Autism and Communication Service

The aim of The Autism and Communication Service is to improve outcomes for children and young people with autism, speech, language and communication needs. The service is made up of a team of specialist advisory teachers who work with other professionals to support children, young people and their families, schools and SENCOs to improve outcomes for pupils with Autism, Social Communication or a Speech, Language Communication Need. The advisory teachers help schools to support pupils with Autism, Language and Social Communication Needs through individual Assess, Plan Do Reviews reports. The Service also offers advice and training opportunities for schools, SENCOs and support staff, parents/carers. They provide a service for all maintained and Academy schools in Somerset through individual pupil-focused work, and support SENCOs and schools to develop whole-school Autism and Communication Friendly systems. They provide support for new SENCOs, and training that is specific to the school, the area or much more general. A portion of this is in collaboration with The Learning Support Service, supporting them with national accredited courses, for example the National Award for SEN Co-ordination and Level 3 TA Award.