Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to fund the Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme beyond 2025.

This government’s ambition is that all children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools.

The Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme brings together integrated care boards, local authorities and schools, working in partnership with parents and carers to support schools to better meet the needs of neurodiverse children and their families. PINS deploys specialists from health and education workforces to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and meet the needs of neurodiverse children in around 1,600, or 10%, mainstream primary schools. The programme is being evaluated and the learning will inform future policy development around how schools support neurodiverse children.

The Spending Review for 2025/26 has been allocated and business planning is underway so that programmes can be given certainty about funding as soon as possible.