Autism Education Trust (AET)
Mission Statement
Our mission is to empower the education workforce and support them in securing a positive education that supports wellbeing for all autistic children and young people.
Vision Statement
Our vision is a world where all autistic children and young people experience a positive education that supports wellbeing.
In February 2021, KTS Academy became the Autism Education Trust (AET) training hub for the Redcar Cleveland Authority. The work of the AET centres on the promotion of good practice standards for education settings; competency frameworks for practitioners and the provision of a range of professional development training programmes for early years, schools, and post 16 settings delivered by local licensed training hubs and supported by regional strategic partners.
Central to this is ensuring that a clear set of social values are embedded and replicated in every AET organisation.
Our values are:
- Voice – We take into account the views and needs of young people, parents/carers and professionals across the ethnic, cultural, social, economic, gender and disability diversity in developing the AET’s governance, plans, and work.
- Partnership – We work collaboratively to run and deliver the AET programme. We work through partners to deliver our work because our focus is on capacity building and system wide change.
- Reach and sustainability – The AET Programme reaches across the different education settings, the whole autism spectrum, age ranges from early years, through school age and onto post 16 and reaches across the ethnic, cultural, social-economic, gender and disability diversity among the autistic population.
- Impact, outcomes and evidence – Our aim is for autistic children and young people to learn and thrive in all education settings.
Our vision, mission and values culminate in two simple statements that summarise the AET Brand:
- Autism is a difference not a deficit and we value the strength that comes with embracing neurodiversity and working in partnership.
- The AET is the go-to destination for autism education expertise brought to life by our unique network of autism education specialists, autistic people, parents of autistic children, academics and education professionals.
The AET programme puts the child and young person at the heart of the process. It is their voice that is heard through the training. The programme is evidence-based and offers a framework for schools to include in their SEN Information Report.
Evaluations indicate that 98 per cent of those attending strongly agree that the training will have a positive impact on practice and their ability to support children with autism.
- Over 1 in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and the number of children receiving an autism diagnosis is rising.
- Appropriate SEND provision is becoming increasingly important for regulators, like Ofsted.
- The AET Programme’s 360° approach helps education settings improve their autism provision on every level, from leadership strategy to staff knowledge and learning environment
The training materials and resources have been created by leading autism specialists, such as the University of Birmingham, Ambitious about Autism and the AET Young Persons Panel, based on the latest research.
Delegates greatly appreciate that the AET course’s deep knowledge base is complemented by the community knowledge and understanding of the local trainers who deliver them and can enrich the materials with their own narrative.
As a social franchise, we ensure that only organisations with a deep commitment to high quality autism education can belong to our Partner Community.
The programme is nationally recognised and endorsed by the Department for Education, the National Autistic Society and Ambitious About Autism.
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