Co-production of a teacher's ADHD training program

This network focuses on neurodiversity awareness training in educational settings, principally primary and secondary schools.

Our communication with schools has demonstrated that they feel under-equipped to deal with neurodiversity within the classroom, which stems from a lack of education and understanding of the conditions. As part of our existing CANDAL groups, we have received expressions of interest from schools for us to provide training and education within the East Midlands to teachers. However, in order to provide this we needed to further understand what type of training would be most beneficial. We also needed to explore how schools would like this training to be delivered and work alongside clinical experts to develop and deliver the training.

We organised a network of keen stakeholders involved in young children’s education to work with us to co-develop training for ADHD in schools.

To develop and deliver this training, we conducted the following steps:

• Create a network of teachers, Special Educational Needs CoOrdinators (SENCOs), Educational Psychologists, and Teaching Assistants, to understand what training they require
• Understand what they would like the training to look like (format, face-to-face, online)
• Co-develop a training package building on the knowledge gained from our teacher network

Our next steps will be:

• Deliver the training package, first in Nottingham and surrounding counties (East Midlands) and exploring further implementation as our network develops.
• Evaluate the uptake and acceptability and feasibility of the intervention via attendance rates and brief evaluation forms.

Led by Dr Blandine French, the Nottingham Neurodiversity Network (NNN) brings together experts and lived experiences to improve local care pathways for neurodevelopmental conditions (NDC). Through events and workshops, the network aims to improve care access in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. The network, with over 200 members, established a steering group involving key local service representatives. This group identifies barriers to care and initiates projects to enhance service implementation, such as improving communication materials and conducting parental surveys. To sustain engagement and drive change, the steering group plans regular face-to-face workshops, recruitment of more stakeholders, and training for local services. Service users, including parents and adults with NDC, alongside local charities, play a crucial role in decision-making processes. Deliverables will consist of action plans, guidelines for network establishment, and presentations to local services, all aimed at improving access to care.