Life Lessons and the Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF)
Inclusion starts in PSHE
Belonging, safety and self-regulation can be built. PSHE gives every pupil the time and space to do it. You can use your Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) allocation to pay for Life Lessons, and we’ll measure the impact of our work together.
Against the 7 Inclusive Mainstream Fund principles, Life Lessons:
2 Achieves directly
4 Supports
1 Outside our scope
PSHE and inclusion
Many barriers to learning can be overcome with skills that can be taught
Many pupils struggle to regulate their emotions, feel anxious or unsafe, or lack a sense of belonging. These barriers are common and predictable. They sit behind low-level disruption, disengagement and absence, whether or not a pupil has an identified need.
PSHE is the one place in the timetable where every pupil can explicitly learn and rehearse the skills that overcome them: emotional regulation, resilience, empathy and oracy. Taught well, it becomes the universal foundation of your inclusion strategy, with targeted support built on top.
Life Lessons gives your staff the skills and confidence to build safety, respect and belonging, so young people feel safe to give things a go, make mistakes and challenge themselves across the curriculum.
More than a PSHE scheme
A whole-school approach, not just lesson plans
Lesson resources are only the start. Life Lessons gives you the four things an inclusion strategy needs: a universal curriculum, confident staff, targeted support and evidence of impact.
1
Universal PSHE curriculum, Primary to Post-16
Accessible, skills-based lessons designed from the start to work for every pupil in the room.
What’s included
- Consistent lesson structure for predictability and expectation
- WCAG 2.2 accessible design: working memory, cognitive load, dyslexia-friendly
- Diverse, relatable content that normalises and celebrates the breadth of human experience
- Narrative and story-based delivery: safe distance that brings the sensitive and abstract to life
- Skills-based learning and outcomes that progress key skills across the curriculum
- Relational approaches embedded: structured opportunities to build connection and empathy
2
Staff CPD and support
Training and ongoing support so every adult delivers with confidence, including on sensitive topics.
What’s included
- Whole-school CPD for universal delivery and buy-in
- On-demand short-form courses to upskill staff in:
- Facilitating discussion
- Creating safe spaces
- Responding to challenge
- Sensitive and challenging topics
- Individual curriculum design and adaptation support for your context
- Responsive email support for questions and concerns
- Network support based on roles and strategic objectives
3
Targeted interventions
Relational, restorative and SEND-accessible resources for pupils who need more, consistent with the universal offer.
What’s included
- Fully relational:
- Assumption of good intent
- Restorative by design
- Trauma-informed
- Informed by behaviour change psychology:
- Discovery- and empathy-led
- SEND accessible
4
Impact tracking
Track social skills progress across cohorts and individuals, and spot vulnerability early.
What’s included
- A unique, evidence-informed skills metric:
- Track and benchmark cohort and individual social skills progress, identifying vulnerability and indicators of low belonging, safety and mental health
- Contextual skills application activities in every lesson to bring learning to life and inform teacher judgement
- Cross-curriculum observation guides to support judgement of skills across the school
- Inclusive, oracy-rich youth voice resources so every young person can talk about their learning and experiences with a range of people
- RSE and PSHE attainment resources
Alignment with the Inclusive Mainstream Fund
How Life Lessons maps to the 7 IMF principles
For each principle: what it asks of your school, how Life Lessons helps, and how impact is evidenced.
Ambitious leadership and governance
School and trust leaders plan for inclusion from the start. It’s built into the school’s decisions, not bolted on as an afterthought.
How we help and how it’s evidenced
How Life Lessons helps
- A ready-made framework that puts PSHE at the foundation of an inclusive school
- Universal
- PSHE curriculum
- Form time materials
- Targeted
- Behaviour interventions
- Staff CPD
How it’s measured
- [Methods to evaluate: to be confirmed]
Evidence-based support prioritising early intervention
Help is given as soon as a need is spotted, using approaches known to work, rather than waiting until a problem becomes serious.
How we help and how it’s evidenced
How Life Lessons helps
- Evaluation tools that contribute to understanding the whole child
- Inclusive intervention materials
How it’s measured
- All-through skills evaluation for:
- Emotional regulation
- Critical thinking
- Mental strength & resilience
- Empathy
- Oracy
High-quality adaptive teaching
Lessons are planned from the outset to work for every child in the room, not retrofitted for some after the fact.
How we help and how it’s evidenced
How Life Lessons helps
- Inclusion by design across:
- PSHE (including RSHE)
- British Values
- 90% of Citizenship
How it’s measured
- End-of-unit assessment to gauge every student’s understanding
- Conferencing guides by unit and key stage
Enriching provision beyond the classroom
Trips, clubs and wider opportunities are genuinely open to every pupil, with the barriers that would stop some children taking part removed.
How we help and how it’s evidenced
How Life Lessons helps
- Skills development across five Life Skill areas
- Personal development support, including SMSC and topical news
- Inclusive learning materials that directly address the barriers that can limit participation in enrichment
How it’s measured
- All-through skills evaluation for:
- Emotional regulation
- Critical thinking
- Mental strength & resilience
- Empathy
- Oracy
Safe and respectful culture
The everyday feel of the school, including how pupils treat each other and how safe and welcome they feel, is what gets children in the door and keeps them learning.
How we help and how it’s evidenced
How Life Lessons helps
- Belonging
- Relational form time
- Preventative safeguarding
- Healthy relationships
- Peer-based relationships
- A restorative approach to behaviour
How it’s measured
- Annual baseline culture survey of staff, pupils and parents
- Behaviour intervention tracker
Strong partnerships with families
Schools work with parents and outside professionals (health, care, etc.) rather than trying to handle everything alone.
How we help and how it’s evidenced
How Life Lessons helps
- PSHE curriculum alignment and transparency with parents
- Parents included in the restorative behaviour process
How it’s measured
- Annual baseline culture survey for parents
Inclusive environments with continuous accessibility improvements
The physical and social environment of the school is continually adjusted and improved for accessibility. It’s an ongoing process, not a one-off fix.
Life Lessons doesn’t cover this principle directly. It sits with your accessibility and estates planning.
Inclusive Mainstream Fund
Learn more about IMF funding
The Inclusive Mainstream Fund (IMF) is Department for Education funding to help mainstream schools build a more inclusive education for every pupil, including those with SEND. Schools don’t need to apply. Each school receives its allocation directly.
You can use your IMF allocation to pay for Life Lessons. We’ll work with you to measure the impact, giving you clear evidence for your inclusion strategy.
The DfE guidance sets out how to use the fund alongside your core budget, how to develop your inclusion strategy, and examples of best practice.
£400 million a yearfor mainstream schools in England, across the three-year spending period
Paid to every schoola £3,000 lump sum plus a per-pupil amount, with extra for pupils with low prior attainment
31 December 2026the deadline for schools to publish an inclusion strategy
Our vision
A future where schools are safe, inclusive and built on strong relationships, where every young person can find their voice and thrive.
PSHE provision and wider personal development support
£500 to £2,000
See how Life Lessons fits your inclusion strategy
Book a demo and we’ll walk you through the curriculum, intervention resources and impact tools, and how they map to your school’s priorities.