“The Right Start”: The All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism launches recommendations for reform of Special Educational Needs

On the 11th July, members of the policy and campaigns team at the NAS met with MPs, Peers and experts in autism at The House of Commons to celebrate the publication of "The Right Start", the APPGA report into autism in schools. The report recommends better special educational needs training for teachers, designating a lead teacher for autism in every school and involving young people with autism and their parents more in the development of their educational support. It also states that children with or without statements should be assured of access to the new Education, Health and Care Plan, and that SEN provision should extend up to the age of 25 in order to facilitate the transition from school into training, further education and employment. The APPGA’s full findings and recommendations are available here.

Children and Families Minister Sarah Teather spoke about plans to train teachers in SEN through online materials and scholarship programmes. She highlighted the role of the Pathfinder pilot scheme in testing personalised support for students, and the Achievement for All programme in helping teachers to better engage with parents when planning a child’s educational needs. Ms Teather said that involving young people and their parents was “the whole spirit” of the reforms to SEN, and emphasised that the replacement of statements with the ECHP was “intended to involve families much better right from the beginning to ensure that support is in place right from the earliest point”. Speaking of the educational reforms as a whole, she said “we are very serious about getting the detail right.”

The Minister’s address was followed by speeches from Ambitious about Autism’s youth patron Josie Ryan, and The National Autistic Society’s young campaigner Jacob Denness. Speaking from her own experiences, Josie strongly endorsed more input by parents and young people into their educational support: “I know what it feels like to be the invisible one in a mainstream school surrounded by teachers who have no idea. I also know what it’s like to have a teacher who points out everything I can do and am good at, not what I can’t do.” Jacob called on MPs “to be pushy for people with autism in your constituency. We have taken the first steps to helping every autistic child or autistic person and it is up to you to push for those steps to continue.” Robert Buckland MP, Chair of the APPGA, made closing remarks in which he thanked the Minister and the speakers for their contributions, and expressed a hope that the reforms would “empower and enable young people with autism and related conditions to thrive in the school and college environment.”

We hope that the Government will continue to commit to getting the detail of SEN reform right, and will adopt the report’s recommendations in the forthcoming Children and Families Bill to help create a more efficient, more effective and more supportive educational experience for children and young people with autism.

Take part in SEN research to inform Government reforms

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Autism (APPGA), a cross-party group of MPs and Peers focusing on autism issues, has launched a commission to advise the Government on access to the right education for children with autism. The group wants to hear the views of students, parents, teachers and other professionals which they will use to form recommendations for Government Ministers and civil servants.

The Government is proposing major changes to the special educational needs (SEN) system in England, making this a timely opportunity for parents, teachers and young people with autism to tell ministers about the challenges involved in getting the right support at school and what they think most needs to improve. 

The NAS's recent Great Expectations campaign found that 48% of children with autism have had to wait over a year to get appropriate educational support, and more than half of teachers have previously said that they do not feel they have had enough training in the disability.

Sarah Teather MP, Minister for Children and Families, said: “We want to improve services for all children with special educational needs (SEN), including those with autism. We have proposed a number of reforms in our SEN Green Paper and we’re listening to children, parents and professionals. I look forward to hearing further views in the commission's report which will help us as we develop the reforms and create a system which works for children and their families.”

Let’s make sure the Government gets SEN reform right.

Respond to the survey now.

This consultation closes on Friday 10 February.

'Achievement for All' achieves great results

A Government-funded pilot of a new scheme to improve outcomes for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) has produced excellent results, according to an independent evaluation carried out by the University of Manchester. Because of this, the Government now aims to fund its implementation in schools across the country.

The Achievement for All scheme has been running in 450 schools for the last two years, and has resulted in children with SEND make greater progress in attainment, behaviour and attendance than other SEND children outside of the pilot. The report also finds that the scheme successfully narrowed the attainment gap between SEND and non-SEND children, with some children in the pilot even exceeding the progress of children without SEND.

Key findings of the report include:

• 37% of children achieved or exceeded expected levels of progress for all pupils nationally in English. The figure was 42% in Maths.
• There was an average reduction in persistent absence of 10%
• Teachers reported fewer incidents of bullying and behavioural problems
• A big rise in schools reporting excellent relationships with parents – from 12% to 48%

The report found that the most successful schools shared several key factors. Good results were built on strong leadership from the head teacher, regular conversations with parents about educational outcomes and targets, and the sharing of results between schools. The report also found that children with free school meals, English as a second language, or complex needs made progress that was good but slower than their peers. It recommends focusing resources on additional support for these groups.

The Government is now providing £14 million for the programme to be rolled out across the country, and estimates that 1,000 schools will have signed up for the programme by next April. Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

"It's fantastic to see that Achievement for All has had such impressive results. This shows just what can be achieved for children with SEND with strong school leadership, innovative thinking and close working with families.”

The programme is being delivered by a new charity, Achievement for All 3 As, supported by PwC. Brian Lamb, who headed the enquiry into SEN and now chairs the new charity, commented:

"The evaluation totally endorses Achievement for All's approach. For the first time we now have a proven intervention that can improve outcomes and change the lives of children and families. By adopting this approach schools can ensure that children with SEN have the chance to reach their full potential."

