Expanding to 71 schools in Surrey
The Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINs) is a joint National Health Service England (NHS) and Department for Education (DfE) programme. It helps support the inclusion and participation of neurodiverse children in schools through partnership working between Integrated Commissioning Boards (ICBs) councils and parent carer forums.
From 2024 to 2025, we have run a successful pilot of the PINs programme, in partnership with Surrey Heartlands ICB, Eikon and Family Voice Surrey. The pilot has supported 41 schools in Surrey to shape their whole school SEND approach for neurodiverse children. It provides early interventions, upskills school staff and strengthens partnerships between schools and families.
We are very pleased that, due to the success of the pilot in South East and North West Surrey, the PINs programme is now expanding to a further 30 schools in North East and South West Surrey. This will mean that there are now 71 schools in total in the programme.
Celebrating success
At the end of June, the PINs programme held a celebration event at Freemantles School, Woking, after a successful pilot year of the programme. The event included key partners from Family Voice Surrey and Learners Single Point of Access (L-SPA), as well as Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCO) and teachers from schools who took part in the pilot.
Silvana Mazzaschi, SENCO at Thorpe Lea School said: “Children, parents and staff all benefit from being part of the PINs programme. As a SENCO, I can see the children doing better with the right support in place. Our improved relationships have allowed parents to come out of their shell. For staff, I hear positive feedback from the Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Neurodiversity Advisors about the strategies they are implementing.”
Working together
A vital part of the PINs project has been close partnership working with Surrey Heartlands ICB, Eikon and Family Voice Surrey.
Jackie Pomeroy, Service Manager at L-SPA and Lead Delivery Partner of the PINs programme in 2024/25, said: “The most valuable thing is undoubtedly the parent participation element. It is what makes this different to any other project. Supporting schools to understand how parents can be a huge asset to them and how they are experts by experience has changed the nature of how we work together”.
Kate Goode, Participation Manager at Family Voice Surrey said: “Working on the PINs programme has been fantastic over the last year. It's been a real partnership, it's an excellent example of co-production with families, with Surrey County Council and with all the other partners. It’s meant that the families have really felt heard, and they have been given an opportunity to feel like an equal partner in the decision-making process for their child and their family.”
“There’s been loads of impacts from the PINs programme but most noticeable has been that all children feel that they are included and part of their community and their school. And get an opportunity to thrive in the best way that they want to with the needs that they have.”
If you would like to find out more about the PINs programme, please visit our Local Offer website.
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