2. What is the Welsh Government doing to ensure an accessible and inclusive physical learning environment for children with autism? OAQ(5)0089(EDU)

An accessible and inclusive physical learning environment is vital for all learners, including those with autism. Through the twenty-first century schools and education programme, we are investing £1.4 billion over the five-year period ending in 2019 in schools and colleges across Wales. These will include specialist facilities for children with autism.

I thank the Minister for that question and commend him on his work on the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal (Wales) Bill, which I know we all hope will lead to improved outcomes and experiences for children with autism on the school journey. I know he shares my sense of priority about making sure that the physical environment in schools is also appropriate for children with autism. The Welsh Local Government Association developed a programme, Learning with Autism, which stipulates some criteria for the school estate to make it more accessible for children with autism. To what extent is that guidance being followed by schools generally and, to the extent that it’s not, is there anything that the Welsh Government can do to mandate that?

Thank you very much. I know that the Member takes a very close interest in these issues and has done a considerable amount of work in the area. I think all of us are aware of the Member’s commitment to this agenda. Can I say, in terms of the twenty-first century schools programme, this is a programme that is delivered in partnership with local authorities and the technical guidance does exist with local authorities to ensure that there’s an appropriate learning environment for all schools? This takes consideration of learners and pupils and all their needs, including those with an autistic spectrum disorder.

In addition to this, Estyn will consider the school environment and whether the school is physically able to meet pupils’ needs and whether specialist resources are used well to meet pupils’ needs as well. So, I hope that, through the construction, design and building of a new estate, the technical guidelines deliver the sort of ambition that you’ve described. Then, within the school environment, whenever there is an inspection with Estyn, that school environment will be a part of that inspection and, clearly, if there are areas that need improving, this Government will take action to ensure that it is improved alongside local authorities. But I know that Members across the whole Chamber have raised concerns about these matters, and if there are particular areas of concern in particular schools, I’d be grateful for any Member to write to me and I will certainly take this forward.

I’ve just hotfooted it over with some of your colleagues from the cross-party autism group meeting in the Pierhead. At our previous meeting, we took a presentation from the Autistic Women’s Empowerment Project, discussing the different presentations of autism in women and girls and suggesting that the ratio—the accepted ratio of five boys to one girl—should actually be a lot closer. We were told that many females are left undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or without support, and while autistic girls face many of the same challenges as autistic boys, boys explode and girls implode. How, therefore, will you and your colleagues address the very real problem, evidenced by a large body of casework that I have, of girls being denied diagnosis because of schools reporting that they cope so well in school, despite the fact that they’re then going home, melting down and, in many cases, self-harming and, in one of my own cases, even attempting suicide?

I fully appreciate, understand and accept the point made by the Member. I think many of us are aware that diagnosing girls with autism, particularly younger girls, is far more difficult than that with boys. The Member will be aware that the autism action plan—the refresh of that—which was published by my colleague Minister at the end of last year, does include a timetable for diagnosis and does include demands on the health service to ensure that diagnosis is pursued with an urgency, which, I agree, has sometimes been lacking. But, I will say that, in terms of education, we do also have the Learning with Autism programme, which is directly funded by the Welsh Government, which is part of our autistic spectrum disorder strategic action plan, and that is a comprehensive package of resources for mainly primary schools, which takes a whole-school awareness approach. I would hope that delivering that whole-school approach will ensure that children with autism have the education they need, but that that is contextualised within an environment that is supportive as well.