Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools Pilot

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.

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).

To support the successful delivery of the PINS programme, your school has been asked to complete the self-assessment form to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of your whole school’s approach to inclusion.

Pupil Voice and Parent Carer Involvement are at the heart of the PINS project and all schools are required to complete these elements of the project. Please refer to the Pupil Voice and Parent Carer Involvement sections for more information.

The self-assessment seeks input from school leaders, the governing body, SENCO, and will be considered alongside the results of all feedback, to understand the areas in which your school would most benefit from.

The schools assessment looked at 6 key areas within school these are:

Leadership Culture and Values – School Ethos, Awareness, Co-production and Parental Engagement

Mental Health

Readiness to Learn

Teaching and Learning

The Environment

Communication

Children’s feedback is very important to the PINS Programme, and schools have been asked to seek the views of children in their school.

The pupil voice feedback will contribute to the school’s overall assessment. In Medway schools are just starting to gather this.

The Children’s Voice Self-Assessment questionnaire which is aligned with the six self-assessment domains, so that children’s feedback can feed into your school support priorities. 

Example’s of questions

• I feel safe and cared for at school
• My teachers listen to my views and ideas to make school better. 
• I feel happy at mealtimes and eat enough at school
• I can ask my teachers and they will help me with my work. 
• I get help to sort out any problems with my friends

Collaboration with parents and carers is critical to the success of the PINS programme, in order to build or strengthen parental relationships with schools, and to build confidence in local ways of working and the support that parents can expect for their children. Parent carers are key partners in the delivery of PINS and there will be parent carer representation at all levels.

Parent carers have been asked for their views at the start and will be asked again at end of the project at all the schools involved in the project. This is a nationally designed survey which is facilitated by Medway Parents and Carers Forum

There are responsibilities for schools, and the PCF’s taking part in PINS. This includes:

• holding termly meetings (minimum of 3) with the school leadership team
• hold a minimum of 3 parent carer participation group meetings within the school during the project delivery period. These are open to all parent carers with children, in the school community  
• Schools will support communication between the PCF and the parent carer community through the use of the school’s communication channels 
• both the PCF and school will promote a person-centred approach to working with parent carers as outlined in the Children and Families Act and SEND Code of Practice.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed and agreed by schools and the Forum to clearly identify these roles and responsibilities.

If you have a child at one of the Primary Schools taking part and would like any further information or would be willing to support us by taking part please contact us at PINS@medwaypcf.org.uk

Schools who took part in school year 24/25 :-

• All Faiths Children’s Academy
• All Saints Church of England Primary School Primary
• Bligh Primary
• Byron Primary
• Elaine Primary
• Featherby Infants & Juniors School
• Greenvale Primary
• Gordon Children’s Academy
• Hilltop Primary School
• Kingfisher Primary
• New Horizons Childrens Academy
• New Road Primary
• Phoenix Primary
• Riverside  Primary School
• St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
• St John’s Church of England Infant School
• St Margaret’s Church of England Junior School
• St Peters Infant School
• Thames View Primary School
• Twydall Primary School
• Warren Wood Primary School

Schools taking part in school year 25/26 are:-

• • Academy of Woodlands
  • Chattenden Primary School
  • Delce Academy
  • Luton Primary School
  • Maundene Primary School
  • Oaklands School
  • Oasis Academy Skinner Street
  • Parkwood Primary School
  • Saxon Way Primary School
  • St Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Primary School
  • Temple Mill Primary School
  • Wainscott Primary School
  • Wayfield Primary School

Prize Draw Terms and Conditions

£25 Amazon Voucher Prize Draw

1. Promoter
   The prize draw is organised and administered by Medway Parents and Carers Forum (MPCF).
2. Eligibility
   Entry is open to parents and carers of children attending schools participating in the Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme who complete the survey during the prize draw period.
3. How to Enter
   To enter the prize draw, participants must:
   • Complete the survey in full.
   • Have a child in a participating school
   • Provide their contact details in the section provided at the end of the survey.
4. Entry Limit
   Only one prize draw entry per person is permitted, regardless of the number of surveys completed.
5. Prize
   The prize is one £25 Amazon voucher. No cash alternative will be offered, and the prize is non-transferable.
6. Opening and Closing Dates
   The prize draw opens on the date the survey is launched 7th September and closes at 11:59pm on 2 October 2026. Entries received after this date will not be included.
7. Winner Selection
   The winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries received before the closing date.
8. Notification of Winner
   The winner will be contacted using the contact details provided within 14 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted within 14 days, Medway Parents and Carers Forum reserves the right to select an alternative winner.
9. Data Protection
   Contact details provided for the prize draw will be used solely for administering the prize draw and contacting the winner. Personal information will be handled in accordance with Medway Parents and Carers Forum’s Privacy Policy and applicable data protection legislation.
10. Publicity
    The winner’s name will not be published without their prior consent.
11. General
    Medway Parents and Carers Forum reserves the right to amend, suspend, or cancel the prize draw where necessary due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control.

1. Acceptance of Terms
   By entering the prize draw, participants agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

Contact:
If you have any questions about the prize draw, please contact pins@medwaypcf.org.uk.

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Schools taking part in PINS this year are

• Elaine Primary
• Hempstead Schools Federation
• Horsted Primary School
• Lordswood School
• Oasis Academy Skinner Street
• The Pilgrim School
• St. James Church of England Primary School
• St Marys Catholic Primary School
• St Nicholas CEVC Infant School
• St Thomas of Canterbury  Catholic Primary School
• St William of Perth Roman Catholic Primary School

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