Transforming educational provision for children and young people with autism using the Autism Education Trust Materials and Training Programme

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1 Transforming educational provision for children and young people with autism using the Autism Education Trust Materials and Training Programme Pam Simpson and the Communication and Autism Team, Birmingham, UK Editorial comment This paper describes the use and promotes the value of the materials and training programmes created by the Autism Education Trust (AET) from 2011 to the present day. The Communication and Autism Team (CAT) which operates across the whole of the City of Birmingham has been involved in all aspects of the AET s work from being consultants on the development of the training materials, the National Autism Standards and the Competency Framework, to being appointed as a regional hub to deliver training to all sectors (early years, five to 16 and post 16). They have used the ideas and materials to great effect by encouraging all mainstream schools in Birmingham to adopt the materials, appoint a lead practitioner for autism and attend AET training events. Since that time, special schools and independent providers have also taken up the programme. Address for correspondence Pam.simpson@ birmingham.gov.uk Acknowledgements The CAT team would like to thank the Autism Education Trust for appointing them to develop some of the AET materials and to become one of a number of regional training hubs to train staff in autism and promote and support the use of the AET National Standards and the Competency Framework. The local authority has greatly valued and supported CAT s work as it aims to enhance practice for all children and young people with autism, whatever level of need or type of placement. Further details on how they work to achieve this are given in the guide they wrote for local authorities, which can be found on the AET website (AET, 2016a). This paper provides a summary of the work they have done to date, together with its rationale and practice. Note: The term child or children is used within the paper to refer to all children aged from early years to post 16. Introduction The Birmingham Communication and Autism Team (CAT) is a local authority funded team providing support for pupils with a diagnosis of autism, their parents and carers and staff working in educational settings. The team works in all local authority mainstream nursery, primary and secondary schools and also within specialist and independent settings through service level agreements. A Joint Strategic Needs Analysis (JSNA) commissioned in 2012 by Birmingham Young People and Families Commissioning team and conducted GAP,18,1,

2 by Children s Services and Partners in Public Health, clearly identified a substantial increase in the number of children and young people within the City whose primary need on their SEN Statement was autism. Further analysis in 2014 confirmed this trend (see Figure 1). Based on the 2011 census, the predicted number of children aged 0 to 25 was 421,000 so with current prevalence rates for autism at one per cent, this would give a population of approximately 4,210 children with autism. This rise in the number of children with a diagnosis of autism has been reflected in the caseload of the CAT team. In 2015, the number on caseload was approximately 2,500. Today, that number stands at 4,000 children. The challenge for us as a team has been how to respond to this growing number in all types of educational setting, how to support schools in delivering their statutory responsibilities and how to raise autism awareness and understanding within the workforce. Teachers in mainstream schools report inadequate Figure 1: Number of statemented children within each category of need from 2011 to Nr of Children in Birmingham Special Schools GAP,18,1, 2017

