Children with autism are being excluded from school at a disproportionally high rate and are being put at a disadvantage in educational settings with arrangements such as part time hours and exclusion from school trips. Schools should be provided with enough support and funding to have the adequate means to pay for training, resources and equipment for the benefit of all children, including special educational needs (SEN) children.

Teachers do not currently get enough training or placement time to confidently be able to assess and plan the education of children with special educational needs, including autistic children. Additional training during their teacher training is essential for teachers to have confidence with these vulnerable children. SENCOs within schools do not currently require much experience or training in the inclusion of children in school settings from within these groups. Every new SENCO in a mainstream school must gain the Master's-level National Award for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator within 3 years of taking up the post. This is not good enough and means that for 3 years until this SENCO is qualified, they do not have the educational knowledge to support these vulnerable children by keeping them in the setting and reaching their potential. This leads to more exclusions and disparity. Going forward, it should be a legal requirement to have this qualification before being able to take up this post. 

Even with EHCP plans, support and funding, there is not enough protection for SEN children from exclusion or disadvantage in a mainstream educational setting. The main cause of exclusion for autistic children from mainstream school is violence towards peers or adults during meltdowns. However, schools are repeatedly breaking the law by excluding these pupils. The High Court ruling in August 2018 by Judge Rowley found that the exclusion of an autistic pupil for behaviour arising from his autism is unlawful. She stated, “Aggressive behaviour is not a choice for children with autism”. It has been found by the National Autistic Society that the majority of aggressive behaviour of autistic children in schools is in fact due to sensory overload, leading to fight, flight or freeze responses. The National Autistic Society state that a school that has a genuinely inclusive ethos, training and strategies provides the best chance for autistic children. It is the school environment, resources and training that should change. Excluding these children is not the answer. The purpose of education is to enable every child to develop to his or her fullest possible potential and to learn respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. This includes children with a disability. According to Newcastle University (2021) research shows that 1 in 57 children have autism spectrum disorder, and this figure is continuing to increase. It is our belief that mainstream schools should be better equipped and trained to keep these children in school. 

Education and school life is such a big influence on people’s lives, we must ensure that our most vulnerable children are provided with the best chance possible by ensuring that all schools have a truly inclusive ethos and are trained to support these children to get the best possible education possible. Ensuring the protection of SEN children in mainstream schools by supporting further development of settings to make them ‘SEN friendly’. This includes environment and ethos, to improve the training of teachers and SENCO staff so that there is greater understanding of autism awareness and teaching methods. For example, all primary schools to have a sensory break room and altered ways of teaching to accommodate SEN children.