Staff knowledge and understanding
The senior leadership team should ensure that:
- Staff skills are routinely and regularly audited, e.g. using the AET Autism Competency Framework, and further training in communication and interaction needs is offered to staff groups and individual staff when required.
- School staff understand how communication and interaction needs may impact on academic progress and SEMH
- There are systems in place to disseminate training to the wider school staff
- All staff understand the need for a flexible approach to the management of young people’s responses, in line with school policy. This includes an awareness of the communicative intent of behaviour and the use of Functional Behavioural Analysis to understand responses
- Predictability for all young people is supported by clear routines and expectations and the use of visual prompts and resources to clarify these
- Schools encourage and support a team approach to addressing communication and interaction needs. In particular:
- Staff are given encouragement and opportunities to discuss concerns, problem solve and provide support both practically and emotionally to each other
- There are planned opportunities for key staff to share good practice with staff from other schools. Senior staff actively promote and facilitate these networking and mentoring opportunities
- There are processes in place in school for sharing information with all staff regarding individual young people’s SEN for example sharing one page profiles
- Staff mental health needs are monitored and supported
- There is flexibility in school systems to enable the social interaction and communication needs of individual young people to be met including;
- Access to low distraction areas and workstations
- Small group and individual teaching
- Access to interventions / counselling
- Curriculum and timetable modification
- Opportunities for sensory regulation activities.