PINS project overview

Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) is a project led by NHS Kent and Medway, Kent County Council (KCC) and Medway Council. The project focuses on strengthening knowledge, skills and improving environments to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children in school.

PINS aims to 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 whole school level
  • Upskill school staff
  • Support strengthening of partnerships between schools and parent carers.

Participating schools are able to choose from a menu of support to upskill their staff. Support includes training packages for staff to better understand the needs of neurodivergent children including mental health, speech and language and the physical and sensory environment.

Collaboration with parents and carers is key to the success of the PINS programme. As the Parent Carer Forum for Kent, Kent Parents and Carers Together (PACT) is working to establish individual parent carer forums within schools and strengthen relationships between schools and the parents and carers of neurodivergent children.

PINS phase one
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Phase one of the PINS project ran from September 2024 to March 2025. A total of 40 schools, 20 in Kent and 20 in Medway, participated in the project:

  • Archbishop Courtenay Primary School
  • Boughton Monchelsea Primary School
  • Coxheath Primary School
  • East Farleigh Primary School
  • Greenfields Community Primary School
  • Jubilee Primary School
  • Langley Park Primary Academy
  • Leeds and Broomfield Primary School
  • Lenham Primary School
  • Madginford Primary School
  • North Borough Junior School
  • Park Way Primary School
  • Platts Heath Primary School
  • Senacre Wood Primary School
  • St. Paul’s Infants School
  • The Holy Family Catholic Primary School
  • Tiger Primary School
  • Ulcombe Primary School
  • Valley Invicta Eastborough Primary School
  • West Borough Primary School.

Every school exceeded the required 37.5 hours of training and 826 members of staff were trained at 208 events over 6 months.

Find out more about what phase one of the PINS project achieved in this article on the KCC website

PINS phase two
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Phase two of the PINS project will run from April 2025 to March 2026, with implementation in schools starting from September 2026. A further 30 schools, 15 in Kent and 15 in Medway, will join the project. Phase one schools will also continue to embed new learning and practices as well as continuing the work with their parent carer forums.

The 18 Kent schools participating in phase two are:

  • Canterbury Road Primary School
  • Eastchurch Chuch of England Primary School
  • Halfway Houses Primary School
  • Milton Court Primary Academy
  • Minster-in-Sheppey Primary School
  • Minterne Junior School
  • Queenborough Primary School
  • Regis Manor Primary School
  • Richmond Primary School
  • Rose Street Primary School
  • St Clements Church of England Primary School
  • St Edwards Catholic Primary School
  • St George’s Church of England Primary School
  • South Avenue Primary School
  • The Oaks Infant School
  • Thistle Hill Academy
  • West Minster Primary School
  • Westlands School.