Today, the Member of Parliament for North Norfolk, Duncan Baker, will present his new Private Members Bill named ‘Autism (Early Identification) Bill’. The Bill will seek to make autism modules a mandatory part of initial teacher training, helping to identify and assess signs of the condition in children earlier.
As it stands, 39% of primary school teachers have just more than half a day’s training in autism. For secondary school, this drops to just 14% as whilst SENCOs are placed in schools, it is often a postcode lottery as to whether a child receives the proper support.
73% of autistic children do not feel that teachers understand their needs which is not surprising considering that they are often labelled as disruptive or naughty when they simply don’t have the structures in place to access education effectively. Without early intervention, an autistic child loses valuable time that would allow them to grow and develop. This negatively impacts the mental health of autistic children and young people.
The Government is keen to improve provision for SEND, bringing out the SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan last March, but this Bill will go further.
It aims to make sure that autism and SEND are mandatory modules during initial teacher training. We want to see more achieved in early teacher training to learn about early identification of autism, the special educational needs code of practice, and the pattern and sequence of child development.
The Autism (Early Identification) Bill is supported by many in the sector and will encourage the inclusion of autistic pupils in our education system. The Bill has been worked on in conjunction with FullSpektrum, Ambitious about Autism and Keystone Consulting.
I know that in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, this is a cause that means so much to people, and that is why I am proud to support Duncan in the Chamber today, as we both want to see the increase of awareness and understanding among teachers on the indicators of autism. This will put teachers in a better position to support pupils and recommend them for an assessment earlier, meaning children will be in a better place to thrive not only in schools but in later life.