Lincolnshire's Inclusion Strategy 2025-26

We want children and young people in Lincolnshire to be supported to achieve their best in school and in life. Through strong planning and support, we will help them build the skills, confidence, and resilience to move successfully into adulthood and independence, with high aspirations guiding every step.

What we have achieved so far:

• the careers hub has completed the pilot to support primary schools to achieve higher aspirations, aimed at pupil’s own thinking about what jobs are possible and challenging stereotypes that may be limiting.  “start small – dream big” has been rolled out across 63 primary schools, with each school appointing a lead teacher, who has completed development modules around leadership, employer engagement, challenging stereotypes and parent partnership support.  Resources have been developed and distributed to participating schools, with region-wide access to MyPath careers, a fully funded video library linking the national curriculum to real-world jobs and skills. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, including relevance, usability, and pupil engagement with early indicators of increased teacher confidence in embedding careers learning at key stage 1 and 2.
• health visitors have continued to ensure those most in need are seen on a targeted basis to ensure early intervention and prevention is part of business as usual, including targeting those most vulnerable
• the SEND team have been expanded by a further 15 caseworkers to increase the capacity of the team to meet the continued increase in demand
• the transition team, part of the pupil reintegration team (PRT), has been established to support pupils to transition from alternative provision, special school, or interim home tuition back to mainstream via Lincolnshire’s transition protocol.  The team have built relationships with alternative provisions and schools, developing collaborative working to identify pupils suitable for transition support, with parents, carers and children and young people at the centre of discussions and decision making  
• a project is underway to support young people to transition back to Lincolnshire from out of county independent special school settings as part of their preparation for adulthood
• the leaving care service has been insourced and brought under direct council provision, strengthening our offer to care leavers, particularly those aged 21 and over. This enhanced support has been positively recognised during the recent Ofsted focused visit, where inspectors highlighted the clarity and ambition of our 21+ offer. The newly established post-16 education, employment and training (EET) service has already begun to demonstrate positive outcomes, with early evidence showing improved engagement and progression for care leavers. The service is also placing greater emphasis on addressing mental health and substance misuse needs, which are often barriers to sustained EET participation
• the special schools have engaged well with the SEND employment project, and this has enabled them to focus on careers, work experience and employment opportunities across the county.  Special schools with post 16 provision have had employer encounters, work experience (internal and external) and are moving students onto appropriate employment pathways including adults local supported employment programme 
• the children in care (CiC) employment project pilot has been completed and as a result of the outcomes achieved, permanent posts have now been created via the virtual school to continue taking this forward 
• the supported employment project assisted InspireU to successfully apply for Whitbread’s Thrive programme.  Four young people have been through the programme and are all now in permanent paid positions at Premier Inn, with a further eight young people going forward on this pathway to paid jobs  
• Lincolnshire County Council have been selected as one of the next wave of partners to receive its own Premier Inn training facility.  The facility is being housed at the InspireU Lincoln site and is fully funded by Whitbread.  The facilities are a complete replica of a Premier Inn, consisting of a reception area, three fully furnished bedrooms and bathrooms and a team area equipped with laundry facilities. The training facility will be open to the wider community, including special schools, colleges and adults day opportunities
• we have strong gathering of information around children and young people considered NEET (not in education, employment or training).  We have continued to make links with other local authorities for sharing of good practice and preparation for adulthood communications to young people and parents and carers
• the intake team and the physical disability team have merged to become the preparation for adulthood team, a single team to support young people transitioning to adult social care.  The team will continue to enhance collaborative working to ensure transitioning young people have timely assessments and their families are clear about the support they will receive on reaching adulthood  
• ensuring clarity of information for families about transitions to adult social care will continue to be embedded and reviewed within Lincolnshire’s local offer so that expectations are clear from an early age, including eligibility, the most appropriate pathway for transition and what to expect  
• the leaving care service has been working closely with adult social care to enhance the transition process for young people moving into adulthood from children in care (CiC) to leaving care. This has involved strengthening collaboration across services to ensure timely assessments and clear communication with families about the support available.  We have reviewed the referral process to improve efficiency and ensure that pathways into adult social care are well understood. The work is being embedded within Lincolnshire’s local cffer, helping to set clear expectations from an early age around eligibility, transition pathways, and support families can expect

What we need to do next:

• the support for primary schools via the careers hub will continue to develop and grow.  Commission complete careers will run primary careers community of practice meetings, maintaining peer-to-peer networking and best-practice sharing.  Ongoing feedback will be gathered from the primary school career leads to refine and strengthen the parental engagement pack and MyPath resources.  Impact will be gathered and published.  Sustainability options will be explored and additional local partnerships to secure long-term primary careers support  
• the transition team will continue to work in partnership with families, alternative provision and schools to ensure a supported transition for pupils back to mainstream via Lincolnshire’s transition protocol.  All school settings have committed to the protocol and their commitment will be demonstrated via the strength of their support, engagement and drive in ensuring children and young people are provided the advantages of timely access to mainstream education  
• we will progress with the project to support children and young people transitioning from out of county independent special school settings back to Lincolnshire, supporting and enabling young people to return to their local community as part of their preparation for adulthood
• the leaving care service will continue to be embedded within the council’s direct delivery, further enhancing the quality of pathway plans, which include up to date, clear, time-bound actions to promote young people’s welfare, progress and safety.  Strengthened case recording, to capture significant events, help workers and young people understand post-care journeys and inform planning will also be a key focus
• Lincolnshire’s SEND employment project has developed the employer market and employment opportunities for children and young people with SEND.  The vocational profile tool is being used widely by the special schools and has supported young people to identify their aspirations and to work towards achieving these. The tool will be rolled out to mainstream learners with EHC plans to support them on their vocational journey  
• the Premier Inn training facility at the InspireU Lincoln site will be completed for access by the wider community, including special schools, colleges and adults day opportunities.  A working group is being led by InspireU, to ensure use of the facility is maximised.  Work will take place with the careers team to roll out a work experience offer for year 9 and year 10 pupils  
• we will complete the supported accommodation review to determine future in-house and commissioning requirements to inform and guide decision making for maximum positive impact 
• development of new transition workstreams will take place through joint multi-agency working and coproduction with adult care and community wellbeing.  These are aimed at strengthening and improving transition support, pathways, information and communication