Your Autism Magazine Education Supplement Summer 2017

Autism YO U R

Education supplement

www.autism.org.uk

MAGA ZINE SUMMER 2017

LIZI & JACOB

Tackling sensory overload at school

BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONS … of our new school in Essex

The great

outdoors!

Top tips on outdoor education for children on the autism spectrum

LLOYD’S STORY OF SUCCEEDING AT UNIVERSITY

Where can I turn?

Our Education Rights Service explained

Welcome 6 14 16

S

ecuring the right support for your child at school can take an enormous effort. But some of the actual changes that help children on the autism spectrum are not complicated.

The smallest things can make a huge difference, if tailored to the individual child’s needs.

Year two of our Too Much Information (TMI) campaign focuses on just that – the small changes that people can make to help people on the autism spectrum. For instance, Holly, star of our TMI film, wears a band on her wrist, green on one side and red on the other. Her teacher knows she’s OK when her band is green but that she’s feeling overwhelmed when it’s on red. Simple but effective.

In this issue, Lizi talks about her eight-year-old son Jacob and the changes his school made to help with sensory overload (pages 14-15). Rhiannon tells us how, with the right support, her son Lloyd went from a special school to university (pages 16-17).

And the founder of Footprints Life Camp, Naj D’Silva, explains how learning outdoors can re-engage autistic children in education (pages 6-9).

Contents 04 News: Education update 06 Feature: The benefits of outdoor learning 10 Interview: Gary Simm, Principal of our new Anderson School 14 My story: Jacob’s sensory sensitivity and what helped at school 16 Our story: Lloyd’s support at university 18 Advice: How our Education Rights Service can help you

Suzanne Westbury EDITOR

Your Autism Magazine Education Supplement

DESIGN James Pembroke Publishing www.jppublishing.co.uk PRINT Wyndeham Grange Tel: 01273 592244

The National Autistic Society is a charity registered in England and Wales (269425) and in Scotland (SC039427) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England (No.1205298), registered office 393 City Road London EC1V 1NG

In the interest of providing the widest possible range of information to readers, we may include details of some of the many approaches to autism now available.

However, this does not imply our charity’s endorsement of any particular approach or product.

Copyright © The National Autistic Society 2017

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News

Education update SEND TRIBUNAL POWERS EXTENDED TO HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE

Education inquiry launched The All Party Parliamentary Group

on Autism (APPGA) – a cross party group of MPs and members of the House of Lords – has launched an inquiry into education for children on the autism spectrum in England*.

This follows a consultation that our charity, working on behalf of the group, ran last year with autistic people and family members about their priorities for change. As part of that consultation, parents of children on the autism spectrum and those on the spectrum themselves, told us about the challenges they continue to

face in getting the right educational provision in schools. We published the results in our School report 2016.

During the inquiry we’ll be seeking views from people on the autism spectrum, parents and professionals.

This will begin after the general election, once the APPGA has been re-formed in the new Parliament.

Specific questions in the inquiry will focus on the challenge for local authorities in making sure the right mix of school provision is available in every area to meet the diverse needs of autistic pupils. It will also consider teacher training, access to education, health and care assessments and relationships between families and local authorities.

The APPGA’s report and recommendations will be published in the autumn and we want to hear the voices of as many people as possible. To contribute, email appga@nas.org.uk and ask to be added to the APPGA distribution list.

Read more at www.autism. org.uk/appga-inquiry *Education is devolved to the assemblies and parliaments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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SUPPLEMENT

From 2018, parents in England who are dissatisfied with any aspect of their child’s EHC plan, including the health and social care sections, and who have not been able to resolve their disagreement locally, will be able to take their appeal to the SEND Tribunal.

Currently, the SEND Tribunal only deals with appeals about the education sections of EHC plans.

Tim Nicholls, our Policy Manager said, “We were disappointed when the 2014 reforms to the SEND system failed to include a single point of appeal for families.

