Thousands of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are not registered in schools or educational settings, latest Ofsted figures show. The inspectorate’s annual report states that 3,500 children were still waiting for...
Autistic children waiting more than 18 months for diagnosis
Research conducted by charity Ambitious about Autism found that from their child first being referred for an autism assessment, 46 per cent of parents waited longer than 18 months for a formal diagnosis. Some parents reported waiting for more than...
‘Far too many are struggling’: are universities failing autistic students?
Matthew Moffatt, who is autistic, struggled when he started at De Montfort University. “When I saw how busy my lecture theatre was, it was terrifying,” he says. “My sense of panic is through the roof and I’m not very good at controlling it. It just...
Mental health: young people in crisis waiting hours for A&E help
Thousands of young people undergoing a mental health crisis, including those who are potentially suicidal, are having to wait more than four hours for A&E care, NHS figures show. Almost a fifth of the under-18s who seek A&E help in England...
Smartphones and mental health
Researchers from King’s College London have published findings following a systematic review looking at problematic smartphone usage (PSU) and associated mental health outcomes amongst children and young people. Findings indicate that: 10-30% of...
Two thirds of teachers rate SEND provision as ‘poor’
A survey of National Education Union (NEU) members, using an Ofsted-style ranking system, found that 67.3 per cent rated provision as “poor” with a further 31.1 per cent rating it as “requires improvement”. Only 1.6 per cent...
