There are more than 180,000 autistic students in England, over 100 of whom attend The Cavendish School, an autism special school that welcomed our first cohort of students in 2021.
From this September we will be joined by our first sixth-formers. A fundamental role of any sixth form is to prepare students with the skills they need for adulthood.
That is particularly crucial at our school: with only around three in 10 working-age autistic people in employment, compared with eight in 10 non-disabled people, we know that our sixth form needs to give our students everything they require to access work and live independently.
So for the past few years we have been considering: what would be the best sixth-form offer for our students?
The Open University route
More than 10 years ago, I decided to become a teacher after my own children were diagnosed with autism.
Previously, I worked in finance but I decided to study with the Open University to qualify as a teacher, so I have seen first hand how it can help to open doors for people. We decided to look into its offerings to see if it could work for our students.
On doing so, we saw that because its courses are designed to be accessible and adaptable to meet diverse learning styles, and can be taken remotely, it was an ideal choice for our students. It would enable them to gain qualifications to help with onward study or work options.
We decided that the Open University Level 1 modules would best suit our students’ needs, and so we have students set to study business, biology, biochemistry, chemistry, English, history and mathematics.
Staffing and timetabling
Students will use the Open University’s model to support academic learning for around 20 hours per week.
While facilitating access to Open University content, teachers will also help students to develop their research skills and ability to study independently, which will aid them in transitioning to university if they choose to do so.
Outside that time, teachers and Level 4 teaching assistants can focus on personalised learning goals (PLG) and supporting students to develop lifelong learning skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving and time management.
While every student’s timetable will be tailored to their individual needs, they will typically benefit from two to three PLG lessons a week that align with the goals outlined in their education, health and care plan. For instance, this time could focus on cooking skills or going to Tesco to make a purchase.
To ensure that students have the skills they need to enter the workplace, the timetable will also include two specific lessons every week on preparing for adulthood.
This could include using our life skills flat - a simulated living space where students learn practical skills for independent living - or learning interview techniques or CV writing. There will also be time for therapeutic interventions such as occupational therapy.
Funding
Of course, funding is a core consideration but through a combination of place funding and high-needs block funding, we pay the Open University directly when we register a student.
This ensures that funding remains sustainable and that the only restrictions on student numbers in the sixth form are normal school constraints.
Next steps
The Open University credits that students will receive at the end of their two years fulfil the entry criteria for many well-recognised universities in the UK, including Anglia Ruskin University; Goldsmiths, University of London; and Nottingham Trent University.
Meanwhile, the skills and independence that our students will gain during their time with us mean they will be equally capable of taking on an apprenticeship or entering employment.
Ultimately, what we want is for our young people to be part of their communities and in the world of work. We want to change the statistic so that eight in 10 of our young people go on to employment - and we think our sixth-form programme will take them there.
Stephanie Smith is headteacher at The Cavendish School in Cambridgeshire and director of autism education at the Eastern Learning Alliance
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