This meant that parents were having to appeal decisions about their child’s health and care separately to education, which was unnecessarily complex. This will be welcome news to many families, although the Tribunal’s recommendations on health and social care will still not be compulsory for local authorities.”

OUR STORY • FEATURE

Jon’s living room is an exact replica of his room in Simon and Linda’s house

Let’s go

outside Naj D’Silva, a Senior Teacher at The Holmewood School in North London, explains why she founded Footprints Life Camp and how outdoor learning can increase autistic children’s independence and self-esteem.

FEATURE • FOOTPRINTS

A spot of theatre during the sixth form hike to Hampstead Heath

O

n 4 September 2010, The Holmewood School in North London opened its doors for the very first time. Our students are seven to 19-year-olds with autism, Asperger syndrome, and other language, communication and social difficulties.

On this day I began the first tentative steps of which was then an unknown but incredibly exciting journey. One day I hoped to create a bespoke approach using outdoor learning as a vehicle for social and emotional development for young people on the autism spectrum.

FIRST STEPS I started to develop an outdoor learning programme to re-engage pupils in education and build their self-esteem. Realising social skills and emotional development were key to long-term happiness and success, I developed these through a range of activities including rock climbing, kayaking, ice-skating, hiking and residential trips. With significant support and encouragement, our small group of autistic students very slowly began to re-engage with education.

In 2014, I carried out a survey at The Holmewood School

“I loved being a shepherd; herding the sheep at the farm.” — Jasper, age 12 investigating the impact of outdoor learning and farming on the social and emotional development of young people on the autism spectrum. I found: • 87% of students felt they would do more school work in the fresh air.

• 78% felt less angry in general while learning outdoors compared to in school.

• 100% of students felt happier doing their work outside or on the farm than in school and could work better with others in an outdoor learning environment than in school.

The results suggested that a combination of outdoor learning and farming could provide a platform to address emotional and social difficulties.

In 2015, I expanded our outdoor learning programme at the school to include paddleboarding, narrow-boating

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FOOTPRINTS • FEATURE

Residential trips include fun, fresh air and no electronics!

(thanks to Islington Boat Club) and abseiling.

More students joined our outdoor learning residential trips which had a rule of lots of fresh air, fun and no electronics! Slowly, I could see the students growing in confidence. They began to interact and help each other and real friendships began to develop, a first for many.

TEACHING LIFE-SKILLS In 2015 we became an accredited level 3 forest school and yet more outdoor learning opportunities opened up. We enjoyed our first whole school ‘Empty classroom day’ at Sweet Tree Farm where everyone got involved in outdoor learning including painting, chopping wood, animal care and planting vegetables.

“Footprints Life Camp made my child’s world a bigger and better place. He was delighted with himself, a very happy little boy.

He never usually wants to leave the house.”

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SUPPLEMENT

I introduced a morning wellbeing programme where students choose between running, yoga, meditation and reading to ensure a positive and healthy start to the day. In 2016 it was reported that three quarters of UK children spend less time outdoors than prisoners (less than 60 minutes per day). A fifth of children do not play outside at all on an average day (The Guardian, 2016). These statistics were shocking but not entirely surprising, making me even more determined to give our students the opportunity to learn outdoors as much as possible.

In 2016, I founded Footprints Life Camp (www.footprintslifecamp.co.uk), a not-for-profit social enterprise running specialised camps for young people on the autism spectrum.

Footprints combines outdoor education, farming and life-skills to reduce social exclusion and increase independence.

