The Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools Project (PINS) is a nationally funded pilot project for 2024/25, building on the success of the national Autism in Schools Project. The approach of PINS has been developed around the key principles of Autism in Schools:
- Whole School Approach
- Good quality training for staff
- Parents Supporting Parents groups
- Understanding students experience of schools
In Derby and Derbyshire, PINS is being delivered through a partnership by the NHS, Local Authorities and the Derby and Derbyshire Parent Carer Forums in mainstream primary settings to:
- Help shape whole school SEND provision
- Provide early interventions at a school level
- Upskill school staff
- Support strengthening of partnerships between schools and parent carers
We hope that PINS will leave a sustainable impact after the funded period and build evidence on the benefits of closer collaboration between education and health, including working collaboratively across professional boundaries.
The focus is on a needs drive rather than a diagnosis focussed programme. Strengthening knowledge, skills and improving environments to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children, will reframe the focus to how a supportive learning environment and well-equipped school can improve the outcomes for this group of children.
37 mainstream primary schools across Derby and Derbyshire are taking part in the PINS project.