Memorandum submitted by The National Autistic
Society
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The National Autistic Society welcomes
the opportunity to submit evidence to this inquiry. We particularly
welcome the fact that special educational needs was singled out
as in need of particular consideration in the terms of reference
for the inquiry. We would further welcome the opportunity to present
oral evidence to the Committee.
2. While there will be children, including
children with autism, who can behave but choose not to, all too
often pupils with autism are wrongly and unfairly considered to
fall into this group. Children with autism can present with behaviour
in school that may be inappropriate or difficult to manage. However,
in our experience, this type of behaviour often results from anxiety
or frustration due to either a lack of understanding of their
needs and/or a lack of support for their needs in a school environment.
Moreover, due to the nature of the disability, children with autism
are often unable to properly understand "socially appropriate"
behaviour or properly interpret other people's intentions. This
means that they can be taken advantage of and "led"
by other pupils into behaviour that is unacceptable according
to the school's behaviour policy.
3. In this response we set out in detail
the key factors for children with autism that affect inappropriate
behaviour and we make the following recommendations, which we
believe would both help reduce inappropriate behaviour and ensure
that children with autism are supported to fulfil their potential:
— All school staff should have autism awareness
training so that they have a basic understanding of how to work
with children with autism and to enable them to identify possible
indicators of autism
— All school staff must be aware of their
duties towards disabled pupils under equality legislation and
have training to enable them to meet these duties.
— All schools should have access to specialist
autism support and advice where appropriate.
— Academies and free schools will need
to work with each other and with local authority maintained schools
as well as with their local authority to ensure the continuing
viability of local specialist support.
— Where a child identified as having special
educational needs is at risk of exclusion there must be a review
of whether their needs are being met, as recommended in the SEN
Code of Practice.
— For children who are not identified as
having SEN but who are at risk of exclusion or show ongoing behavioural
problems an assessment to check for underlying social or communication
difficulties should be considered.
— All children entering PRUs should be
assessed on entry and any SENs logged and reported.
— Schools should work closely with parents
of children with autism to ensure consistent support and approaches
towards behaviour between home and school.
— Parents must have a formal method to
challenge exclusions of children with SEN where they believe these
to be inappropriate.
— Physical restraint methods should only
be used by staff with appropriate training and as a last resort
where de-escalation techniques cannot be used.
— Schools need to communicate with parents
where such techniques have been used, particularly with pupils
with communication needs.
THE NATIONAL
AUTISTIC SOCIETY
(NAS)
4. The NAS is the leading charity for people
with autism in the UK. We have over 20,000 members and over 100
branches, who are at the heart of what we do, and we work with
a wide network of partner organisations in the autism field.
5. The NAS exists to champion the rights
and interests of people with autism and Asperger syndrome[94]
and to ensure that their needs are met. We provide a range of
educational support for children with autism and their families,
including:
6. The National Autistic Society welcomes
this inquiry into behaviour and discipline in schools and particularly
the inclusion of SEN within the terms of reference. We welcome
the opportunity to submit evidence to the House of Commons Education
Committee, and would be pleased to have the opportunity to provide
further oral evidence to the inquiry. The NAS is a member of the
Special Educational Consortium, and also supports their response
to this inquiry.
AUTISM
7. Autism, including Asperger syndrome,
is a serious, lifelong and disabling condition which affects how
a person communicates with other people and relates to the world
around them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that while
all people with autism share certain difficulties, it will affect
each individual in different ways. Autism affects around one in
100 people. The NAS estimates that there are 88,000 school aged
children with autism in England, the vast majority of whom are
in mainstream schools.
8. The main three areas of difficulty that
people with autism share are:
— Social interaction—including difficulties
with social relationships, including appearing aloof and indifferent;
— Social communication—including
difficulty understanding and using verbal and non-verbal communication
such as language, gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice;
— Social imagination—making it difficult
to understand how others think and feel or to participate in imaginary
scenarios.
Children with autism may also experience sensory
over—or under-sensitivity, to sounds, touch, tastes, smells,
light or colours. Sensory input such as a ticking clock or screaming
in the playground can be highly stressful.
AUTISM AND
SCHOOL
— A child with a special educational need
(SEN) is nine times more likely to be excluded from school.[95]
— 27% of children with autism are excluded
from school at least once, compared with 4% of other children.[96]
— 40% of parents report their child with
autism has been bullied at school, rising to 59% of those with
Asperger syndrome.[97]
— 42% of children with autism report not
having any friends at all, compared with 1% of other children.[98]
9. The nature of autism impacts the way
that a child with autism relates to others pupils and teachers
in the school environment; it can be difficult for that child
to form friendships and to understand the social rules which determine
the behaviour of their fellow pupils.
