Chamber and committees

Scottish Government submission of 24 June 2021

PE1870/B - Ensure teachers of autistic pupils are appropriately qualified

As Committee may be aware, the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 (as amended) provides a comprehensive legislative framework for supporting children and young people to overcome barriers to their learning and achieve their full learning potential. The 2004 Act places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including pupils with autism.

The Scottish Government has worked with key partners (including the National Autistic Society, Scottish Autism, and Children in Scotland) in delivering a range of professional learning opportunities to help teachers in supporting autistic learners and their families.

It is important to understand that all teachers are highly likely to meet autistic learners in every school they work in. Around 3% of children have autistic spectrum disorder and 86% of autistic children and young people attend mainstream schools.

A core component of teachers’ professional commitment is understanding the needs of all learners. The General Teaching Council for Scotland’s (GTCS) recently revised Teaching Standards (which come into effect in August 2021) recognise the barriers to wellbeing and learning that pupils with additional support needs, including autism may encounter. Additionally the GTCS’s framework to accredit initial teacher education programmes also considers how programmes support equality and diversity by raising awareness of a range of neuro-developmental differences, including autism.

In December 2020, we published the Autism Action Plan. The action plan sets out measures which seek to improve the support to children and young people with autism in Scotland’s schools and ensure that meaningful change is implemented to support autistic pupils to reach their full learning potential. The plan has been developed collaboratively by stakeholders, including the National Autistic Society, Scottish Autism, Children in Scotland, the GTCS and Education Scotland and will support teachers’ on-going development in this area.

In response to the Autism Action Plan the Scottish Government has recently been involved in the development and launch of Autism resource materials that Initial Teacher Education (ITE) institutions will use within their programmes for student teachers. Individual providers will incorporate this content into their initial teaching education programmes. ITE providers are moving towards a model where there is a ‘golden thread’ of inclusion that runs through all learning. This resource comprises four progressive units with pre-prepared PowerPoint presentations, Key Messages, reflective questions, links to video clips and related reading references. A full script and set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are provided to support lecturers.

Additionally the Autism Toolbox helps teachers, at all stages of their careers, to maintain and update their skills and knowledge in this area. This has been developed by partners, funded by the Scottish Government and is managed by Education Scotland. The Tool Box provides:-

• Up to date information set within educational, health and social context of Autism and inclusive practice;
• Free information, guidance and resources and professional opportunities for education practitioners, schools and local authorities in Autism and inclusive practice;
• An overview of the Autism identification and support pathway.

Further, the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan, published in October 2020, in response to Angela Morgan’s Review of Implementation of Additional Support for Learning, sets out a range of measures we will take to enhance the experiences of children and young people with additional support needs. This includes a number of actions which seek to ensure that teacher education and development supports teachers to meet the needs of pupils with additional support needs, including those with autism.

The Scottish Government does not, therefore, consider that legislation is required at this point in time, to ensure that teachers of autistic pupils are appropriately qualified. The actions that have been taken will ensure that teachers at all stages of their careers are able to access support and resources that will allow them to assist autistic learners to improve their educational outcomes. Registration is also available in additional support needs (ASN) from the GTCS which covers the 3 to 18 years age range. This involves holding an appropriate ASN award with a sufficiently broad and general content to cover pupils with a range of additional support needs, for example the Postgraduate Certificate/Diploma in Inclusive Practice.

In regard to the employment of teachers of hearing-impaired and visually impaired pupils, this is covered by The Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005. The guidance to support these regulations sets out competences that comprise the specialist knowledge, understanding and skills required of teachers. However, it acknowledges that there is a range of pathways, for example, through completion of a post-graduate diploma, accredited prior learning and/or local authority-based, or other, training.

A report on The Qualification of Teachers of pupils with visual impairment, or pupils with hearing impairment or pupils with multi-sensory impairment (vision and hearing impairment) was published in Oct 2016. Following the outcome of this report which included a survey of local authorities, a new working group was set up by Scottish Government to review the Competency guidance for teachers of children and young people who are hearing impaired or visually impaired or both hearing and visually impaired.

The small working group was set up in January 2019 to review the competency guidance for Teachers of the Deaf and Teachers of the Visually Impaired. Members of the group are the Scottish Sensory Centre, Scottish Government and GTCS. COSLA and ADES have also been kept up to date with the group's work by correspondence. There have been delays in progressing this work due to the impact of COVID-19 and the focus on education recovery. The working group will be re-established shortly and the draft guidance will be reviewed and prepared to go out for public consultation in autumn 2021 with a view to publishing in winter 2021.

I trust that this reassures you of the positive action the Scottish Government is taking to ensure improved educational outcomes for autistic learners and support for their families. We will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that these initiatives are implemented and effective.