The purpose of the Autism Education Trust (AET) is to improve the education of children and young people with autism.
To achieve this, the AET:
- Develops and delivers training and a range of materials for early years settings and schools.
- Develops and disseminates information on educational practice.
- Provides an interface between users, practitioners and policy makers in respect of educational practice.
- Actively engages with young people, parents/carers and practitioners to inform its work.
- Undertakes research into effective practice.
The following AET training sessions are nationally recognised certified courses with training materials included.
For more information on AET training, visit: www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk
Making Sense of Autism
This module is an awareness-raising module for all staff in a school community, whether they be teachers, learning support assistants, school meals supervisors, or taxi drivers. The module provides an introduction to autism and the reasonable adjustments that need to be considered when working with autistic pupils.
The aims
- Enhance your understanding and awareness of autism and the three areas of difference that affect autistic pupils.
- Equip you with the knowledge you need to begin to make reasonable adjustments in the way you support autistic pupils.
Learning objectives
- Understand the importance of getting to know the pupil as an individual.
- Approach autism as a difference rather than as a disorder or impairment.
- Understand the importance of identifying the strengths and needs of autistic pupils.
- Know how three areas of difference can affect autistic pupils.
- Appreciate how important it is to listen to and learn from the perspectives of autistic pupils.
- Reflect on and implement reasonable adjustments to support autistic pupils you work with.
- Have knowledge and understanding of the importance of one-page profiles and how to collect information for the one-page profile.
Good Autism Practice
This module is for practitioners who work with autistic pupils (5–16). It provides practitioners with practical strategies when working with autistic pupils. The module also takes participants through guidance on developing a pupil-centred education plan (PCEP) for an autistic pupil. Although only students with SEN are currently required to have a PCEP, the vision is that if, in the long term, inclusive practice is embedded in school provision, fewer pupils will require something additional to that which forms part of universal provision. Although not all staff who work with an autistic pupil will be involved in the creation of a pupil-centred education plan, all staff will benefit from being aware of the content of the PCEP.
The aims
The aims of ‘Good autism practice in Schools’ are to support practitioners who work directly with autistic pupils to:
- Develop their knowledge and understanding of good autism practice.
- Reflect on and improve their practice in working with autistic pupils.
- Understand strategies and approaches they can draw upon for autistic pupils they work with.
- Reflect on the kind of information they need to collect for the one-page profile and for the pupil-centred education plan.
- Consider how to involve the autistic pupil and their family in the pupil’s education.
- Enhance and embed inclusive practice for autistic pupils.
Learning objectives
After completing ‘Good autism practice in Schools’, participants will be able to:
- Develop their knowledge of how the key areas of difference can impact on the learning of autistic pupils.
- Understand the importance of involving the pupil and family in the pupil’s education.
- Consider the approaches, strategies, and adaptations they can implement to remove barriers to participation and learning for autistic pupils.
- Reflect on how knowledge about autism and the individual autistic pupil can inform the one-page profile and the pupil-centred education plan.
Leadership Module
The resources and training modules will support leaders to fully embed the 8 principles of good autism practice as outlined in the Good Autism Practice Report.
The Suite contains:
- The AET Competency Framework
- The AET Standards Framework
- The AET Progression Framework
- Demonstration videos of using the Standards and Competency framework documents
- The GAP Report Guldberg et al (2019)
- A set of Case Studies
- Two modules for leaders to support culture change and improve Good Autism Practice (GAP)
- A wide range of additional resources to support leaders to manage culture change and implement GAP
If you are a leader who is passionate about making a real difference to the lives of autistic children and young people, and you are focused on creating long-lasting culture change across your setting, these modules and resources are for you.
These modules have different aims and learning objectives, we suggest you attend both modules starting with the Understanding GAP and the AET Frameworks. However, you can book onto each of these modules separately without having attended the other.
Anxiety Module
This module on autism and anxiety in schools will provide delegates with an understanding of what we mean by anxiety, how it appears in autistic children and young people (CYP), what the key triggers are, and what teaching staff can do to support autistic pupils.
It is designed so that the training can be delivered to staff working with different age groups and in mainstream and specialist school settings. However, there is a need for the trainer to adapt its use, the resources, and the examples that are given for the delegates they are training.
There are resources, a reading list, and academic papers that you can refer to. These are all free to access and can be downloaded. There is also a document on suggested reasonable adjustments to reduce anxiety. These training materials will be linked in the training materials section of this delegate pack or shared directly with you by the trainer.
Delegates will be encouraged to reflect on their own experiences with anxiety, what they have found useful in reducing their own anxiety, and what has worked for them in practice when looking to address anxious thoughts and feelings in CYP.
The aims
After completing this module, you will be able to understand:
- How autistic CYP might express anxiety.
- What can cause anxiety in autistic CYP.
- What you can do to prevent and reduce anxiety in autistic CYP.
Learning objectives
After completing ‘Autism and anxiety’, participants will be able:
- To have greater knowledge about how prevalent and impactful anxiety can be on autistic pupils
- To learn that anxiety can be transactional and we all have a role in reducing anxiety in school
- To understand that there is a toolbox of approaches that can be used to reduce anxiety and the first step is to learn about the individual’s triggers and preferred means of support
- To understand that by reducing anxiety we can significantly improve a CYP’s ability to engage with school life and their peers, as well as improve general well-being.
Exclusions Module
For practitioners in early years, schools or post 16 settings.
This module on exclusion and autism will provide delegates with an idea as to what the key causes are of autistic children and young people being excluded from school, and how staff can prevent exclusion occurring or, when it does occur, provide support for the CYP’s successful return or transition on to their next placement.
Much of what is presented in this module is based on a research study conducted by the University of Birmingham’s Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER). The report from this study is available for all delegates as their main reference.
The aims
The aim of this module is to enable delegates to:
- Understand the legal context of autism and exclusion
- Understand the risk of illegal exclusion and how to avoid it occurring
- Better understand the triggers and ways of managing distressed behaviours
Learning objectives
After completing this module delegates will be able to:
- Demonstrate better knowledge of what is expected of settings in terms of the rights of CYP and families in relation to exclusion
- See the exclusion experience through the eyes of the autistic CYP
- Consider how they can make reasonable adjustments to reduce the risk of exclusion occurring
- Understand how exclusion can significantly negatively impact an autistic child and young person’s experiences and outcomes
- Recognise how the whole setting has a role to play in helping autistic pupils avoid exclusion
To book
To book a place on any of our events, please visit: www.bcpworkforcedevelopment.co.uk
or contact Jackie Horne at jackiehorne@linwood.bournemouth.sch.uk