1. Surrey Autism Outreach Service
Vanessa Clark

2. Who are we?
The Autism Outreach service is commissioned by Surrey and is based at four schools across the county;
Freemantles and Linden Bridge visit primary schools
The Abbey and Limpsfield Grange visit secondary schools
Our goal is to support schools in managing the needs of their learners with ASD and related conditions through sharing specialist school expertise.

3. Who are we?
The outreach teams are made up of teachers and teaching assistants who have worked at our host schools. They have all had a range of training in autism- specific strategies and continue to access training and development opportunities, both with their host school and as a team. Many of our staff have experience working in both mainstream and special school settings.

4. Who do outreach support?
We support 325 schools (265 primary and 60 secondary)
We support around 2200 pupils across the county
We make approximately 1200 visits per year to individual pupils and support more through ‘clinic’ or group visits to talk through pupils with school staff.
About 30% of the children we visit have an EHCP or statement

5. What can outreach do?
We observe children in their classroom, keeping things as ‘normal’ as possible
For some children it is appropriate to have a chat
Meet with school staff and parents to discuss concerns and strategies to help
Write reports which outline our observations, form a record of the discussions held and descriptions of the strategies we recommend.
Arrange follow up appointments , dependant on the level of need.

6. What can outreach do?
We provide resources or help sheets where possible, or signpost to other sources of information.
For primary based resources:
For secondary based resources:

7. What can outreach do?
We give advice and information over the phone, or by
This includes sign-posting to other agencies
We liaise with other Surrey agencies, such as the Specialist Teaching Teams, CAMHs and EP’s
We are heavily involved with Surrey’s Joint Autism Strategy Group

8. What can outreach do?
We provide training for parents and professionals through;
Autism Education Trust training
Bespoke autism awareness training (either as INSET or staff meeting time)
Parent workshops
Learning walks
Delivering the Cygnet program for parents
..and offering a range of training for both parents and professionals through our host schools

9. Who pays?
The outreach service is funded by Surrey for all Surrey schools.
Sadly, this does not include nurseries and pre-schools
Independent schools, schools in other counties and early years settings can pay per visit.
We do not charge for telephone or advice

10. What can outreach NOT do?
As a schools service, commissioned by Surrey;
We cannot judge schools, or tell them they are doing it ‘wrong’
We cannot ‘make’ schools act on the advice we give
We cannot give opinions on which schools are ‘better with ASD’ or which secondary school you should send your child to
We cannot speed up a move between schools or influence whether a child should get a place in a specialist school

11. What can outreach NOT do?
We cannot always come immediately. We hold some emergency appointments, but for most referrals the wait is around 6-8 weeks.
Due to the demands on our service we cannot attend most review or EHCP transfer meetings
We don’t make home visits
We do not have access to, or influence over emergency funding

12. How is outreach regulated?
We collect data and report back to Surrey yearly on 4 targets;
80% of schools report that they have made improvements in autism practice following outreach intervention
80% classroom teachers report increased confidence in meeting the needs of their learners with autism or related difficulties
At review, 80% of children referred make progress in terms of;
access to education,
behaviour
wellbeing
Data capture to identify patterns of demand, trends and to support future provision planning

13. How is outreach regulated?
We also ask schools to give feedback on the individual performance of team members. Team members are a part of the performance management systems within their host school.

14. Is outreach successful?
Evaluations at the end of the year :
98% of schools reported that we increased their capacity to manage the needs of learners with autism
85% of staff felt more confident following outreach advice
84% of pupils made progress;
Access to learning 88%
Behaviour 86%
Wellbeing 78%

15. How do we access the service?
Referrals must come from the young person’s school, although parents are welcome to instigate this!
The referral form for each team can be found on their website
An EHCP is not a requirement for referral
A diagnosis is not necessary; we can visit any children with social communication difficulties, who would benefit from autism related strategies
Advice can be given over phone or without a referral

16. How do we get in contact?
Primary schools in the east: Linden Bridge Team
Tel:
Primary schools in the west: Freemantles Team
Tel:
Secondary schools in the east: Limpsfield Grange Team
Tel:
Secondary schools in the west: The Abbey Team
Tel:

17. What does the future look like for outreach?
Last year the service funding was threatened, but after some work to prove our worth we were actually given more money
From April 2017 there will be a 10% cut in our funding as part of savings across surrey schools
The future beyond March 2018 is uncertain!