Ambitious About Autism’s Ruled Out report shows that 39 per cent of children with autism were informally excluded.
The research also reveals that 30 per cent of parents of autistic children were asked by schools to keep their child at home, while 51 per cent said they had kept their child out of school, fearing they would not receive the right kind of support in the classroom.
The research, based on a survey of 500 parents of children with autism, also reveals that 21 per cent of parents reported that their child had been formally excluded from school.
Jolanta Lasota, chief executive of the charity, said she is shocked by the findings. She said: “All schools are legally bound to provide quality full-time education to all pupils, including children with autism.
“Asking parents to collect their children early or putting them on part-time hours is against the law and fails to address the underlying need for schools to make reasonable adjustments to include children with autism.
“We know illegal exclusions also affect a child’s family life – having to collect a child puts intolerable pressure on parents and their working lives, it severely impacts their financial situation and often makes work impossible.
“All schools need to build their capacity to support children with autism and not use exclusions as a way of managing their special needs.”
Ambitious About Autism has now launched the Ruled Out campaign, which aims to ensure all parents of autistic parents know their rights with regard to exclusion.
The charity also wants all schools to have access to a specialist autism teacher who can provide appropriate support to children with autism.
A report by England’s children’s commissioner, published in April last year, revealed that 6.7 per cent of schools had excluded pupils illegally.
