To ask the Minister of Education whether he intends to make autism training mandatory for teachers of autistic pupils.

I do not intend to introduce mandatory autism training at this time as this would be potentially repercussive for other areas of Special Educational Needs (and or medical conditions), some of which may be low incidence, seeking to introduce mandatory training.

In line with the Department’s Teacher Professional Learning “Learning Leaders” Strategy (2016), responsibility for ongoing teacher professional learning is increasingly led by the teachers’ own reflections on the effectiveness of their own practice, strengths and weaknesses in their current knowledge and experience, and consideration of how they can better support the learning needs of their pupils and development needs within their school.

I launched the Enhanced Autism Training Framework, developed by the Education Authority Autism Advisory and Intervention Service (EA AAIS) and Middletown Centre for Autism (MCA), in December 2020. This training is available to all teachers, and educational staff online through C2K or the via the MCA website. It is anticipated that this will move to a blended approach, both in person training and online training, when it is safe to do so.