Autism Education Trust Terms of Reference Revised- December 2015

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1 Summary This document provides the terms of reference for the Autism Education Trust (AET), including those for the AET Programme Board, the Programme Partners group and the AET Expert Reference Group. Contents Vision Statement What is the Autism Education Trust (AET)? What is the AET hoping to achieve? Why do we need the AET? Governance Structure AET Programme Board AET Programme Partners AET Expert Reference Group Vision Statement Vision The Autism Education Trust believes that all children and young people with autism 1 should receive an education which enables them to reach their individual potential to engage in society as active citizens (and that individuals, families and professionals are informed, supported and equipped to enable this to be achieved). What is the Autism Education Trust? The Autism Education Trust (AET) was founded in 2007 by Ambitious about Autism (formally TreeHouse), The Council for Disabled Children (CDC) and The National Autistic Society (NAS) supported by the Department for Education (DfE) The AET is a wide ranging partnership of organisations focused on improving the education of children and young people with autism. It now includes not only the major voluntary sector organisations but also a large number of Local Authorities as well as teaching schools, universities and private sector companies. It is hosted on behalf of the partnership by the NAS. The AET has received the majority of its funding since its inception from the DfE although an increasing proportion of funding is now derived from self-sustaining programme activities. What is the AET hoping to achieve? Mission The purpose of the AET is to improve the education of children and young people with autism. In order to help achieve its mission the Autism Education Trust will: 1 The term autism refers to all those on the autistic spectrum including Asperger syndrome 1

2 develop and deliver training and materials to achieve better educational outcomes for children and young people with autism. undertake research to provide evidence of effective service models and practice in responding to the education needs of children and young people on the autism spectrum provide a platform for the promotion and sharing of effective practice in responding to the education needs of children and young people on the autism spectrum disseminate information regarding evidence-based and best-practice approaches/services to policy makers, service commissioners and practitioners provide an interface between users, practitioners and policy makers in respect of service development ensure that full and proper engagement of both deliverers and receivers informs its work. The AET improvement cycle below shows how feedback informs development. Why do we need the Autism Education Trust? 1. It is estimated that one per cent of children and young people in the UK have autism (reference) 2. The majority of children on the autism spectrum 2 are taught in a mainstream school but many need to attend specialist settings for some or all of their time in education. 3. Pupils with Statements of SEN are over 3 times more likely to be permanently excluded from school than the rest of the school population. The 2006 NAS Make school make 2 Jones (2002) Educational provision for children with autism and Asperger Syndrome, London: David Fulton. 2

3 sense survey 3 found 1 in 5 children in the sample had been excluded from school and 67% of these had been excluded more than once. It also identified that 40% of children with autism have been bullied. 4. There is a lack of evidence and information regarding service models and practices that maximize opportunities for children and young people with autism and which support them in achieving positive outcomes. 5. Access to effective services is not equal across geographical areas and ethnic/socioeconomic groups. 6. Transition arrangements from children s to adult services are often inadequate. 7. Policy makers and service commissioners often fail to take into account the views of children and young people on the autism spectrum and their carers. 8. Substantial public funds are invested in the education of children and young people on the autism spectrum. It is important that these funds are used wisely and have maximum impact which means that policy makers and service commissioners need independent and good quality information and advice. Governance Structure Overview AET Programme Board Remit The remit of the Programme Board is to provide governance to the AET. This includes determining the vision, values, strategic direction and specific work streams. The Programme Board will support the Director who is accountable to the board for the effective delivery of the strategy and specific work streams. The Programme Board will support the Director in negotiating with government and other funders. The Programme Board will ensure that its strategy and specific 3 Batten, A., Corbett, C., Rosenblatt, M., Withers, L. & Yuille, R. (2006) Make School Make Sense. Autism and Education: the reality for families today. London, National Autistic Society. P.25 3

4 work streams are informed by the input of the Programme Partners, Expert Reference Group and other relevant stakeholders. Nonetheless, final decision making responsibility sits with the Programme Board. The main specific functions of the Programme Board are to: Support the development of and approve the strategic plan for the AET and monitor the performance against plan. Approve the AET policies and oversee their implementation. Approve AET budget and monitor performance against budget. Appoint the Director of the AET through the chair and founding members Act as Ambassadors for the AET Support the Director in reporting to and negotiating with the Department of Education and other key funders and stakeholders. This will include the signing off of programme proposals to the DfE Support the Director in the appointment of the Expert Reference Group Membership Organisation Adult with Autism (over 25 Vacant years) Young Person with Autism Alex Rowley (aged 18-25) Parent of a child with autism Vacant NAS NAS Carol Povey Bid Partners (Ambitious about Autism and Autism AAA Autism Alliance Jolanta Lasota Bob Lowndes Alliance) Workforce Development Chris Beek Education Professional Phil Christie Autism Researcher University of Birmingham Glenys Jones Director of AET AET Steve Huggett Local Authority s Pam Simpson Vacancy Head Teacher/Senco Iain Sim The Programme Board members term of office is the period of the DFE contract. Members will be paid an agreed day rate (if requested) and reasonable expenses for their attendance at meetings Secretariat: AET Administrator Chair of the Programme Board: The Programme Board will appoint a Chair and from among its membership. The term of Office for the Chair is the two years of the DFE contract, after which this will be reviewed. 4

