Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the levels of educational support available to autistic children in mainstream schools.

The Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group brought together experts to provide advice and recommendations to the department on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings.

To support schools, the department is also strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve inclusive practice in mainstream settings and has commissioned evidence reviews, including one on autism, from Newcastle University and University College London. The What Works in special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) research programme is researching tools that schools can use to identify the needs of neurodivergent children.

The Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools programme provides health and education specialist support to upskill mainstream primary schools to better meet the needs of neurodivergent children, including pupils with autism. The programme is being evaluated, and the learning is informing future policy development around how schools support neurodivergent children.