Like many schools, we identified a need to open an autism class in our school. We wanted to provide an autism specific environment within our mainstream school for our autistic pupils to thrive in. We feel this is an important journey to share.
First steps
We consulted with our Board of Management and our staff and everyone was in agreement that this was in the best interests of our school and our pupils.
We identified a room that was being used for learning support purposes and we contacted our SENO (Special Educational Needs Organiser).
Our class was quickly sanctioned and we were on our way!
Network, network, network..
Some of the key things we did to ensure success for our class was to lean into our network of colleagues in neighbouring schools and further afield.
We began by visiting lots of other established classes to get a feeling for what an autism classroom might look like. We took lots of photographs of classrooms, furniture, sensory areas and displays.
We contacted the Department of Education for funding. Work soon began on painting, flooring, cabinetry and electrical work as this was necessary in our particular setting.
Many teachers who were already working in an autism class suggested starting with as empty a room as possible and buying items as the needs of the children emerged – this was great advice.
Opening the class
A priority for us was of course to adapt our Admissions policy to reflect the opening of the class.
Again, we liaised with local schools to support us with this work. We then ensured to get our policy ratified with the Board of Management and our patron. Once it was ratified, our admissions procedure began and our class of 6 pupils was soon fully enrolled.
We have learned that it is so important to get the whole staff on board. Our school has always been an inclusive place with an amazingly supportive staff. Before opening the class, we engaged with the NCSE to present to the staff about how an autism class works. Before long, we had identified our team. Our class is at the centre of our school and is supported by everyone.
Culture and the wider school environment
We are a neuro-affirmative school and language around autism is very important to us. We spent a lot of time as a staff discussing the language that we would use for our class.
As a school, we also collaborated to create an autism class policy which includes information on schedules, resources, supervision, behaviour management and home school communication.
We also spent some time looking at our outdoor play spaces to identify if we needed to make any adaptations. We needed some additional fencing to secure the play area. We also purchased a swing which the children really enjoy and some other climbing and play equipment.
Embarking on a learning journey
Our wonderful class teacher attended the 4 day NCSE seminar for teachers of new autism classes, this was a great help but really only scratches the surface of the knowledge that is required.
The beauty of it is that we can learn so much from the children in front of us.
Our teacher and SNA’s are committed to constantly upskilling to provide effectively for the pupils.
We have strong links to our local Children’s Disability Network Team and we welcome all visits from Occupational Therapists and Speech and Language Therapists to support our staff.
We have found the Autism Good Practice Guidance for Schools document to be an invaluable help, not just in our autism class but in our mainstream classes also.
An integrated part of school life
We are also working on integrating our students from the Autism class into their mainstream classes.
Reverse integration (when pupils from the mainstream come to the autism class) has shown great success.
A journey shared…
We have learned so much from the process and from others who have travelled it before and we hope that this article might help another school who is considering or beginning this extremely worthwhile and professionally fulfilling journey.
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