The Autism in Schools (AiS) project is a government-funded initiative that aims to improve support for autistic children and young people in mainstream secondary schools.

Following the “Accelerator Projects” run in North Cumbria and the North East that started in 2018, the programme has now been rolled out to the rest of the country, with Greater Manchester (GM) being one of the localities involved in this phase.

All the 10 GM areas have now signed up: Manchester, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, and Wigan, covering over 30 schools across Greater Manchester.

There are seven participating schools in Manchester: Co-op Academy Manchester, Didsbury High School, Levenshulme High School, Manchester Communication Academy, Southern Cross School, St. Matthew’s Roman Catholic High School, and Trinity Church of England High School

Being closely aligned with the Transforming Care programme, we have an overarching aim to improve services so that more people can live in the community, with the right support, and close to home. We seek to ensure that children and young people are supported better in the school environment; foster good relationships between and among staff, parents and students; signpost families to sources of information and support; and promote neurodiversity awareness and acceptance among young people.

Visit the following links to learn more about the Autism in Schools project:
– Overview from the National Network of Parent Carer Forums
– Phase 1 Evaluation from Contact
– Phase 2 Evaluation from Contact
– Overview of the Autism in Schools project in Greater Manchester

Below are some blog posts and events associated with the AiS project: