The Project

Neurodiversity in Schools is a funded national project that is now in its fifth year of being delivered in schools in England. The project aims to be a fully co-produced project joining up the local authority, health, the parent carer forum and schools.

The aim of the project is to work with schools, the pupils, parents and carers and staff, to work towards making improvements for pupils who have, or may have neurodevelopmental conditions, diagnosed or undiagnosed.

In Bolton, we joined the project for the first time for the 2023-2024 roll out.

Training for school staff

Schools opt in to be selected for the project and and up to 3 schools are selected each year. The school must commit to staff attending 5 training sessions on different aspects of neurodiversity, These include:

• Exploring Neurodiversity
• Enabling Environments
• Teaching Styles
• Anxiety
• ADHD

Parents and Carers

During the year, Bolton Parent Carers will provide opportunities for parents and carers to access the same training opportunities as the school staff,

Pupils

Bolton Information Advisory Service will be meeting with pupils over the course of the project to gather their experiences and thoughts about neurodiversity in their setting. This work will be carried out by Kane Wyatt and Sam Kirby from Bolton IAS.

Who else is involved?

The project is supported by a project lead looking after all areas in Greater Manchester; this helps us as a cluster to be able to network and share best practice as we go through the project. In Bolton we are joined by Woodbridge Outreach, Mental Health Schools Teams, Educational Psychology and Bolton Council.

How will the project be monitored?

At the start of the project, all parents, staff and pupils complete a baseline survey about their experiences; they complete this again at the end of the year. This is one way in which the project is measured. Case studies are also documented, and an external organisation also evaluates the project.

Which schools are taking part?

For the final cohort in 2026 we are really pleased to welcome Park School. Thornleigh and Kearsley Academy.