3 training in autism awareness. All schools and providers need to be good at autism in order to impact on the life chances of adults, with some studies showing that only 15 per cent are in employment (Ambitious About Autism, 2014). This is against a background of financial constraint and uncertainty for the CAT team as a local authority service. Alongside financial issues and funding sustainability, there has been an increase in the demand for special school places for children with autism which has put a demand on resources which is unsustainable in the long term. There has been a rise in the number of permanent exclusions and Birmingham has had to place several children in out of authority provision at huge financial cost to the authority and an emotional cost to the family and young person. The issue for the CAT team was how to develop and deliver services in a new and different way. The model had to perform at a strategic and an operational level but needed to have a positive impact on the hearts and minds of staff in schools. The Autism Education Trust (AET) programme focuses on autism as a difference not a deficit (see It puts the child and young person at the heart of the process. It is their voice that is heard through the training. Central to the development of the materials was gaining and communicating the perspective of individuals and other key stakeholders. This was fundamental in adopting the programme and is central to the model of service delivery the CAT team has developed. The journey so far The journey has been captured in materials that were written specifically for the AET (AET, 2016a). These can be found on the Autism Education Trust website. In 2011, the Autism Education Trust developed a programme of autism training for schools funded and approved by the Department for Education. It was developed within the context of national change with the move towards a new Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) framework and its focus was the professional development of staff. Building the capacity of schools was recognised as critical to the implementation of the new framework. In 2011, CAT was successful in its application to become one of the initial seven licensed hubs across England to deliver a three-tiered programme of autism training which existed alongside a set of Autism National Standards for schools (AET, 2016b) and a Competency Framework (AET, 2016c) to support the professional development of staff. Both have a strong evidence base and reflect the views of key stakeholders, including those of children and young people, their parents and carers. These documents identify what is understood to be good autism practice in educational settings and provide schools and services with the tools needed to improve outcomes. The current AET National Standards and Competency Framework, revised in 2016, are mapped against the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2014) the Ofsted Framework (Ofsted, 2015), the Teachers Standards (2013) and the Equality Act (2010). For the CAT team, the programme provided a model of service delivery that became embedded in all Birmingham schools (n=430), both mainstream and special school, which has developed over the last five years. In 2013, the CAT team became an AET hub for the Early Years programme, sharing the licence with Birmingham Early Years Inclusion Support and also for the Post 16 programme, making the CAT team the first licensed hub within England to deliver all three training programmes. Currently approximately 20,000 staff within the city have been trained. Demand for the training continues to be high. In 2014 and 2015, national conferences were held to showcase the work being done to support Birmingham schools to develop capacity at a strategic level through the use of the programme. This led to a commission by the Department for Education (DfE) in 2014 to write up our approach as a model of practice for other local authorities and organisations who wanted to enhance provision by using the AET materials. This document has now become the basis of one of the current AET funding proposals from the DfE for School hubs have been invited to bid for 10,000 to develop regional networks to share practice and information about the AET. The Birmingham guide is referred to as an exemplar of best practice and the basis for these regional events across the country. GAP,18,1,

4 CAT was asked to present at the NAS Professionals conference in 2014 and at events such as the Salford Local Authority Autism Strategy launch in 2015 and the South West AET Regional Launch and Network Event in January There is a huge interest in how services are delivered to schools to meet the local and national challenges currently faced across the country. How is the AET programme used in schools to enhance practice? All mainstream schools in Birmingham have an individual CAT worker attached to them, as do an increasing number of special schools. CAT runs a well-attended termly forum for strategic leaders in special schools that has at its core the AET framework to support the development of good autism practice in their schools. An audit of school provision is completed using the AET National Autism Standards (2016) in the first half of the autumn term, which identifies what is currently working well and which aspects of autism provision need to be developed at a whole school level. This applies to mainstream settings, special schools and autism resource bases. As the AET Standards are now mapped against key legislation, this evidence can feed into the school improvement plan and be presented to Ofsted to inform how well they are meeting statutory duties outlined in the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2015), the criteria within the Ofsted Common Inspection Framework (CIF) (2015) and enable schools to evaluate the extent to which the needs of pupils with autism are addressed by analysing policies, systems and whole school development work. Targets for development work are agreed in conjunction with CAT and form the basis of a school partnership plan for the coming year. Actions on the plan are identified for school staff and for CAT, making clear the scope of the strategic work in the school for the coming year through a collaborative model. Through this approach, there is a tool to inform, monitor and review outcomes and a monthly review of progress is recorded by each CAT team member as part of their data returns to the CAT leadership team. This allows CAT to provide the local authority with evidence of impact at a whole school level in terms of autism provision across the city. As part of this audit, the professional development needs of staff are considered. Schools may request Tier 1 training which is free to all Birmingham settings to ensure staff have basic knowledge of autism and how it affects children in educational settings. Key staff may be identified for more comprehensive training offered through the AET training programme modules at Tiers 2 and 3. The model used in schools is that of a Lead Practitioner for autism in every school or setting. The Lead Practitioner will be Tier 2 trained and their remit will be to support children, parents, carers and staff through their knowledge of autism and practical approaches and interventions. Their role is outlined in Unit 7, within the guide to the AET programme materials produced by the CAT team. Lead practitioners act with the support of the school Senior Leadership Team (SLT) to raise awareness and create a positive culture and ethos within the setting. They work with the Strategic Lead for autism who will have received Tier 3 training and be part of the Senior Management Team (SMT), to drive forward change and create a community of practice that effectively supports children at a universal and targeted level within the school. Key to the success of this model is the CAT team support for these staff, both in signposting them to the training and then in the follow up in schools. In recognition of this, the CAT team has developed follow on training which offers a free termly session, looking at issues and approaches in more detail and linking to the AET Competency Framework and Standards for advice and guidance. This ensures that the ongoing professional needs of staff are met and the skill base within the setting is increased in a time effective way for CAT workers. For example, we can provide 100 plus staff with information about writing Social Stories (Gray, 2015) as opposed to individual team members repeating this information to individual schools. It also ensures an equitable approach across the City with access for all. The Autism Competency Framework (AET, 2016) is used in settings to inform the professional development of staff and to identify skills needed for key staff. This can then become part of the performance management process and embedded in school practice, ensuring the development of skills is monitored and outcomes 16 GAP,18,1, 2017

