Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to help children with (a) autism, (b) ADHD and (c) other neuro-diverse conditions in mainstream education.

In the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) improvement plan, the department set out our vision to improve mainstream education through setting standards for early and accurate identification of needs and timely access to support to meet those needs, including for autistic and neurodiverse children and young people. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings, who is responsible for securing the support and from which budgets. The SEND and AP improvement plan can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-and-alternative-provision-improvement-plan.

The department will also develop new practice guides to support frontline professionals. The first three practice guides will be published by the end of 2025, focusing on advice for mainstream settings, and will include a practice guide on autism.

To support the needs of pupils with SEND, particularly in mainstream settings where most of these learners are educated, the department has funded the Universal Services programme. This programme, backed by almost £12 million, will help the school and further education workforce to identify and meet the needs of children and young people with SEND, including those with autism, earlier and more effectively. It will also help them successfully prepare children and young people for adulthood, including employment. The programme includes autism awareness training, which over 80,000 professionals have already undertaken.

Improving joined-up support is vital. The Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Health and Social Care on the cross-government Autism Strategy, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026/the-national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026#improving-autistic-children-and-young-peoples-access-to-education-and-supporting-positive-transitions-into-adulthood-1. A key theme of this is improving autistic children and young people’s access to education and supporting positive transitions into adulthood.