The camp runs at Holmewood School during the school holidays and offers activities such as animal care at a local farm including lambing days, swimming sessions, trips to the beach, barbecues and forest school activities as well as a residential at Lee Valley and a Footprints Cafe run by the students. Each activity has a specific focus on social/emotional/life-skill development delivered by specialised staff and a very high staff-student ratio. It also offers paid internships to young people on the autism spectrum at The Holmewood School. The paid internship

Enjoying mini golf

‘Our bespoke outdoor education programme and forest school have been critical in raising confidence Head Teacher, Lisa Camilleri and Senior Teacher/Footprints and self-esteem in our Founder, Naj D’Silva at the Autism Professionals Awards students with complex autism needs.” − Lisa Top tips Camilleri, Head Teacher programme has been extremely successful with a supported application and interview process.

Social impact has been significant, with 100% of young people who attended the camps and their parents believing Footprints Life Camp increased self-esteem, independence and social skills.

RECOGNITION AND THE FUTURE Recently Footprints won The National Autistic Society’s Professional Award for Most Creative Community Project out of several hundred nominations. This award is dedicated to all the young people we work with currently and in the future who inspire us every day. Our aim, over the past year, has been to give young autistic people the opportunity to be the best they can be by reducing social exclusion and increasing independence leading to a bright and, most importantly happy future.

Over the last six years my vision of how we could successfully support social and emotional development through outdoor learning has grown more than I could have ever imagined and I am very proud of the outdoor learning programme we have created. ●

Naj’s tips for successful outdoor learning with children on the autism spectrum

1 2 3 4 5 6

Prepare students using photographs/ presentations so they know what to expect before the activity.

Ensure students bring warm/ waterproof clothing to the session.

Ensure all activities are structured but fun to encourage enjoyment.

Allow students to watch others/assist the teacher if they are unsure about taking part immediately.

Always praise effort, (not only success) to build confidence and raise self-esteem.

Encourage students to leave electronic gadgets at home during residential trips/outdoor learning to promote social communication skills.

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Use visual prompts if needed to aid social communication outdoors (eg good listening/good looking etc).

Celebrate successes (however small) at the end of every session.

Find out more

• If you are interested to find out more about Footprints Life Camp, please contact Naj D’Silva on footprintslifecamp@gmail.com.

• Find out about our Forest School for autistic adults in Somerset at www.autism.org.uk/forestschool.

• Read more about the winners of the Autism Professionals Awards at www.autismprofessionalsawards.org.uk.

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GARY SIMM • INTERVIEW

Setting up a

Gary Simm, Principal of our new Anderson School in Chigwell, Essex

new school

Why is our new school so focused on employment opportunities? How has it been designed?

We quizzed Gary Simm, Principal of Anderson School in Essex, to find out.

Why is the school putting such a focus on employment skills?

Only 16% of autistic adults are in employment. We believe that much more can be done to improve outcomes and life chances for autistic people. The whole ethos of the school is around giving students the skills to be successful in securing and maintaining employment or higher education.

What will this mean in practice?

Teaching will not only focus on delivering the National Curriculum but will actively seek to base learning around real life contexts.

Curriculum time will explicitly focus on delivering skills for developing social understanding and the school will deliver the ‘Bridges’ curriculum which is a structured programme specifically targeting social development.

The school will also dedicate time to providing opportunities in which students will develop confidence in putting themselves in new situations. This will very much be a structured programme based on the needs of individual students. It will enable students to try new things in a safe and supported manner and,

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as skills develop, the amount of support will gradually decrease.

What vocational skills will you teach?

The school will support students to identify careers that they aspire to. Students will be supported to develop some generic skills such as preparing and performing in interview situations. Careers preparation will be delivered through the life skills programme and the school will build partnerships with local companies to provide work placements, support and advice to students. To

be successful, much work will need to be done with students to prepare them and we will need to train staff at the companies to support students in the workplace.

How will you help your pupils decide what they want to do in the future?

The life skills programme will help students to have a greater understanding of themselves, their skills, talents and aspirations. We plan to then create personalised programmes for students in which they have the opportunity to experience a range of different

SOCIAL ENTERPRISES • FEATURE

“Each teaching room has a smaller room attached to it where students can take sensory breaks or simply work in a very quiet room.”

