Work to improve autism awareness among trainee teachers in Scotland will be “life-changing”.
That’s the view of Nick Ward, director of the National Autistic Society (NAS) in Scotland.
Scottish education minister John Swinney says changes to teacher training will improve education for autistic children
The Scottish Government announced the move in a newly published action plan.
The plan calls for a “common baseline of content on autism” in initial teacher training.
The NAS and Scottish Autism will be involved in ensuring the new autism content is delivered by February 2021.
Autism awareness included in professional standards
The plan will also see a reference to autism awareness included in teachers’ professional standards.
Ward called the new plan the most “comprehensive approach to ensuring high quality autistic education” in the UK.
John Swinney is the Scottish Government’s education minister.
He said the plan would help ensure “our autistic learners have the right support” to “improve their educational experience”.
Elsewhere around the UK, Northern Ireland has committed to improving teacher training in autism through online learning.
Also, the Welsh Government said it’s developing an “extensive package of training” for all those working with additional-needs children.
Blight of exclusion and seclusion
But all over the UK, the experience of autistic children is blighted by sky-high rates of exclusion and seclusion.
In 2018, a survey by NAS Scotland, Scottish Autism and Children in Scotland found that 34 per cent of parents reported their child had been illegally excluded in the past two years.
Beth Morrison is the chief executive of Positive and Active Behaviour Support Scotland (PABSS).
She said the new training must be “meaningful”.
Morrison said it must “prevent all of these unlawful exclusions and the terrible restrictive practices”.
Autism Eye approached the UK government about any extra work to improve autism awareness among teachers in England. It did not respond.
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Published: 22 December 2021
