The NAS has launched a new campaign, Great Expectations, to end the battle many parents face trying to get the right education for their child.
The Great Expectations campaign aims to take advantage of the government’s biggest overhaul of the SEN system in 30 years by taking the opportunity to make the changes to the system that children and young people with autism and their parents want. For an education system that works for every child with autism.
The Great Expectations campaign report, published 27 June 2011, is based on research with over 1,000 children with autism and their parents. The research found that:
• 48% of parents say they have waited over a year to get the right support for their child, and 27% have waited more than two years.
• 18% of parents have had to take legal action to get the right support for their children, and have been to tribunal an average of three and a half times each.
• Just half of parents (52%) feel their child is making good educational progress.
• 43% of young people feel teachers don’t know enough about autism.
The NAS is calling for a system in which parents are treated as equal partners and genuinely involved in decisions about their child’s education and the planning of local services, and for all children with autism to be able to get the support they need quickly and easily, from teachers who understand how to support them.
The campaign launched in Parliament yesterday [27 June] at a well-attended evening reception attracting MPs, peers, parents of children with autism, children with autism and professionals.
Disabilities Minister Maria Miller responded to the campaign on behalf of the Government. She said that the special educational needs (SEN) "system was broken" and that the Government was determined to fix it through proposals set out in the SEN Green Paper.
Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham stressed the importance of cross party working on SEN reforms to make sure that Government got the reforms right. He noted the success of cross party working on the Autism Act.
For full details about the campaign, to download a copy of the campaign report, and to find out how you can get involved, click here.
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