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A computer-generated image of the new autism-specific school

GARY SIMM • INTERVIEW

work-related roles so that they have a greater first hand understanding of what is involved in the particular line of work. We will very much want to utilise the support of parents to ensure that the choice of future careers is sufficiently aspirational whilst at the same time provides a long-term career path.

What is the Anderson Foundation and how are they involved in the school?

The Anderson Foundation is the charitable foundation of the Anderson Group of Companies. Our new Anderson School represents the culmination of a shared vision to create a ground breaking, stateof-the-art education facility for young autistic people to prepare for the world of work and adulthood.

The Anderson Foundation’s support has gone beyond financial help – many of their supporters have committed to creating work placements in their own businesses to ensure that all students have the best possible start in life.

What do you see the pupils going on to do?

That choice is down to students and their families. My role is to ensure that I give all students the skills and confidence necessary to take the next step in their lives. I see the potential of young people as limitless and I have extremely high aspirations for their success to meet their interests, talents and aptitudes.

How has the school been designed to be suitable for autistic young people?

The school will have small class sizes, typically six students in a class. Each teaching room has a smaller room attached to it, that can be used for students to withdraw into to take sensory breaks or simply to work in a very quiet room. Every classroom has high level acoustic material around the top portion of the room to reduce the noise in the learning environment. Lighting has been specifically chosen for the rooms to provide, as far as possible, a flicker free light source.

The rooms are designed with a mechanical ventilation system to ensure a constant and comfortable air temperature and even have CO2 sensors which will operate the ventilation if too much CO2

is produced through talking to ensure the students don’t become tired during lessons. The windows in each room have frosting across them at eye level when you are sitting down to remove any potential distraction from outside.

Each classroom has an external space outside it to provide a safe space if students need to withdraw from the room for a short period.

Around the school there are a number of smaller rooms that can be used to support individual students as necessary. The corridors are nice and wide and at the entrance to each classroom the corridor width is further increased so that students have the space to enter rooms calmly, to help reduce any anxiety.

What sensory facilities will the school have?

The school will have a range of

“Once students feel safe, supported and are making good progress in school, suddenly family life at home can also be transformed.”

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INTERVIEW • GARY SIMM

“At Thames Valley School, you can see progress in every lesson, in every social interaction…” sensory environments to cater for the individual sensory needs of students. It would be a huge mistake to believe that all autistic students need the same sensory environment to help them regulate their levels of anxiety or to help them learn effectively. The school in conjunction with its student council will be constantly developing the provision of sensory environments and equipment to make sure that the needs of all students can be met somewhere within the school.

Who will be eligible for a place?

Children and young people aged 11-19, with a diagnosis of autism (including PDA) will be considered where vocational courses and academic qualifications are a suitable option. Potential students will need to be referred by their local authority and have an existing statement of Special Educational Needs or Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan.

Will you accept students from outside Essex?

Yes and the school is very keen to build strong partnerships with the surrounding local authorities.

Are there plans to open similar schools in other areas?

We’re keen to grow the number of schools that we oversee so that

The school will have six students in a class

we can impact positively on a greater number of students. We are however, taking a very balanced and measured approach to growth as the high quality education in our existing schools is of paramount importance.

You are currently Principal of our Thames Valley School – what have you learnt since working there?

As a teacher, I came into the world of education to make a difference for students and young people, my entire career has very much been focused on maximising opportunities for students. The single biggest thing I have learned is actually the work we do every day with students has a much wider impact on family life than I ever imagined. Once students feel safe, supported and are making good progress in school, suddenly family life at home can also be transformed. Through talking to parents at Thames Valley School I am simply blown away when parents tell me about the difference that the school has had on their home life, and it’s the simple things that other families take for granted, like being able to watch TV together, or sit round a table

for dinner and have a chat about how the day has gone. This has been my biggest learning curve as we are helping to transform lives, not simply teaching skills and knowledge.