10. Children with autism can present with
behaviour that may be difficult to manage. In the NAS' experience
this often results from anxiety or frustration due to a lack of
understanding and support for their needs. Children with autism
may struggle to express their frustration verbally becoming increasingly
frustrated, which inevitably affects behaviour.
11. The school environment can be a highly
confusing and stressful one for a child with autism. They are
often loud and crowded with a lot of information to take in; for
the many children with autism who may have sensory issues, such
environments can cause significant distress and behaviour that
would be considered disruptive.
12. It is common for a child with autism
to hold in the stress and "cope" as much as they are
able to. This stress may then be released at once; a child may
appear to react very strongly to a seemingly minor incident which
can then cause friction between that child, the staff and their
peers. This can often happen where the child has been dealing
with ongoing low-levels of stress, perhaps as a result of teasing,
sensory difficulties or difficulties in understanding what's happening,
until something finally pushes them into reacting.
13. Difficulties with social interaction
mean that children with autism often find the communal aspect
of schooling very challenging. They may not understand what is
appropriate behaviour among their peers and find that they are
often left out and struggle to make friends. They may also be
"led" by other pupils into behaviour which is considered
inappropriate.
Case study example: susceptibility to peer
influence
"James finds unstructured time extremely
difficult. He has no friends and frequently spends his break times
wandering round the edges of the playground watching other pupils
and trying to work out how to join in conversations and games
with his peers. One day he tries to join in with some other pupils,
who see him as "weird" and naïve, and they dare
him to throw stones at a teacher. James wants to be "in the
gang" and does not understand the possible consequences of
throwing the stones. Fortunately he misses, but he is suspended
from school."
14. For children with autism, interacting
with peers can present a confusing minefield of social etiquette,
cues and rules which they do not know how to navigate—whilst
everyone else, it seems, intuitively does.
15. Break times for example can be particularly
difficult for children with autism. Unstructured times are unpredictable
and it can be very difficult for a child with autism to know what
to do during this time in contrast to the rest of the day when
they are given instructions, rules and a timetable to guide them
through. If you are not aware of the social rules of the playground
it can appear as though everyone is simply running around screaming.
Moving between lessons can be extremely stressful for a child
with autism.
16. Many children with autism find transitions
and unplanned changes extremely difficult. Sudden changes to the
timetable or a substitute teacher can be very stressful and may
increase a child's anxiety significantly.
Bullying
17. In some cases a child's behaviour may
be as the result of ongoing provocation and bullying. In a survey
carried out by the NAS,[99]
a number of parents of children with autism reported that their
child had been excluded from school as a result of their reaction
to ongoing, persistent, low-level bullying. The NAS has found
that over 40% of children with autism have been bullied at school.[100]
18. The following is a quote from a parent
in response to an NAS research questionnaire. It is indicative
of the effect that bullying and lack of teaching training can
have on outcomes and behaviour for a child with autism:
"Problems mainly happened at first mainstream
junior school, because he was withdrawn from certain lessons.
He was teased and mocked by the manipulative, smart kids—consequence:
awful behaviour from my son who physically attacked them, and
was blamed. The next school he went to, the staff had a negative
effect on his relationship forming, because they had him down
as a marked person, due to his poor social skills and a negative
attitude to his needs. Now his current school has a good policy
and are able to tackle any problems consistently and effectively,
again due to size, resources, and trained staff."[101]
TEACHER TRAINING
AND BEHAVIOUR
"Educating a child with autism will require
modification of both your group and individual teaching methods".[102]
19. Staff who are not equipped to deal with
the behaviours that children with autism may exhibit, may exacerbate
a situation by reacting to it inappropriately and failing to make
adjustments. A teacher with the relevant expertise may have the
tools to diffuse a challenging situation where their colleague
is not.
20. For inclusion to take place, educational
provision must be adapted according to the pupil's individual
needs, which relies of an adequate understanding of autism through
training, however 44% of teachers have said that they did not
feel comfortable teaching students on the spectrum.[103]
21. Under the Disability Discrimination
Act (and shortly under the Equality Act), schools have responsibilities
to make reasonable adjustments for children with disabilities.
