26,000 Voices Reveal the True State of Inclusion in Schools

For the first time, 26,000 students and staff from over 350 schools and trusts have shared what inclusion really feels like—from corridors and classrooms to leadership, policy, and curriculum.

Published by the GEC, 26,000 Voices is the world’s largest and most intersectional study of inclusion in education. This report does more than highlight gaps—it hands leaders a blueprint for systemic change. At a time when education is at a crossroads, it offers something we’ve not had before: a real-world picture of how students and staff experience school—and what we can do to make things better.

More Than a Report: A Framework Built From the Inside Out

Inclusion is often treated as either a reporting requirement or a pastoral initiative—rarely both. That binary is holding schools back. Inclusion isn’t about box-ticking or reactive interventions. It’s about culture, systems, and leadership.

That’s why the GEC Platform was created. Developed by teachers, researchers, and inclusion experts—alongside five UK universities—it enables schools and trusts to see the full picture and act on it. At the heart of this approach is a new methodology: Kaleidoscopic Data.

Kaleidoscopic Data captures the intersectional, lived experiences of people in schools, revealing what traditional metrics can’t. By combining quantitative trends with qualitative depth, it ensures the voices of marginalised students and staff are no longer invisible—and that interventions are designed with, not for, those communities.

What the Data Reveals: Students

The student voice in this report is clear: many young people do not feel safe, seen, or supported in school.

• 64% of students say they don’t feel safe at school
  
• 30% of students from single-parent families have missed school due to safety concerns
  
• Just 18% of students with mental health needs feel supported to achieve
  
• 1 in 3 (33%) students with invisible disabilities say their needs are not understood in class
  
• Only 21% of LGBTQ+ students feel their gender identity is respected
  

What Helps: GEC Inclusion Actions for Students

• Collect anonymous student voice data to understand the needs of underserved groups. This should include how relationships and physical spaces affect students’ sense of safety and belonging.
  
• Use coaching circles and peer mentoring to rebuild trust and empower students to lead inclusively within their own communities.
  
• Equip staff with identity-informed coaching skills so they can support students with invisible disabilities or mental health needs more effectively.
  
• Use staff surveys to identify bias across the organisation. Provide LGBTQ+ inclusive training through structured, reflective CPD that centres student voice.
  
• Co-design safe spaces and coaching frameworks with students from single-parent households and marginalised groups to ensure solutions are rooted in lived reality.
  
• Adopt a trauma-informed, relational coaching model across all year groups—so inclusion becomes part of how teaching and support are delivered every day.
  

What the Data Reveals: Staff

Staff voices also reveal urgent inclusion challenges:

• Only 60% of staff feel they can be their authentic selves at work
  
• 62% of parent/carer staff feel excluded due to caregiving responsibilities
  
• Only 46% feel represented in school leadership
  
• 41% of staff with mental health or neurodivergent needs do not feel safe reporting issues
  
• Two in five staff say they need flexible working—or will consider leaving
  

What Helps: GEC Inclusion Actions for Staff

• Use anonymous staff surveys to surface the full spectrum of lived experiences, especially around identity, flexibility, and psychological safety.
  
• Create ‘safe spaces’ —both 1:1 and group, both anonymous and identified —where staff can reflect, share, and build self-advocacy skills.
  
• Offer inclusive leadership coaching to all line managers and management, focusing on belonging, identity, and equitable career routes and decision-making.
  
• Train all staff through structured CPD and coaching on flexible working, reasonable adjustments, and inclusive communication, especially for working parents and carers.
  
• Review representation in leadership pipelines through an intersectional and equity lens. Coaching can be used to build visibility, confidence, and sponsorship for underrepresented staff.
  
• Normalise mental health and neurodiversity conversations through coaching-led supervision, reflective practice, and wellbeing frameworks that go beyond tokenism.
  

Report and Support, Not Either/Or

The 26,000 Voices report offers:

• National benchmarks on inclusion
  
• Clear, actionable priorities for school and trust leaders
  
• Sector-specific recommendations for primary, secondary, FE, MATs, and AP settings
  
• A research-informed model for identifying and closing inclusion gaps
  

The GEC Platform builds on this by providing:

• Real-time dashboards showing inclusion patterns
  
• Contextualised reporting aligned to Ofsted and DfE frameworks
  
• Co-designed surveys developed with researchers and school leaders
  
• Action planning tools, CPD pathways, and measurable progress tracking
  

This isn’t about being told what to do. It’s about being supported to lead meaningful, sustainable change—ethically, strategically, and systemically.

Built by the Profession, for the Profession

This work comes from inside the system. As a former English teacher, senior leader, and now inclusion researcher and EdTech founder, I know how hard it is to turn good intentions into lasting impact. That’s why the GEC Platform doesn’t add to workload—it reframes it. With the right insight and support, inclusion becomes the foundation for improvement, not an add-on.

Start Next Term as You Mean to Go On

Want to see how the GEC Platform can support your setting?

• Download the full report:
  www.thegec.education/the-research
  
• Book a 1:1 demo or call:
  www.thegec.education/the-technology
  

Let’s turn these 26,000 voices into lasting, inclusive change.