Since 2023, PaCC has been part of delivery of two schools’ projects, the Autism in Schools, or AiS, and the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools, or PINS; both projects are funded by the NHS. Their aim is to improve the experiences of SEND children in primary and secondary schools. For PaCC it also means that we are reaching out to more parent carers, we listened to them, and use their feedback, ideas and suggestions, when our Reps attend meetings with the Local Authority and other services.

The projects are delivered in partnership with Brighton and Hove Inclusion Support Service, or BHISS, whose ASC specialist teachers and schools mental health service participation workers deliver sessions to parent carers and schools’ staff; click here to find out more about BHISS.

PaCC workers organise coffee morning at schools, where parent carers met each other, talked about their children needs, their own needs, what the school provided already and what else can be offered to the children. Parent carers also receive information about support and advice for their children and their families. Some of the coffee mornings have a theme, which are suggested by parent carers, others are more of general interest around SEND. During the past three years we have organised coffee morning around:

• Parent carer mental health and wellbeing
• Supporting your child with transitions
• Supporting Autistic young children
• Managing emotional dysregulation
• Masking and anxiety
• Emotionally based school avoidance

Autism in Schools (AiS)

Autism in Schools (AIS) project in Brighton & Hove, is as part of a national programme that aims to improve the experience and outcomes for autistic children who attend mainstream schools. The AIS project has been created and funded by the NHS, but it is delivered by local authorities, in this case Brighton and Hove Local Authority.

It comes from something called the Transforming Care Programme, which is focused on Learning Disability and Autism. They ran some pilots in schools which were successful, so they created the Autism in Schools project from it. The National Network of Parent Carer Forums has put together some information on how the Autism in Schools project was created, read more here

At the start of each project, a survey is sent by the school’s Senco to the parent carers, asking how working together with schools could improve inclusion and access to support services for families. We used the feedback to shape the content of the coffee mornings. The impact of the project and any future developments were evaluated by a final closing survey, which was sent to parent carers to complete once the project has ended.

The overall aim of the project, alongside improvement of communication and access to services, is to set up and sustain whatever parent carer-led activities are needed at each of the schools.

The AiS project was delivered over two years to the following schools:

AiS year 1:

• Cardinal Newman Catholic School
• Cottesmore St Mary Catholic School
• Woodingdean Primary School

AiS year 2:

• Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA)
• Bevendean Primary School
• Blatchington Mill School
• City Academy Whitehawk (CAW)
• King’s School
• Saltean Primary School

Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS)

The PINS project is also a national programme that aims to support the education and health needs of neurodivergent children in schools through a partnership approach, working with local authorities and parent carer forums.

The project is similar to AiS, but it has a focus on all neurodivergent conditions.
As for the AiS project, we first send a survey to parent carers, to have a view of their support needs and aspirations, to find out about challenges and also changes they would like to see take place to improve inclusion for families with neurodivergent children and young people, and we gather ideas and suggestions on topics for our coffee mornings.

The PINS project was delivered over two years to the following schools:

PINS year 1:

• Aldrington CofE Primary School
• Brunswick Primary School
• Downs Infants School
• Fairlight Primary School
• Middle Street Primary School
• Mile Oak Primary School
• Our Lady Of Lourdes Catholic School
• Patcham Juniors School
• Westdene Primary School

PINS year 2:

• Margaret’s CofE Primary School
• Hove Junior School
• West Hove Infant School
• West Hove Infants and Hove Juniors School

What parent carers said

Parents who attended the AiS and PINS coffee mornings told us they appreciated taking part in these small group sessions as they provide opportunities for discussion and mutual peer support. They welcomed sharing their ideas on how they wanted the groups to run and felt hopeful about the future in creating a better, more inclusive schools’ environment for their SEND children.

Parents commented:

“Listening to others and not feeling alone”

“Hearing different perspectives and experiences of navigating school and healthcare systems. Reassurance that our kids can / hopefully will turn out OK as adults! Also hearing about what support, courses, and organisations are available to help”

At the end of each session, PaCC staff gathered feedback from those attending: 92% of parent carers said they felt more informed; 94% felt that their voice was heard; 94% felt more included.

If you have any queries or want to find out more about PaCC’s work with school, email [email protected]