This includes adapting the classroom environment, teaching practices,
and crucially making adjustments to the application of behaviour
policies where the behaviour is due to a reason related to the
child's disability. Yet we regularly hear from parents that such
adjustments are not being made and that far too often schools
are not fulfilling these duties.
Good practice example: a reasonable adjustment
Gary is five and has autism. He did not answer
his name when the register was taken, which the teacher found
frustrating. However an autism specialist at the school recognised
that Gary did not understand the concept of the register and why
he had to tell the teacher that he was already in the room. She
suggested that the teacher provide Gary with a card to give in
at the beginning of the lesson instead of having to answer his
name.[104]
22. It is true of any pupil, with and without
SEN that the key to improving behaviour involves engaging
a child through expert teaching.[105]
For children with autism this means teachers who understand their
condition and can communicate with them. Access to specialist
support is critical for teachers to be able to support children
with autism effectively. We strongly welcome the recommendation
from the Lamb Inquiry, currently being taken forward by the Teaching
and Development Agency (TDA), to have teachers with specialist
understanding of autism accessible to every school.
23. Under-identification is significant
problem facing pupils with autism at school. While national prevalence
figures suggest that there are 88,000 children with autism in
England, Government figures[106]
show only 56,000 are identified in maintained schools. The recent
Ofsted SEN Review found that pupils with complex conditions like
autism struggle to get appropriate support even where their needs
are apparent unless they have a medical diagnosis. We are aware
of cases where schools refuse to acknowledge that a child has
an autism, even where they have a medical diagnosis.
24. The quality of teaching staff available
to a child with autism will also significantly affect that child's
ability to learn and develop to the best of their potential. In
our experience, "bad" behaviour of pupils with SEN is
often a consequence of their needs not being met rather than them
being naughty. The Steer report makes that point that a child
who is not properly supported at school and given the tools they
need to develop, is likely to become frustrated with their lack
of achievement and therefore demonstrate bad behaviour.[107]
25. The NAS recognises that there will be
children, including children with autism, who can behave but choose
not to. However pupils with autism are frequently wrongly considered
to fall into this group, particularly by staff who have a low
awareness of autism. This is compounded by the invisible nature
of autism. For example, some children with high functioning autism
or Asperger syndrome may be academically able yet lack social
and relational skills to follow instructions appropriately.
26. A staff member may attribute the failure
of a child with autism to follow instruction, to choice rather
than lack of understanding. The staff member's lack of understanding
of autism then places the pupil at a disadvantage.
Recommendations:
— All school staff should have autism awareness
training so that they have a basic understanding of how to work
with children with autism and to enable them to identify possible
indicators of autism.
— All school staff must be aware of their
duties towards disabled pupils under equality legislation and
have training to enable them to meet these duties.
— All schools should have access to specialist
autism support and advice where appropriate.
EARLY INTERVENTION
27. With the right support incidents of
extreme behaviour can be reduced. Identifying the root cause of
behaviours and understanding them is often essential to prevent
issues escalating, as well as explaining social situations and
putting strategies in place to help children manage their emotions.
28. Nevertheless, NAS research of nearly
1,300 parents of children with autism shows that nearly half (45%)
say it took over a year for their child to start receiving any
support. Of these, two thirds said that the delay has had a negative
impact on their child's behaviour, and a third (34%) say it has
had a negative impact on their child's mental health.[108]
29. The NAS is finding that the pupils who
are referred to our schools have increasingly complex problems
with behaviour and mental health problems, frequently as a result
of a lack of appropriate support at earlier stages in their school
life. Many of the pupils have had significant periods, even up
to two years, without any formal education before coming to our
schools.
30. Failure to provide appropriate support
in education for children with autism can have major consequences.
Research shows that children with SEN are more likely not to be
in education, employment or training (NEET), and one study has
shown that while 60% of people in young offender institutes have
speech, language and communication needs, only 5% were identified
early in life.[109]
SEN AND EXCLUSION
31. Many children with autism face exclusion
from school on either a temporary or permanent basis. It is the
experience of the NAS that for many children with autism, exclusion
represents a failure on the part of their educational setting
to provide appropriate support and training to effectively manage
their behaviour:
— 27% of children with autism are excluded
from school at least once, compared with 4% of other children.[110]
— Of children who have been excluded 16%
have been excluded ten times, or so many times that their parents
have lost count and a third have missed a term or more of school.
32. Children with autism are often also
"informally" excluded which means they are omitted from
exclusions data. Informal exclusions arise when the school, unlawfully,
requests that a student not be present for a particular school
event. Informal exclusions such as these are indicative of a school
unwilling or unable to cope with the child in question. We continue
to hear of pupils being sent home at lunchtimes, for an Ofsted
inspection or not being able to attend school trips.
