP), or 6.0% of pupils, and 1,319,780 with SEN support (14.8%). That total is up by 91,400 on the previous year, and 19.4% of primary pupils now have an EHCP or SEN support (Department for Education (DfE), 2026a). The most common primary need among pupils with an EHCP is autistic spectrum disorder (33.5%); among those with SEN support, it is speech, language and communication needs (25.7%).

By 2025, pupils with an EHCP were 27.2 months behind their peers at the end of key stage 2 and 38.9 months behind at GCSE. For pupils on SEN support, the gaps were 16.2 and 21.1 months (EPI, 2026). The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) notes that, at the end of primary school, the SEND gap has been more than twice as wide as the free school meals gap (EEF, 2020). Pupils with SEND are also more likely to be eligible for free school meals: 45.3% with an EHCP and 39.8% with SEN support, against 22.7% with no identified SEN (DfE, 2026a).

The SEND Code of Practice groups needs into four broad areas: communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health; and sensory and/or physical (DfE and Department of Health, 2015). A learner with ADHD may decode accurately but lose the thread, while a learner with dyslexia may struggle to recognise words. No two learners with the same diagnosis will have the same needs.

The EEF recommends five starting points: a positive environment; an ongoing understanding of each learner's needs; high-quality teaching; carefully chosen interventions; and teaching assistants who add value, rather than replacing the teacher (EEF, 2020). Follow the graduated cycle of assess, plan, do and review (DfE and Department of Health, 2015), and revisit it as needs change.

Use explicit instruction, scaffolding and visual tools such as graphic organisers. Paired reading, audio support and extra time in short chunks can all help. Judge progress by how well a learner understands the text, not by how many pages they have read. For more classroom ideas, see our guides to supporting learners with SEN in primary classrooms and improving reading comprehension for students with ADHD.

In January 2026, 26.5% of pupils in England (over 2.2 million) were eligible for free school meals (DfE, 2026b). Pupil Premium is funding to improve education outcomes for disadvantaged pupils: those recorded as eligible for free school meals in the last six years (FSM Ever 6), looked-after children and previously looked-after children. For 2026 to 2027, the rates are £1,550 per eligible pupil in reception to year 6, £1,100 in years 7 to 11, and £2,690 for looked-after and previously looked-after children. Eligible service children attract a further £360 (DfE, 2026c).

The disadvantage gap remains wide. In 2025, disadvantaged pupils were 4.9 months behind in the early years, 10.0 months behind at the end of key stage 2, and 19.0 months behind at GCSE, still wider than before the pandemic (EPI, 2026). Literacy is one of the main ways that gap shows up: disadvantaged learners are more likely to enter school with less exposure to a wide range of vocabulary and high-quality texts.

Schools decide how to spend the Pupil Premium. The EEF recommends a tiered approach: high-quality teaching first, then targeted academic support, then wider strategies such as attendance and parental engagement (EEF, 2023). Plans should be based on diagnostic assessment and evidence of what works.

Prioritise explicit vocabulary teaching, especially ambitious Tier 2 words. Teach reading comprehension strategies such as prediction, questioning and summarising: the EEF estimates an average of seven months' additional progress (EEF, 2025). Intervene early, involve families, and check whether the strategy is making a difference. For more on planning and evidence, see our guide to using Pupil Premium funding to support literacy.

In January 2026, 21.6% of pupils in England were recorded as having a first language known or believed to be other than English: 23.8% in primary and 19.3% in secondary. This is not a measure of English proficiency (DfE, 2026b). Some were born in the UK and have been bilingual from the start; others arrive mid-year and may or may not already be literate in their first language.

What they often share is a need for explicit support with academic English. Conversational fluency can develop relatively quickly and can mask difficulties with reading comprehension (Cummins, 1984). Readers typically need to know around 95% to 98% of the words in a text to understand it (Hu and Nation, 2000; Schmitt, Jiang and Grabe, 2011). Late arrivals still have large attainment gaps, which widened at key stage 2 and key stage 4 in 2025 (EPI, 2026). Treating EAL as a deficit, rather than as multilingualism, lowers expectations.

• Make it visual: images and matching activities reduce the language load without reducing the cognitive demand
• Make it concrete: graphic organisers help pupils organise ideas before they write them in English
• Model the language you want, then give pupils time to talk it through before they write
• Pre-teach key vocabulary and check background knowledge before reading
• Value the first language: knowledge in one language helps make input in the other comprehensible (Cummins, 2001), and translanguaging or bilingual reading buddies build on what pupils already know (García and Wei, 2014)
• Teach vocabulary in every subject, not only in English

For more classroom ideas, see our 10 tips to help EAL learners with reading comprehension.