Have you always worked in autism-specific schools?

I have been fortunate to work in two mainstream secondary schools in Kent which had large autistic units. This is where my interest in working with autistic students began, particularly how teachers and schools can adapt to better meet the individual needs of students.

What motivates you?

My biggest motivation is to ensure that all of the young people make progress and achieve their personal goals. From my experience at Thames Valley School what is so brilliant about working with our students is that you can see progress in every lesson, in every social interaction and through the smiles on students’ faces when they enter the school each day. ● Find out more at www.autism.org.uk/anderson.

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FEATURE • SENSORY OVERLOAD

Lizi’s son Jacob is particularly sensitive to loud noises

Small changes,

big difference Jacob’s school has introduced a wide range of supportive strategies to help him deal with sensory difficulties. His mum, Lizi, tells us about the five most effective measures.

J

acob was diagnosed with high-functioning autism at three years old and I quickly began to understand the range of sensory difficulties he faces and the practical ways I could help him manage them.

When Jacob started school, a whole new sensory onslaught emerged.

As time has gone on, the school has found different ways to support Jacob (now in Year 3):

1

Classrooms by their nature are full of sensory stimuli and unsurprisingly there have been many times where this has proved too distracting for Jacob, so the school provided him with his own workstation in the classroom.

This enabled him to sit at a desk facing a wall with carefully chosen items around him so as not to overwhelm him, and has proved to be a very

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helpful tool in enabling him to focus on his work.

2

Like many children with autism, Jacob has a poor sense of balance and proprioception which has meant that play time has been tricky for him. He wants to socialise but cannot keep up with the physical play of his classmates. Jacob’s teaching assistant has invited a mixed group of children to form a play group with him. They decide on a game from a carefully planned list of activities that Jacob can manage and they play together ensuring everyone has a chance to participate.

3

Fire drills are a necessity, but a very loud one! The school asked me to be present for the first few so that I could step in and offer support if

necessary, and together the teacher and I have explained to Jacob what is going to happen on the understanding that I could take him away if necessary. I have always felt it important that the school and I work as a team to give Jacob all the support he needs.

“The SENCO knew Jacob would refuse sandwiches, so the head teacher went shopping and bought a Jacobapproved lunch instead!”

SENSORY OVERLOAD • FEATURE

MeCycle bike shop and cafe

4

Even in unforeseen circumstances Jacob’s sensory needs are considered.

When the school ovens broke down recently and the children were given sandwiches for lunch, the SENCO knew that Jacob would refuse sandwiches because he can’t stand the texture. The head teacher went shopping and bought a Jacob-approved lunch instead!

5

Despite the best planning, sensory overload can still happen, especially when Jacob is tired from a bad night’s sleep. His teachers have always ensured there is a welcoming book corner in the classroom, complete with soft and

textured cushions on the floor. When Jacob feels overwhelmed he is able to take himself to the corner and lay down on the cushions. When he was younger he would often fall asleep, literally shutting himself down to block everything out.

Lizi worked with Jacob’s school to give him all the support he needs

Supporting a child with sensory difficulties can seem tricky for schools. But we’ve found there’s always a way around the problem, with a bit of thoughtfulness and creative thinking. ●

Find out more

• Our Too Much Information campaign is asking the public to take small actions to reduce the overload autistic people face. Find out more at: www.autism.org.uk/tmi.

• To find out more about Lizi and her work, please visit www.lizijackson.co.uk.

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HIGHER EDUCATION • OUR STORY

On course Lloyd is studying Business Information Technology at Trinity Saint David, University of Wales. Previously he went to a special school. His mum, Rhiannon, writes about the support he’s had.

Lloyd won Swansea Bay Radio’s Academic Achiever of the Year in 2010

L

loyd went to a mainstream primary school but when he was eight, they threw him out. Then they put him in a behaviour unit for two years.

