Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on education for autistic children and young people of the recommendations of the report by Ambitious about Autism entitled Written off?, published in November 2022.

The department is aware of the recommendations outlined in Ambitious about Autism’s ‘Written Off?’ report and engages with Ambitious about Autism regularly, including testing the reforms set out in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan with them and other key autism stakeholders.

The department’s ambition is for all children and young people with SEND to receive the right support to succeed in their education and as they move into adult life. They should achieve well in their early years, at school and in further education to find employment, to lead happy and fulfilled lives, and to experience choice and control.

In the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, the department sets out a vision to improve mainstream education through setting standards for the early and accurate identification of need and for timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will clarify the types of support that should be ordinarily available in mainstream settings and who is responsible for securing the support. This will give parents confidence and clarity on how their child’s needs will be met.