[VIDEO PLACEHOLDER] Insert the existing accessibility features video here. Suggested alt text: Video thumbnail: Bedrock accessibility features for reading, including font, contrast, reading guide and audio options

Accessibility is built into everyday learning from the moment students log in, so they can work on the same curriculum content as their peers. The platform is built to WCAG 2.1 AA and 2.2 AA standards, developed with visual and hearing impairment specialists, and tested with students in real classrooms. It is designed for a wide range of needs, including dyslexia, visual and hearing impairments, ADHD, and learners developing English proficiency.

As one specialist involved in that work put it:

'As a specialist, it's rare to see feedback taken so seriously. Bedrock actively shaped the platform around ideas that improve access for students with hearing and visual impairments.'

Visual impairment and hearing impairment specialist, Carlton Bolling School, Bradford and Kirklees Council

Students can personalise how content is displayed and how it sounds:

• Increase font size or spacing, and choose a font such as OpenDyslexic, Comic Sans, Verdana or Sora
• Switch to high contrast, or to a light or dark display
• Change background colour, and use a reading guide, shown as a single line or a highlighted band
• Listen to the full text or to selected words, choose a female or male voice, and adjust the speed or replay sections
• Navigate using a keyboard or assistive technology where needed

These adjustments are quick to make, saved automatically and applied across devices.

As students move through Bedrock, adaptive teaching powered by Bedrock Strata responds to how they are performing. Challenge, question sequencing and scaffolding adjust in line with reading ability, vocabulary knowledge and recent performance, and vocabulary is available in the moment of reading.

Teachers and leaders can see how students are accessing content, not only how they are attaining. Staff can view display and audio preferences alongside attainment data, and use these insights to:

• Identify patterns across SEND, Pupil Premium and EAL cohorts
• Understand which accessibility tools are being used most often
• Spot emerging needs before gaps widen
• Support alignment with EHCPs and existing support plans
• Inform targeted interventions and classroom planning
• Strengthen evidence for inspection and inclusion conversations

Inclusive literacy is high-quality teaching, with the right adjustments and a clear picture of each pupil's needs. To see how this would work in your school, book a demo.

Cummins, J. (1984) Bilingualism and special education: Issues in assessment and pedagogy. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Cummins, J. (2001) 'Bilingual children's mother tongue: Why is it important for education?', Sprogforum, 7(19), pp. 15-20. Available at: https://www.lavplu.eu/central/bibliografie/cummins_eng.pdf

Department for Education (2026a) Special educational needs in England, Academic year 2025/26. Published 11 June 2026, last updated 30 June 2026. Available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england/2025-26

Department for Education (2026b) Schools, pupils and their characteristics, Academic year 2025/26. Published 4 June 2026, last updated 16 October 2026. Available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics/2025-26

Department for Education (2026c) Pupil premium 2026 to 2027: technical note. Updated 23 September 2026. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2026-to-2027/pupil-premium-2026-to-2027-technical-note

Department for Education and Department of Health (2015) Special educational needs and disability code of practice: 0 to 25 years. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-code-of-practice-0-to-25

Education Endowment Foundation (2020) Special educational needs in mainstream schools: Guidance report. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/send

Education Endowment Foundation (2023) The EEF guide to the Pupil Premium. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/guidance-for-teachers/using-pupil-premium

Education Endowment Foundation (2025) Reading comprehension strategies, Teaching and Learning Toolkit. Last updated October 2025. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/reading-comprehension-strategies

Education Policy Institute (2026) Annual report 2026: Foreword and executive summary. Available at: https://epi.org.uk/annual-report-2026/annual-report-es-2026/

García, O. and Wei, L. (2014) Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism and education. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Hu, M. and Nation, P. (2000) 'Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension', Reading in a Foreign Language, 13(1), pp. 403-430. Available at: https://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/item/51

Ofsted (2025a) Education inspection framework 2025. For use on inspections from 10 November 2025. Updated 18 September 2026. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework-eif/education-inspection-framework-for-use-from-november-2025

Ofsted (2025b) State-funded school inspection toolkit. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a915d1c01bbff0bf8f97b51/Schools_inspection_toolkit.pdf

Schmitt, N., Jiang, X. and Grabe, W. (2011) 'The percentage of words known in a text and reading comprehension', The Modern Language Journal, 95(1), pp. 26-43. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2011.01146.x