SEN Autism CPD programme


Backed by government funding, the Autism


Education Trust is delivering a major CPD programme for secondary school teachers. Steve Huggett explains


swinging into gear and beginning to have an impact in secondary schools across England. The three-tier training programme is aimed at


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a broad range of school staff, delivered by seven regional training hubs. Alongside this, a set of national autism education standards are being developed to allow schools to evaluate their capacity to support young people with autism, as well as a competency framework to support professional development. There are three levels of training: • Level 1 is basic autism awareness training for teaching and non-teaching staff within any education setting. As well as teaching staff, these may include office staff, governors, caretakers, drivers and escorts.


• Level 2 is for all staff working directly with children on the autism spectrum. As well as teachers, these might include teaching assistants and lunchtime staff.


ast year the Autism Education Trust (AET) was awarded a two-year grant by the Department for Education to launch one of the most wide- ranging professional development programmes in autism education. This ambitious programme is now


• Level 3 is for all staff who need further knowledge of autism or who may wish to pursue a training role and might include SENCOs or lead practitioners in autism. Level 1 training is free and we aim to train at least


5,000 people at this level in 2012/13. Levels 2 and 3 will be rolled out from September. All three levels focus on children and young people aged five to 16 and span the full range of special and mainstream settings. The AET has commissioned Birmingham University’s Autism Centre for Education Research to develop materials for the training programme.


Regional training hubs


Training is delivered by a network of specialist training hubs in seven different regions in England. We currently cover London, South East, West Midlands, East Midlands and the North West, and we hope to expand to cover other regions. Hubs are run by a range of bodies, including schools, local authority specialist teams and voluntary and maintained sector organisations. What unites them are very high levels of expertise in autism, a long established track record in delivering professional development to schools and an extensive networks of contacts.


National standards for autism education


In parallel with the training programme, the AET has commissioned the development of a set of standards to enable schools to evaluate their practices in addressing the needs of their pupils on the autism spectrum. The standards are for use across all types of educational settings for pupils aged five to 16 and will mirror the broad areas of the training programme. They were piloted last term and are available on the AET website.


AET Competency Framework


The last interlinked part of the AET programme is a professional competency framework for autism education. It focuses on those working directly with children and young people on the autism spectrum in educational settings, defining the skills and knowledge required and matching these with a person’s knowledge and qualifications.


Boundaries for Buddhas Psycho babble


IMPROVING DISCIPLINE is one aspect of new government policy that teachers will welcome. More than 1,000 students are suspended from school for abuse or assault every school day. Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers recently claimed that parents are partly to blame for the rise in unruly behaviour, suggesting that some are failing to set boundaries for their children. She said: “We’re not doing our children any favours if we make them into ‘little Buddhas’ at home. We need to be more confident in saying what we feel is reasonable.” “Boundaries” is an important


term, and one that cannot be over- looked in the drive to implement appropriate and effective discipline. There is a difference between boundaries and rules. Every school has a set of school rules with consequences in place for those who break them. Boundaries, however, govern the whole gamut of socially acceptable behaviour in the classroom and beyond – the grey area, if you like. They involve setting expecta-


tions verbally and through model- ling, and making clear the point at which behaviour becomes unaccepta- ble. Boundaries are positive. They depend upon an expectation of good behaviour, which is supported by positive reinforcement, approval and reward – as opposed to “you break the rule, you get the punishment”. The truth is that many of the worst offenders


are seeking attention and, through that, approval. Call them Buddhas or whatever you wish, they don’t have boundaries at home and they don’t know where they stand. It’s no secret that setting boundaries provides


children and young adults of all ages with security because they know what is required of them, and they can then operate with knowledge. Rules tell kids what they can’t do, not what they can and should do, even if they are positively framed. Boundaries delineate the area in which kids can be free; as long as they stay within the scaffolding of expected behaviour, they


will learn to handle freedom and experiment within the boundaries that have been created. Testing boundaries is a normal developmental


behaviour. All children and young adults will push until they find the security of their boundaries and then relax back within them, and they will do so regularly. In fact, you’ll find that when even the best kids are experiencing problems at home or school, or feeling anxious or depressed, they will push more frequently, in an attempt to regain a sense of security. For the same reason, kids from


difficult backgrounds are more likely to test – and test con- stantly – largely because they haven’t been provided with a suitable framework or model within which to operate at home. They are isolated because they are making behavioural decisions without support; they are angry because they


are on their own; they are scared because they live in a world with no set agenda. These kids are left adrift and it’s important to realise that this feeling underpins a great


deal of inappropriate behaviour. One of the most positive elements


of setting boundaries involves trust. When teens manage to operate within boundaries, they will win the trust of authority figures, which allows them greater freedoms and an opportunity for positive interaction. This is


something that troubled young students need most, as it provides an opportunity to gain self-respect, to establish relationships based on mutual respect, and to develop healthy self-esteem that has been earned. The call for a back-to-basics approach to discipline


might provide greater flexibility in dealing with prob- lem youths, but will old-fashioned methods work in the context of a very clear need for boundaries? I’ll discuss this next time.


• Karen Sullivan is a best-selling author, psychologist and childcare expert. She returns in two weeks.


New challenges


One of the key benefits of the AET programme is that it brings together current knowledge and approaches in an accessible and coherent form. Schools have multiple demands for staff training and need to access it easily. With a mushrooming range of offers from pro-


viders and new organisations entering the market, it is also critical that the source is authoritative. The national scope of the AET programme, supported by government and involving the leading organisations in the field provides that credibility. With the implementation of a new legislative


framework following last year’s SEN and Disability Green Paper, we are in period of significant change for schools, local authorities, families and young people. Moreover, government policy encouraging the


autonomy of schools risks fragmentation. It is important that support for different SEN is aligned


so that schools can take a consistent and integrated approach. The AET is working with other major government-


supported organisations such as the Communications Trust and the Dyslexia/SPLD Trust, as well as nasen’s SENCO training programme and the Department for Education Achievement for All Programme to ensure our work is aligned and makes sense for schools. The challenge is significant but the prize of a


better-trained workforce and more effective schools is crucial. Crucial to the professionals involved, but most importantly crucial to the young people they serve.SecEd


• Steve Huggett is director of the Autism Education Trust, a partnership of organisations with an interest in autism founded by Ambitious About Autism, the Council for Disabled Children, and the National Autistic Society.


Further information www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk


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St Mark’s Church of England Academy photo Paul Maven


SecEd • April 26 2012


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