If you’re interested in finding out more about these brilliant results, you can visit Achievement for All’s website at www.afa3as.org.uk. The full report into the scheme’s progress is also available here.

NAS at the Lib Dem party conference

The NAS policy and campaigns team have had an exciting week at the Liberal Democrat party conference, discussing education issues with key party members.

On Sunday night, we hosted an education event with Ambitious About Autism, bringing together politicians and parents of children with autism. The Minister for Children and Families Sarah Teather MP and Liberal Democrat Party President Tim Farron MP both spoke to a packed room and engaged in a lively and interesting debate on SEN issues.

We engaged with an impressive 17 Lib Dem MPs and Lords, making new parliamentary friends and updating long-term champions who regularly raise issues affecting people with autism.

We talked with Simon Wright MP about the rights of pupils without SEN statements, and discussed school transport with Tom Brake MP. Jenny Willot MP is now planning to visit one of our NAS schools, whilst Dan Rogerson MP has agreed to ask questions in Parliament about access to speech and language therapists.

Lots of the politicians we spoke to had first hand experience of autism – whether through their own families, friends or constituents.  This was a great opportunity for us to advise them on how best they can improve the lives of everyone affected and make sure autism stays on the Government’s agenda. 

We got lots of commitments from MPs and we’ll make sure they stick to them!

NAS schools highlighted in Parliamentary debate

On Tuesday 6^th September, Annette Brooke MP secured a debate in Parliament on the importance of non-maintained and independent special schools (NMISS). She called for greater recognition of their role as reforms to special educational needs are taken forward.

She commended the “excellent specialist provision” provided by the sector, and pointed out that the National Autistic Society runs six independent special schools - all of which are recognised as excellent.

The NAS, along with the National Association of Independent and Non-Maintained Schools (NASS), believes that the Government’s Green Paper on SEN provision overlooks the role of NMISS; Annette Brooke raises several of these concerns.

She noted that the Green Paper offers parents the right to express a preference for any state-funded school, but does not extend this right to NMISS. She proposed that this may be based on a misconception that NMISS placements are always the most expensive option, and called for more research into the cost-effectiveness of the sector.

Sarah Teather (Minister of State for Children and Families) stressed that the Government was still gathering views on the Green Paper proposal, and encouraged members of the NMISS sector to submit any evidence they have relating to cost-effectiveness.

She said “Independent and non-maintained special schools play a valuable role in supporting some of our most vulnerable children and young people, many of whom have very complex needs, and they also have considerable expertise to offer other schools”.

The NAS believes that the wide spectrum of needs among children with autism requires a wide spectrum of educational provision, including mainstream schools, special schools, specialist units attached to mainstream schools and residential provision. The key thing in any of these settings in access to autism expertise. 

Read our position statement on inclusion on our website.

SEN minister addresses APPGA

On Monday, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA) met at Parliament to discuss the Government's Review of special educational needs (SEN) and how the system can be improved.

The meeting was really well attended by professionals from the sector and MPs, including Graham Stuart MP, chair of the education select committee, Russell Brown MP, Robert Buckland MP and Lord Clement-Jones.

In a speech to the group, Minister for Children and Families, Sarah Teather made assurances that although cuts to government spending will make it more difficult to improve the system, they will not stop reform from happening. She said that it’s “not right” that parents have to battle system to get the right support for their child and that she intends the new system to be much more ‘family friendly’. She also wants there to be a focus on diagnosis and early intervention, giving families more choice in their child's education, and transition to adulthood.

She also thanked Ralph Hemus, one of young campaigners for his excellent speech about his and his family’s experience of the system. Ralph spoke to attendees about how difficult it can be to be a child with autism at a school where there is not enough understanding and how he thinks that teachers and pupils should be educated about autism.  



Minister Sarah Teather (right) and Charlotte Leslie MP (left)
listen to Ralph talk about his experiences of the SEN system



After the speeches, members of Parliament and members of the public had the opportunity to put their questions to the minister, allowing her to explain some more about her ideas for improving the system.

Although the Call for Views is now closed, there will be further opportunities to give your views on the system when the Green Paper is published later this year. We will keep you updated.

Meeting in Parliament on education for children with autism

This Monday Sarah Teather, the Minister in charge of special educational needs (SEN), will be speaking at a meeting of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism (APPGA)*.

The Department for Education recently launched a call for views on how the education system is working for children with SEN, which will feed into the publication of a Green Paper on SEN later this year (see earlier post for more details). The APPGA meeting will be a great forum for Sarah Teather to speak more on her ideas. There will also be time for questions and we expect there to be a vibrant discussion about this important issue. 

We will report back to you after the meeting, letting you know how the event went and what was said. But if you would like to attend the meeting you can find out more details about it on the APPGA website. Please contact appga@nas.org.uk if you would like to attend.

Tell us below what you would like to ask to Sarah Teather if you had an opportunity to speak to her.

* The APPGA is a group of MPs and Lords who share an interest in autism. The APPGA meets a few times a year, on a variety of topics. Meetings are open to members of the public to attend, although they take place in the Houses of Parliament and require you to pass through security. If you would like to find out more about the APPGA, please visit www.appga.org.uk