Behaviour and Discipline in Schools

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.

· 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 [1] 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 1 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, and;

· 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 [2] .

· 27% of children with autism are excluded from school at least once, compared with 4% of other children [3] .

· 40% of parents report their child with autism has been bullied at school, rising to 59% of those with Asperger syndrome [4] .

· 42% of children with autism report not having any friends at all, compared with 1% of other children [5]

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 [6] , 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 [7] .

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. [8]

Teacher Training and Behaviour

"Educating a child with autism will require modification of both your group and individual teaching methods" [9]

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. [10]

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 5 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. [1]

22. It is true of any pupil, with and without SEN that the key to improving behaviour involves engaging a child through expert teaching. [11] 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 [12] 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 [13] .

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. [14]

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 [15] .

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 [16] .

· 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. C hildren with autism are often also ‘informal ly ’ 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. I nformal 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 educat e 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. [17] 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 6 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 [18] . 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 [19] . 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. [20] It is particularly important to listen to parent as the difficulties a child is facing may not always be apparent at school - parents often describe the "three 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". [21]