Experts at Hand & Inclusion Strategy Support for Schools and Multi Academy Trusts
Preparing your school for Experts at Hand and the new Inclusion Strategy requirements and stronger speech, language and communication provision.
Integrated Treatment Services supports schools and Multi Academy Trusts to strengthen speech, language and communication provision through practical, research-informed support.
Whether you are reviewing inclusive practice, preparing your Inclusion Strategy or looking to build staff confidence, we help turn strategic priorities into sustainable everyday practice.
Understanding Experts at Hand
Experts at Hand is designed to help mainstream settings identify needs earlier, access specialist expertise and build staff capability so that support can be embedded more effectively in everyday education.
Early Identification
Earlier identification of speech, language and communication needs.
Specialist Advice
Access to specialist expertise and practical advice when it is needed.
Staff Coaching
Building staff confidence through coaching, modelling and specialist input.
Whole Class Support
Greater emphasis on strong universal communication practice in classrooms.
Targeted Intervention
Supporting children earlier with targeted approaches before needs escalate.
Collaborative Working
Schools working alongside specialist education and health professionals.
Preparing your Inclusion Strategy
Schools are required to publish an Inclusion Strategy Statement for the 2026/27 academic year. A strong Inclusion Strategy should show how the school will:
- Strengthen inclusive practice
- Remove barriers to learning
- Support pupils with additional needs
- Develop staff capability
- Use available funding effectively
- Monitor the impact of provision
Review the communication foundations of inclusive practice.
From identifying needs through to implementation and impact measurement, we help schools understand what is working, where gaps remain and what practical next steps will make provision more sustainable.
Ready to review your current SLCN provision?
Use our free Inclusion Strategy Checklist and SLCN Provision Map to identify strengths, gaps and practical priorities.
How ITS Supports your Inclusion Strategy
Build the right mix of universal, targeted and specialist support around the needs of your pupils, staff and wider school community.
Universal Support
Strengthening communication-friendly practice across classrooms and whole-school provision.
- Communication Friendly Classrooms
- Whole-school training
- Colourful Semantics
- Connect and Write Framework™
- Staff coaching
- Provision audits
- Communication environments
Targeted Support
Providing structured interventions and staff capability around identified areas of need.
- Small group interventions
- Baseline assessments
- Teaching Assistant training
- Outcome planning
- Progress reviews
- Implementation support
Specialist Support
Accessing specialist clinical expertise where assessment, intervention or consultation is required.
- Speech & Language Therapy
- Assessment
- Direct intervention
- Consultation
- Complex case advice
- Clinical supervision
- Reports and recommendations
Build a consistent inclusion and communication approach across your MAT.
The ITS Inclusion & Communication Partnership
A practical improvement journey that starts with your current position and builds towards sustainable, embedded practice.
Every school is different.
Our partnership model allows schools to access the right level of support — from a one-off review through to ongoing specialist support across the academic year.
How ITS Support Aligns with Experts at Hand
ITS is independent of the government’s Experts at Hand service. Our existing specialist support can, however, help schools strengthen many of the same areas of inclusive practice.
Choose the planning support that is most useful to you
Access the SLCN Provision Map, the Inclusion Strategy Checklist, or choose both. Whichever route you take, you only need to complete one short form.
SLCN Provision Map
Map what is currently in place across universal, targeted and specialist provision and identify practical priorities for development.
- Universal, targeted and specialist provision
- Responsibilities and referral pathways
- Impact and evidence
- School and MAT reflection
- Priority action planning
Inclusion Strategy Checklist
Review the communication foundations of inclusive practice and identify areas that may need strengthening within your school.
- Universal provision
- Targeted support
- Specialist services
- Staff confidence
- Communication environments and impact
Access Both Resources
Complete your details once and receive the full set of free planning support for reviewing and mapping your SLCN provision.
- Inclusion Strategy Checklist
- SLCN Provision Map – fillable version
- SLCN Provision Map – printable version
- One form and one confirmation
Choose the option that suits you. Your details are requested only once for the resource route you select.
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Experts at Hand, Inclusion Strategy & ITS
Straightforward answers for school leaders, SENDCos and Trust teams planning ahead.
Have another question? Talk to ITS →What is Experts at Hand?
Experts at Hand is a new service being introduced in England to help mainstream education settings identify needs earlier and access specialist education and health expertise, including speech and language therapy, closer to everyday practice. Initial delivery begins from September 2026.
Does every school have to use Experts at Hand?
Experts at Hand is being developed locally by Local Authorities working with Integrated Care Boards. The precise offer and how mainstream settings access it will therefore be locally tailored. It does not replace schools’ existing statutory duties.
What is an Inclusion Strategy?
An Inclusion Strategy sets out how a school will use its overall funding and provision to identify and meet the needs of its cohort, address barriers to learning and participation, and embed inclusive practice.
Do schools have to publish an Inclusion Strategy?
Yes. The Department for Education requires individual schools to publish an Inclusion Strategy Statement for the 2026/27 academic year by 31 December 2026.
How can speech and language support strengthen inclusion?
Speech, language and communication skills influence access to teaching, relationships, participation, literacy and the ability to express needs. Strengthening communication provision can therefore support both learning and wider inclusive practice.
Can ITS help review our current provision?
Yes. ITS can help review how communication needs are identified, universal and targeted provision, referral pathways, staff confidence, training priorities, specialist therapy provision and how impact is measured.
Can ITS work with Multi Academy Trusts?
Yes. ITS works with individual schools and Multi Academy Trusts, including trust-wide approaches designed to improve consistency, oversight and staff capability across settings.
Do you provide training as well as therapy?
Yes. Support can include whole-school training, coaching, provision review, implementation support, specialist consultation, speech and language therapy and clinical supervision.
Reviewing your Inclusion Strategy?
Preparing for the next stage?
Let’s explore how speech, language and communication support can strengthen inclusive practice across your school or Multi Academy Trust.
