Specialist Teaching Service

This section is about the Autism Outreach Team. Please choose from the links above to navigate through our pages.

The Autism Outreach Team is part of Leicestershire LEA's Specialist Teaching Service. The Team offers support to children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders aged three to nineteen years, their schools and families.

All the children supported by the Team, other than pre-school children and young people in further or higher education, have a Statement of Special Educational Needs that specifies the Team's involvement. They are placed in settings other than specialist autism schools or units. Most of the children are in mainstream provision, although many are placed in the special sector. The work undertaken by the Team includes assessment of individual needs, assistance in planning appropriate interventions and advice in the implementation of teaching and behaviour programmes.

The Autism Outreach Team is involved in the preparation and delivery of training to colleagues in schools, other professionals and to parents. The Team has also written and compiled a range of highly regarded resources, some of which have been published and are available nationally and abroad.

The Autism Outreach Team consists of 10.2 full time equivalent posts. One of the teaching posts is dedicated to supporting pre-schoolers and their families. Another offers advice and support to Further and Higher Education establishments on a traded basis. Two additional full time teachers are deployed to a specialist autism unit attached to a mainstream primary school. The Autism Outreach Team is supported by three practitioners, two of whom work with children of pre-school age and support transition into school.

The Autism Outreach Team seeks to maintain close relations with statutory and voluntary agencies that are involved with the education of children with autistic spectrum disorders in order that the most appropriate and effective provision can be made.