Usually they’d do it for two terms and would then reintegrate the pupil, but Lloyd didn’t reintegrate. On his own, he was fine. Put him in a classroom, it was no-go. He’d just kick off. He has epilepsy as well as autism so he’d have seizures, he’d be on the floor – they said it was a health and safety issue.

The behaviour unit only had 10 other pupils but they still expected him to go from that to a mainstream secondary school. I said ‘he can’t cope with a mainstream primary, how do you expect him to go to a comp with 1,000 pupils? I don’t think so.’

After his diagnosis, Lloyd went to Ysgol Hendre special school where they understood him. Academically, though, I feel he was held back. He can’t write, he can’t punctuate – how he’s in uni, I don’t know! Lloyd did leave with GCSE maths and half a computer studies GCSE, he was one of the first pupils in the school to do these GCSEs. Then he went to the Priory College Wales and after that, we started looking at higher education.

We looked at bigger universities with support departments but Lloyd could see the amount of people and the colour just drained from his face. He said ‘I just can’t come here.’ He knew himself he couldn’t do it, so we went to look at the smaller ones.

My advice would be do your homework, don’t just look locally. I spoke to the support staff and

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SUPPLEMENT

went to open days to see how Lloyd felt. When we went to the uni he’s at now, I said I would use the lift and he said he’d use the stairs, so in he went. He was confident enough to use the stairs without me and I thought, he should be able to cope here. I always go with my gut instinct. When I walk in somewhere, I know if it’s right for Lloyd.

UNIVERSITY SUPPORT Lloyd has such a lot of support. They haven’t got to do it, they’re paid to support a student, they’re not paid to go above and beyond, which they do.

They make such a lot of leeway for him.

He’s got two support workers. Cherry helps him with his assignments. She breaks them down into parts and then she goes through what’s right or wrong. She copies me in on course emails because time management goes over Lloyd’s head. He would play computer

OUR STORY • HIGHER EDUCATION

Lloyd (right) with his student support worker, David

games 24/7 and not get his work done. If something happens at home, I’ll ring and say, ‘can you keep an eye?’ He also has a full-time note-taker, David.

I warned them that in the holidays Lloyd loses the knowledge he’s gained over the term. Now uni works with him once a week every holiday to keep him ticking over.

STILL A JOURNEY Lloyd is still struggling, it’s not plain sailing for him. In his first year he was doing web design but he couldn’t cope with the coding. He passed four modules and failed three, so they said he could either re-sit or change course. This course is a bit lower but it’s still an HND. He seems to be a lot better because he’s understanding more.

Today Lloyd said to me, ‘I had praise off my tutor. Well, not only me, the whole class had praise but he did say, especially Lloyd.’ I said ‘that’s really good, because he’d obviously seen how much you struggled and is saying “well done” because you’ve done what you needed to do.’

Staff have said he’s coming on socially. He’ll now go into the canteen and the common rooms, whereas he wouldn’t last year. He still won’t go outside my front door! But I’m sure it’ll happen in time, he’ll surprise me one day and say, I’m going to the shop!

Lloyd’s support assistants say: I work with Lloyd “providing both personal

I work with Lloyd, “offering specialist 1:2:1

study assistance and in-class note taking.

There has been a marked improvement in the quality of Lloyd’s work and attentiveness during this year. Lloyd always is a polite and friendly student, it has been my pleasure to work with him and to see his progress throughout the year.

study skills tuition, concentrating on areas where Lloyd and myself feels he needs the most help. Since changing course to Business Information Technology, Lloyd’s work has improved tremendously; he is much more motivated to learn this year and this has really shown in the work he does.

– Dave Williams, Student Support Mentor/Assistant and Note-Taker

– Cherry Crew, Specialist Support Lecturer - Student Services

”

”

All in all, I can’t fault them, they have tried as hard as they can with Lloyd. Whether he will pass his course, I don’t know. But at the end of the day, he’s out, he’s enjoying, he’s mixing and learning. So we can do no more. ●

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ADVICE • EDUCATION RIGHTS

Spotlight on…

our Education Rights and School Exclusion Services Carla Manini Rowden, The National Autistic Society’s Senior Education Rights Co-ordinator, explains what our education advice services can help you with.