33. Faced with a lack of any viable alternative
provision, some parents feel that they have to remove their children
from the education system entirely and educate at home.
34. The 2006 report of the House of Commons
Education and Skills Committee into Special Educational Needs
states that it was unacceptable that there should continue to
exist such a strong correlation between exclusions and children
with SEN and that the Government should enhance existing, and
improve alternative, forms of provision, training and resources
rather than using an increasingly punitive approach for these
children and families involved.[111]
Yet in our experience, exclusions of children with autism continue
to happen on a regular basis.
35. Where children are excluded there needs
to be planning to ensure that appropriate provision is made available
for them. It is entirely unacceptable for children to be left
without any educational provision, in some cases for years at
a time.
Good practice example: NAS Robert Ogden School,
South Yorkshire
30% of pupils at the NAS Robert Ogden School
were permanently excluded from both mainstream and special schools
before they came to the school.
A proportion of these pupils with challenging
behaviours were spending a significant amount of time out of classes
because they were inhibiting the learning of other pupils. In
order to meet these pupil's needs, the school has established
at Key Stages 3 and 4 an "Inclusion Resource". Each
pupil is given a personalised "inclusion" timetable
which enables them to negotiate their access to learning groups,
or particular teachers with whom they feel comfortable. There
is not an expectation that these pupils will attend all classes
with their peers. Each pupil has an individual inclusion target
each week, for example to attend an after school club. Pupils
have been able to build up their tolerance of group learning,
and have a personalised learning programme and their own space
when they choose to use it.
One pupil had been to six different mainstream
schools and then a 52-week autism specific provision before coming
to Robert Ogden School, where they developed a highly personalised
curriculum for him. Within six months he had gained GCSE English
and Maths at grade B, and has now completed a Masters degree in
Engineering Programming.
Pupil Referral Units (PRUs)
36. According to Government figures, three
quarters of pupils in PRUs have an identified SEN. Figures are
not available broken down by type of SEN, but given the high rate
of exclusions of children with autism, we believe it is likely
that a significant proportion of children in PRUs have autism
with either identified or unidentified needs.
37. Some PRUs provide a very good standard
of provision and have access to staff trained in autism. However,
others are less good, and we do not believe that in the vast majority
of cases PRUs are the appropriate environment for children with
autism. Children may be particularly vulnerable because of their
disability. They may be bullied or pick up unhelpful behaviours
from other children. What's more, lower expectations can lead
to lower opportunities for attainment.
Recommendations:
— Where a child identified as having special
educational needs is at risk of exclusion there must be a review
of whether their needs are being met, as recommended in the SEN
Code of Practice.
— For children who are not identified as
having SEN but who are at risk of exclusion or show ongoing behavioural
problems an assessment to check for underlying social or communication
difficulties should be considered.
— All children entering PRUs should be
assessed on entry and any SENs logged and reported.
38. We believe there is a vital role for
local authorities in ensuring that there is an appropriate range
of provision available in a local area to meet the varying needs
of children across the spectrum.
Academies and Exclusion
39. While we welcome the intention of the
Academies Act to drive up standards, the NAS has significant concerns
about the implications of a system in which there are increasing
numbers of academies, which seem more likely to use exclusion
as a tool, and the effect this may have on children with autism.
40. Both the Academies Bill Equalities Impact
Assessment and Price Waterhouse Coopers' Academies Evaluation
Fifth Annual Report (commissioned by the Department for Children,
Schools and Families) state that exclusion rates in academies
are higher than they are in maintained settings.[112]
The Fifth Annual Report sets out that this was true even when
comparing schools with similar intakes.
41. The raised level of exclusions in Academies
suggests that they may not be addressing the issues which cause
children with SEN to exhibit certain behavioural issues. Moreover,
academies will not necessarily have access to the specialist teaching
provision often shared between maintained schools across Local
Authorities. The implications of this lack of specialist support
for the behaviour of children with SEN in schools are potentially
significant.[113]
More needs to be done to ensure that the support provided by local
authorities to schools is not lost as the number of schools, not
under local authority control, increases.
Recommendation:
— Academies and free schools will need
to work with each other and with local authority maintained schools
as well as with their local authority to ensure the continuing
viability of local specialist support.
