Patchy services holding back people with autism in further education – says committee report
25 May 2010
Patchy provision and poor communication mean young people with autism aren’t getting the support they need in further education, according to a National Assembly for Wales report.
The cross-party Enterprise and Learning Committee inquiry found that there is still a major gap between strategy and policy for young people with autism within further education and provision on the ground.
Chair of the Enterprise and Learning Committee Gareth Jones AM said: “The transition period for people with autism when they move from school onto further education can often be unnecessarily difficult and stressful.
“One of the most important things that a young person with autism needs is time: time to adjust, time to acclimatise and time to accept a change in routine and environment.
“In many cases young people and their families simply aren’t informed early enough in the year about whether they will have placements in further education, which can cause unnecessary stress for all concerned.
“There needs to be earlier and better communication between all the partners involved in making assessments and decisions about a young person’s future.
“My Committee also heard of young people having to travel long distances to attend specialist colleges in England when there are facilities in Wales which are much closer to home.
“We would urge the Welsh Government to examine the findings of this report and make the necessary improvements so that the individual learner is placed firmly at the centre of public services rather than the current focus on procedures and processes.”
The Committee makes 19 recommendations for the Welsh Government to improve specialist provision for people with autism in further education. They include:
- Improving data collection to establish exactly how many people there are with autism in Wales in order to plan more effectively for further education provision in future.
- Providing senior-level transition workers for all young people in Wales with autism from the age of 14 onwards.
- Ensuring the parents of young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder can make applications for funding for specialist placements 12 months before the start of the college term, and that they receive notification of the decision on their funding place by March 31st
- Ensuring all parts of Wales are served by multi-agency forums, which have proved so successful in the pilot areas.
- The procurement of more coordinated and coherent provision of further education for young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder so that students from Wales can receive the specialist further education services they need nearer to where they live.
- Improving Welsh medium provision in colleges for young people with autism whose first language is Welsh.
- Improving understanding about Autism Spectrum Disorder among employers, college staff and students and Careers Wales.
- Reviewing the funding of transition of young people with additional learning needs from pre- to post-16 education to achieve consistency and stability throughout the system.
- Ensuring a nationwide network of effective and expert advice, guidance and support to individuals and families affected by Autistic Spectrum Disorder