How can the Education Rights Service help me?

Our education advice lines provide information on pre-school and school education rights and entitlements or advice on specific topics eg assessments, education plans, school refusal, help with exams or transport.

Our tribunal support lines help families consider their options if they have a right of appeal to a tribunal against a decision about their child’s educational needs. Volunteer advisers offer support with written submissions, such as references to the law and sourcing and examining evidence as well as preparation for meetings and the hearing. There are separate lines for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland due to legislation differences across the UK. Our School Exclusion Service offers advice and information to parents of young people on the autism

spectrum on all aspects of school exclusion in England. This includes advice on informal, fixed-period and permanent exclusions; how to challenge your child’s exclusion and what you can do if you are concerned that your child is at risk of exclusion. Families in other nations can access the same support from our Education Rights Service.

What do you often get asked?

How to get extra help for a child or what to do if the school doesn’t understand autism and a child’s needs. We also provide advice to families when their relationship with the school has broken down.

What advice do you give most frequently?

The law varies across the UK but essentially a formal assessment of the child’s needs is often a useful starting point to help the

“We provide advice to families when their relationship with the school has broken down.”

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school and authority understand the child’s individual needs and make appropriate provision. We also suggest ways to communicate effectively with a school or authority and how differences can be resolved informally and formally.

Can I ask you about education law and what we are legally entitled to?

Although we have different legislation in each of the four nations, any authority must provide additional help to children who need it. Legislation outlines frameworks for identifying, assessing and providing for children with additional support or special educational needs and each nation also has a code of practice which provides guidance and practical advice to authorities, schools and others on carrying out their legal responsibilities. We have a range of education information resources on our website that explain rights and entitlements: www.autism.org.uk/education How can you help me challenge an exclusion?

We can use our knowledge of the law and guidance to help parents explore whether the exclusion was justified and whether it was preventable. While we cannot

EDUCATION RIGHTS • ADVICE

Parents often ask what to do if the school doesn’t understand autism and a child’s needs

directly attend meetings with you, we can help you prepare letters to the governing or appeal body and offer suggestions on how to demonstrate that the exclusion was unfair or unjust.

What can’t you do?

We cannot advise on further and higher education rights as the law is very different but we can signpost families in need of help. As we help over 3,500 families across the UK each year, we are unable to offer face-to-face support.

Who works on the service?

We have coordinators in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales and two in England as the population and therefore demand is much higher.

We have a separate exclusions coordinator in England funded by the Department for Education.

Our coordinators have varied backgrounds, some are parents of children and adults on the autism spectrum, and others previously

worked in education or local authority SEN teams or volunteered with our service. We also have a team of around 25 volunteers, again with varying backgrounds but usually with a connection to autism and all eager to make a difference.

What’s the most satisfying part of your job?

Not just that we have made a positive difference to a family’s situation but that they feel more empowered to advocate for their child moving forward. Feedback is overwhelmingly positive, with over 99% of families saying our advice

has helped. Families are often so grateful that the service exists and that above all we understand autism.

Do you think schools and local authorities have a better understanding of autism now than five years ago?

While we are aware that there are positive experiences for many families, unfortunately we are receiving more and more calls and emails every year and autism remains the highest category of needs in appeals to tribunals across the UK. ●

Find out more

• Education Rights Service: leave a message on our 24-hour answerphone (free from landlines and most mobiles) on 0808 800 4102 or 0808 800 4002 (School Exclusion Service). Alternatively you can email education.rights@nas.org.uk or schoolexclusions@nas.org.uk.

• If you would like to make a donation to help support services like these, please visit www.autism.org.uk/donate.

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