5 identified. Schools will be encouraged from September 2016 to reference their use of the AET Standards and Competency Framework in their Special Educational Needs (SEN) Information report and to ensure that they make it clear to parents and carers that they are working with CAT in a collaborative model, meeting needs at a universal and targeted level through the application of the AET frameworks, with the CAT team meeting the specialist needs of individual children and young people and providing support throughout. AET Tier 1 training: autism awareness Tier 1 training is also delivered to key groups in wider services, such as Police Custody officers, staff in children s residential homes, Teach First students, staff working in the secure estate, and Prevent mentors in the Home Office. Tier 1 has been used with parents and the CAT team has also strongly promoted the use of the AET parent materials and included the use of these documents as part of a termly parent conference. This runs alongside the core offer to parents and carers. Information about the CAT team s services can be found on Birmingham City Council s Local Offer. AET subcontracts to other local authorities A more recent development and expansion of the AET programme has been the creation of a network of four other West Midlands autism support services as subcontractors, delivering the AET within their geographical boundaries under the Birmingham licence. This has been hugely successful and has led to termly meetings, with a common approach and understanding to autism provision with our neighbouring local authority. This will be extended in the year as Birmingham CAT has been successful in securing 10,000 of AET funding to extend this regional network to other LAs within the West Midlands. Children with complex needs and support post 16 CAT has recently been successful in acting as consultants to the team developing the AET programme to address the training needs of children and young people with complex needs. The result has been the production of the AET Complex Needs module (April 2016), designed to develop the good autism practice of teams working within specialist educational provision. The training package can be tailored for delivery to teams working within a diverse range of complex children and young people and spans the range of age and ability. CAT is currently working alongside the local authority Participation Team to develop the impact of post 16 autism support and is using the AET model of approach. The team has secured further AET funding to enable the development of Post 16 hubs of good practice, intended to enable the wider delivery of training to the entire post 16 sector. What difference has this model of delivery of the AET programme made? Birmingham CAT has pioneered the development of a model of service delivery which incorporates all the elements of the AET programme and which has provided a highly effective approach to raising the capacity of schools to meet the needs of our growing number of children with autism. Considerable attention has been paid to the work in Birmingham, nationally, and CAT was commissioned by the AET to produce materials on its model as an example of best practice for other local authorities and organisations meeting similar challenges. The key elements of the model are: It delivers a response to all children and young people aged 0 to 25 years across the city through the delivery of all three AET programmes It facilitates a proactive approach within the city as opposed to the reactive approaches used in the past, and promotes whole school development which is consistently applied throughout the city The model is based on DfE approved training which reflects current legislation and educational practice; a positive message for school communities It offers a framework for schools to include in their SEN Information report and is reflected by the CAT team in the Local Offer GAP,18,1,