5 Frequency of meetings: Meetings of the Programme Board will take place every two months with additional meetings if necessary. The Programme Partners Group Remit The Programme Partners group represents all the organisations involved with the development, delivery and evaluation of the programme. As such more than 30 organisations are represented. Its focus is to update all partners on developments, allow consultation to take place and ensure coordination and linkage of the different work strands. It also provides a consultative forum for determining the content of proposals for new AET Programmes. It has an informal but equally important role of facilitating networking between colleagues involved in the programme and helping colleagues establish creative working relationships with each other. Frequency of meetings Programme Partners meet termly. Chair: Director of AET Secretariat: AET Administrator AET Expert Reference Group Remit To advise the Programme Board and staff team on the development and implementation of plans for the AET. To provide professional expertise to support the development and delivery of effective practice within the AET work programmes and to promote the AET to wider networks as a platform for collaboration. When defining membership we seek to maintain an effective balance of skills, knowledge and experience from within the autism education sector. We recognize that one individual may bring a range of experience. Key areas of expertise we have represented include: Key stage one and two Key stage three and four Mainstream setting Specialist setting Integrated unit setting Maintained Independent Academy/free school Teacher Head teacher SEN Governor Early years Organisation Ryan Bradley Annette Box Jan Newport Sue Thompson Joy Beaney Clare Henshaw Vacant Claire Stockley Shannon Coles Penny Barrett Rona Tutt Alex Stanyer 5

6 Research Liz Pellicano Local Authority Annette English Parents/carers of children with autism Mark Hill & Lynne Laverty Young person or Alex Gibbs persons with autism Adult or adults with autism Lana Grant Dami Benbow Health and social care Sue Fairhurst sector SALT/OT, DCS, CAMHS etc. Workforce Prithvi Perepa development/training Educational Psychology Caroline Bond Clinical Psychology Claire Millward PRU Su Sengupta SLT Sally Mordi LSA Stephanie Dennis AET Director Steve Huggett AET Programme Sarah-Jane Critchley Manager Founding organisation/host Jacqui Ashton Smith/ Jane Vaughan Founding organisation/bid partner Ambitious about Autism Andrew Swartfigure/ Katy Lee Founding Council for Disabled TBA organisation/strategic partner Children (CDC) Bid partner Autism Alliance Bob Lowndes Observer members as stipulated by funders Chair: Director of AET Secretariat: AET Administrator DfE NASEN Communication Trust DSpLD Trust Jenny Ballantyne TBA TBA TBA Frequency of meetings: Meetings of the Expert Reference Group place every term. Additional meetings will be held as necessary. Sub groups: Sub-groups may be formed as required to provide advice and support on specific areas. They will report to the Programme Board as necessary. Individuals outside of the governance structures with specific areas of expertise may be appointed to these as agreed by the Programme Board. 6

7 The Role of the NAS as Host: Autism Education Trust Terms of Reference The NAS is responsible for providing Line management to the Director of the AET. The NAS is the contractual employer of all AET staff. In this role the NAS undertake to provide accommodation and support services to the AET and will charge the AET a reasonable amount for these services as agreed by the Programme Board through the budgeting process. The NAS holds IPR on behalf of the AET where these are applicable. In addition the NAS will act as the contract holder with the Department for Education. Key features of the AET Programme Since 2007 the AET has been funded to deliver a succession of programmes. As these have developed it has become that four key features of AET programmes have been critical in making them successful: A national reach: the programme covers all of England. This means that participants all over England both benefit from the programme and can contribute to it. It also means that participants can share developments with colleagues beyond their locality Local delivery: The AET places an emphasis on delivery of its programme through partners who have strong local networks and links. Thus the programme can be tailored to suit local needs. An active partnership: the AET programme is developed and delivered by its partners. In this sense the AET is its partners. Organic development: the AET delivery model contains constant development at its core. Delivery results in feedback which in turn guides change and further development. 7