Special Educational Needs: Autism

(asked on 24th March 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps is he taking to help ensure that children with autism receive timely assessments to determine their educational needs.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 1st April 2022

The government’s national strategy for improving the lives of autistic people and their families and carers, published in 2021, has been extended to children and young people, as well as adults, in recognition of the importance of ensuring that they are diagnosed and receive the right support as early as possible and across their lifetime. It is backed by funding of over £74 million in the first year alone to improve understanding in society, reduce diagnosis waiting times, and improve access to and the quality of health, social care, and education for autistic people.

On 1 February 2022, the department announced more than £45 million of continued targeted support for families and parents of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) over the next three financial years. These programmes will target support to improve monitoring, support and intervention for local authorities and local health and care partners’ delivery of statutory SEND services. They will improve participation and access for parents and young people for high quality advice and support and directly support schools and colleges to effectively work with pupils with SEND, for example through training on specific needs like autism.

The department recognises that the current SEND system, established through the Children and Families Act 2014, does not consistently deliver the services needed by children and young people and their families. The department has undertaken a comprehensive review of how the system has evolved since 2014 and how it can be made to work best for all families, ensuring quality of provision is the same across the country. The SEND review will be published in the form of a green paper that will be made available imminently.

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