Page 72 - Issue 112 May-June 2021

72 Support in school (fig. 1) With cuts to local authority budgets making funding support in schools increasingly difficult to obtain, it isn’t surprising that almost half of respondents indicate that they were not supported in school prior to non-attendance. This figure reduces to 36.14% of respondents being unsupported during the periods of non-attendance. This demonstrates that schools are taking a reactive approach to support, which contravenes chapter 5 of the Equality Act 2010 in which schools have a duty to be anticipatory in the provision of reasonable adjustments. More concerning is the low percentage of these children who were assessed by educational psychologists either before or during non-attendance (11.34% and 19.28% respectively). While this is likely (at least in part) due to the limited number of ‘slots’ each school is granted annually, it also may indicate that schools are not attributing potential or actual non-attendance to emotional, social, or learning difficulties. “Exacerbated by the lack of understanding” While some respondents indicate that EHCPs/Statements were in place prior to non-attendance, they were often not written robustly, and were ineffective in identifying and meeting the support needs of the autistic young person. Others advise that support was withdrawn prior to the episode of non-attendance. Reasons for non-attendance (fig. 2) We asked respondents two questions relating to the reasons for non-attendance: what their experience was, and the reasons stated by educators. There is a stark difference in the way schools/professionals attribute reasons for non-attendance and the lived experiences of autistic young people and their families. For example, only 16.73% of schools acknowledge sensory processing differences as a contributing factor, yet this is identified as a factor in non-attendance by 67.74% of autistic people and their families. Conversely, 29.8% of schools/professionals consider overprotective parenting a factor compared to just 0.81% of autistic people and their parent/carers. The top five reasons for non-attendance as indicated by autistic people and their parent/carers are: 1. Anxiety (93.55%) 2. Sensory processing differences (67.74%) 3. Difficulties with staff (52.85%) 4. Transition – both between schools and within the school day (51.61%) 5. Self-esteem (50.81%) Though not in the top five, as our aim was to investigate potential links between school non-attendance and trauma for autistic pupils, it is worth noting that 48.39% of respondents indicate that this is a factor. Only 7.35% of schools/professionals identify trauma as a reason for non-attendance. It is possible that the risk of non- attendance is exacerbated by the lack of understanding and acknowledgement of risk factors by professionals within the education system. senmagazine.co.uk ■ fig. 1 ■ fig. 2 SEN112 Autism