Forty primary schools in Somerset wil be part of the PINS project.
Assessing and meeting the needs of children with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) in mainstream schools is the foundation for improving outcomes, parental confidence and delivering the financially sustainable SEND system, as envisaged in the SEND and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan.
This project has been created due to the success of the national Autism in Schools project. The approach of PINS has been developed around the key principles of the Autism in Schools:
- Whole School Approach
- Good quality training for staff
- Parents Supporting Parents groups
- Understanding students experience of schools
Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) will bring health and education specialists and expert parent carers into 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
The PINS project is testing a new model for supporting good outcomes in mainstream schools for Neurodiverse students and strength parent carer and school partnerships. The project will focus on strengthening knowledge, skills and improving environments to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children. Through a focus on supportive learning environments and well-equipped schools we can improve the outcomes for this group of children.
Each school in the programme will complete the nationally agreed self-assessment tool for schools to identify priority areas for support. Schools will collate 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).
Settings that would like to join this project please complete the Expression of Interest Form below by 5pm Friday 26th April 2024. If you have any questions, please contact: pins@somersetparentcarerforum.org.uk
Only mainstream primary educational settings can apply. Schools already involved in other interventions such as Autism in Schools, and ELSEC or who access support through Mental Health in schools Teams can be part of the project.