FAO - Primary/ Infant/ Junior Heads, SLT and SENCos
We want to invite new schools to participate in a national project to meet the needs of neurodiverse children in primary schools. This is an extension to the project launched jointly by the Department for Education (DfE), the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSE) and the NHS. Previous PINS schools will automatically continue to be included in the programme.
The Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) project will continue to develop multi-agency collaboration and strengthening of parent carer and school partnerships in mainstream education settings, focusing on supporting neurodiverse pupils, who represent a fast-growing cohort amongst the children who benefit from inclusive mainstream environments.
Information from the briefing:
The PowerPoint from Thursday's meeting is now available on this page in Related documents.
Joining Instructions:
Please complete the expression of interest form by Saturday 24 May 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Which schools are able to sign up for this project?
- This project is open to schools in Derby City and Derbyshire with primary-aged children. There will be a separate offer for Derbyshire secondary schools soon.
How do we sign up for the project?
- Please complete the expression of interest form by Saturday 24 May 2025.
What will happen if there are too many schools requesting to participate?
- The project team will look at health and education data, geographical location and project team capacity to choose the 30 schools able to access the full offer. Remember there will be a training offer for all schools who apply.
We’re a small school and releasing staff is difficult, can we still join?
- Have you thought about ‘federating’ with other local schools so that you can share attendance and disseminate practice. Please email claire.morley@derbyshire.gov.uk to discuss this.
Are you looking for schools with a high proportion of autistic children?
- Neurodiversity covers so much more than just autism. The aim of this project is to enable schools to increase their capacity to support whether or not there is a diagnosis.
Timeline
January 2024 to March 2025
PINS Group 1 - 40 Schools
April / May 2025
Information shared with schools, schools briefing
24 May 2025
Deadline for completion of expression of interest form
June 2025
Expression of interest considered against data from DfE and NHS
By 28 June 2025
Project schools complete School Assessment Form
September to March 2026
Delivery Phase - training equivalent of 40 days per school and Parent / Carer
April to May 2026
Evaluation Phase