6 It provides CAT with evidence of how schools are increasing autism provision in order to meet the needs of their children and young people through the school partnership plan and monthly data returns It provides commissioners with a quality assurance framework, see Unit 4 of the local authority materials (AET, 2016a) This framework is evidence-based and provides the local authority with a versatile tool to apply to settings that are commissioned (often out of authority) to meet the needs of some of Birmingham s most vulnerable pupils. This informs the ability to safeguard this group. It also enables the CAT team to consider value for money provided by these high cost settings, thus helping to ensure suitable deployment of public funds. It allows the CAT team to identify schools that need additional support to meet their statutory responsibilities through the data collection systems and ongoing conversations with schools. This information is then fed into the local authority review systems of underperforming schools. There are over 20,000 staff in Birmingham who have received AET training which potentially has had a massive impact on practice. Evaluations indicate that 98 per cent of those attending strongly agree that the training will have a positive impact on practice and their ability to support children with autism. Tracking and monitoring systems of social skills and emotional well- being, linked to CAT teacher performance targets, evidence how staff knowledge has led to improved outcomes for children on caseload. The citywide training ensures the ongoing professional development needs of staff are met and that the provision within schools is a response to the needs of individuals. The following quotes from our evaluations capture some of the impact these sessions have had: Increased confidence in dealing with children and educating co-workers with strategies and approaches to certain children. All activities were informative and renewed my enthusiasm and energy to keep up with good practice. It s deepened my understanding and given me confidence to deliver some training to the staff. Importance of implementing ways to promote wellbeing for students as well as academic issues. Planning to implement extra intervention for social/emotional issues. Have learned the importance of knowing the children as individuals and how to find out how they feel. As a strategic lead I want to explore the idea of educating staff more fully on autism and progress of their social, emotional and health needs vs curriculum needs. More informed about social, mental and emotional health needs, made me think about work we can do around emotions and also coping strategies. Staff more confident to engage with parents and to share information about autism and possible interventions. It allows CAT to have discussions with schools that have a high number of exclusions or children on a reduced timetable about the quality of their provision and level of adjustment and offer a response to improving the current level of support for these children. It provides a strategic response to exclusions, equipping schools to become good at autism and more flexible in their approach to pupils with complex needs. 18 GAP,18,1, 2017

7 It supports schools to gather information as part of the assess, plan, do, review cycle for the graduated approach which feeds into the Education and Health Care Plans (EHCP). Staff are able to identify need and construct assessments and reports which accurately reflect the child s strengths and needs. It has developed a shared understanding of autism across the city which has significantly changed thinking from that of autism as a deficit to seeing it as a difference a shift in culture within the local authority. It has led to the development of a regional network of support services and has established CAT as a forward thinking and innovative team at a national level, with a highly respected reputation among the AET partners. Using the AET programme ensures that as a local authority the autism work is not within a silo but is responsive and engaging within a wider context of professionals and organisations. It has provided opportunities for CAT to share best practice at an international level through our work as consultants to the Transform Autism Erasmus project, led by Dr Karen Guldberg at the University of Birmingham. The project is to develop a similar training programme in Greece and Italy. Use of the AET Autism Standards and the AET Competency Framework has informed the development of CAT CHOOS (Children Out Of School), an interim teaching and learning facility which aims to ensure that the needs of this vulnerable group of pupils are being met through the development of good autism practice and workforce competency. Concluding comments: next steps A conference for primary headteachers in Birmingham is to be held to outline the updated partnership model of service delivery based on the AET frameworks and to give case studies from schools on their successes. A West Midlands regional network funded by DfE and commissioned by the AET during is to be established. Regional events will take place between September 2016 and March 2017 for support services, schools and other organisations involved in the education of children and young people with autism. This will be evaluated by the Centre for Educational Development and Research (CEDAR) at the University of Warwick and the outcomes reported to the DfE to inform the future development of the programme. Finally, a parent programme that reflects key messages and terminology used in the AET programme is to be created. This will aim for a consistent understanding of autism to be shared across home and school and will facilitate the building of positive relationships with parents and carers. References Ambitious About Autism (2014) Ruled out campaign report London: Ambitious About Autism. Autism Education Trust (2016a) A guide to the use of the AET programme materials by local authorities, support services and schools produced by Birmingham City Council available from (accessed 24 March 2017). Autism Education Trust (2016b) National Autism Standards (Revised) London Autism Education Trust. Autism Education Trust (2016c) National Competency Framework (Revised) London Autism Education Trust. Department for Education (2013) Teachers standards: guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies London: DfE. Department for Education (2015) Special educational needs and disability: code of practice, 0 to 25 years London: DoH and DfE. Gray, C (2015) The new social story book Arlington TX: Future Horizons. Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) (2015) The common inspection framework: education, skills and early years London: Ofsted. GAP,18,1,