INVOLVING PARENTS
42. An inquiry conducted by Brian Lamb found
that parents of children with SEN do not feel involved enough
in the process of their child's education, or handling their challenging
behaviour. Parents reported that the professionals did not appear
to take their opinions and observations into account.[114]
It is particularly important to listen to parents as the difficulties
a child is facing may not always be apparent at school—parents
often describe the "3 o'clock timebomb" where their
child comes home from school and explodes with the frustrations
of having to cope in a neuro-typical environment of school all
day.
"There needs to be less leaping to conclusions
about parenting skills, especially regarding behaviour".[115]
43. By working with, and listening to parents
it is possible to maintain consistency of approach between home
and school, in order that children are able to apply their learning
across different environments and to avoid them becoming confused.
Recommendation:
— Schools should work closely with parents
of children with autism to ensure consistent support and approaches
towards behaviour between home and school.
INDEPENDENT APPEALS
PANELS
44. Given the disproportionate representation
of children with SEN in the exclusion figures, Independent Appeals
Panels are particularly vital for those children. In the experience
of the NAS, challenging behaviour is frequently the by-product
of a lack of understanding and support; there must be safeguards
in place to protect children with SEN.
45. Sir Alan Steer has argued that the abolition
of IAP will remove a level of protection for pupils and their
parents, creating a potentially unfair system, which could also
mean that schools increasingly become embroiled in time consuming
and costly redress processes.[116]
Recommendation:
— Parents must have a formal method to
challenge exclusions of children with SEN where they believe these
to be inappropriate.
USE OF
FORCE IN
SCHOOLS
46. We are concerned about the removal of
the duty introduced in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and
Learners Act to require schools to inform parents when they have
used force on a pupil. It can be a frightening experience for
children and they are at risk of injury, especially where it is
used by untrained professionals. Many pupils who display behaviour
which challenges schools may have a communication difficulty and
may not be able to explain to their parents what has happened
at school.
47. We are aware of cases where restraint
is used repeatedly on pupils as young as six. Restraint should
only be used as a last resort, where there is risk of injury or
harm. It is imperative that school staff who use force on pupils
have appropriate training in safe techniques of using restraint.
De-escalation strategies must always be used as a first resort.
Recommendation:
— Physical restraint methods should only
be used by staff with appropriate training and as a last resort
where de-escalation techniques cannot be used.
— Schools need to communicate with parents
where such techniques have been used, particularly with pupils
with communication needs.
September 2010
94 Asperger syndrome is a form of autism. People with
Asperger syndrome have the same traits as those with autism-difficulties
in communication, social understanding and social interaction-but
will not usually have accompanying learning disabilities Back
95
Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008) National
Statistics SFR 14/2008 "Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions
from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England, 2006-07" Back
96
Green, H et al, (2005) Mental health of children and young
people in Great Britain, 2004. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
p.192 Back
97
Reid (2006) B is for bullied, NAS: London Back
98
Green et al Back
99
Reid and Batten (2006) B is for bullied: the experiences of children
with autism and their families, London: NAS Back
100
Make School Make Sense, Reid and Batten, The NAS, London, 2006
p13. Back
101
Make School Make Sense, Batten et al Back
102
Autism in your classroom: a general educator's guide to students
with autism spectrum disorders, Woodbine House 2007, Deborah Fein,
Michelle Dunn Back
103
National Union of Teachers (2006) "SEN survey on the provision
of training to teachers in relation to pupils with special educational
needs-evaluation", UK Back
104
Children Now (May 2005) Back
105
Ofsted, 2009. Twenty outstanding primary schools-excelling against
the odds in challenging circumstances. Back
106
Department for Education (2010) Special Educational Needs in England
January 2010 Back
107
Learning Behaviour, Lessons Learned , Sir Alan Steer, London
2009 Back
108
MSMS Batten et al Back
109
Demos (2010) Ex Curricula Back
110
Green, H et al, (2005) Mental health of children and young
people in Great Britain, 2004. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan,
p.192 Back
111
House of Commons Education and Skills Committee Report: Special
Educational Needs, 2006 p35 Back
112
Department for Education, Academies Bill Equalities Impact Assessment,
June 2010 and http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/academies/pdf/Academies5thAnnualReport.pdf?version=1 Back
113
Breaking the Link Between Special Educational Needs and Low Attainment
DCSF, 2010 Back
114
Lamb 2009 Special Educational Needs and Parental Confidence Back
115
Ibid, Blackburn with Darwen Borough council, Lamb Inquiry Project Back
116
Steer, 2009 Back
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