We are delighted to announce that we will be moving into Year 2 of the PINS programme in April, with 30 new schools joining the Year 1 cohort of 38 schools.
Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) will bring together health and education specialists and expert parent carers into mainstream primary schools to:
- Help shape whole school SEND provision
- Provide early interventions at the school level
- Upskill school staff
- Strengthen partnerships between schools and parent carers
The PINS project is testing a new model for supporting positive outcomes for neurodiverse students in mainstream schools and strengthening parent carer-school partnerships. The project will focus on enhancing knowledge, skills, and improving environments to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children. By focusing on supportive learning environments and well-equipped schools, we can improve outcomes for this group of children.
Each school joining the programme in Year 2 will complete the nationally agreed self-assessment tool to identify priority areas for support. Schools will compile the findings and use them to assess themselves against a number of high-level domains, including Leadership, Culture and Values; Mental Health; Readiness to Learn; Teaching and Learning; Environment; and Communication.
Each new school in the programme will:
- Receive 37.5 hours of support based on their SEF
- Hold a parent engagement session once per term with the Somerset Parent Carer Forum
- Work with the Engagement and Participation lead at Somerset Council to run a session each term to hear the voices of SEND students
Schools from Year 1 will be able to:
- Continue to access training in Year 2
- Attend three Community of Practice sessions to share best practices and learn from one another
- Receive ongoing support from the Somerset Parent Carer Forum to hold a parent engagement session once per term
New schools wanting to be involved in Year 2 are requested to submit an expression of interest by 5 p.m. on Friday, 25th April. These submissions will be reviewed, and successful schools will be notified by 2nd May.
Link to the expression of interest form
An information session for schools will be held on Tuesday, 22nd April, at 3 p.m. via Microsoft Teams. To join the session, please register here.
