‘Understanding myself’. Student view
A peer participation worker will work with students to better understand their difficulties and challenges and celebrate their strengths and uniqueness.
A peer participation worker will support your children to share their experience of autism. This is ‘the voice of the child’.
This first-hand experience will be used to develop a forum, training, resources and more.
- A ‘Child and Young Persons Autism Forum’ offers a central space to share their experiences and look at ways that support can be offered.
- We will use their ideas to produce and develop creative digital resources.
- Children and young people will work together with us to produce training for their peers, brothers and sisters, parents and carers, and professionals.
- Other key actions will be developed based on the knowledge we gain from working with children and young people with autism during our engagement and co-production workshops.
By working closely with children and young people on a variety of projects we are making sure that the programme of support is personal, and a good fit for our students. It also opens up further opportunities for development based on their perspective and feedback.
See what children and young people have said
Your child’s Peer Participation worker
Sarah Allen, Peer Participation Worker
“We have been meeting with every child or young person individually to ask them about their experience in school and capture a real time snapshot of what’s working for them and anything they need more support with.
“We will be working with approximately 40 children across 13 school before the end of the school year – and from each of those conversations we will report back to the school to celebrate aspects of good practice and to provide suggestions for adaptations/strategies that might support the children and young people even more.
“What’s important to note is how the suggestions to school come straight from the voice of the child and are completely unique to that individual, from what they need right at this minute.
“When children aren’t developmentally ready to share their voice in a 1:1 meeting, we speak with the adults who know them well and can offer observations within the classroom to capture their voice that way.”
Sarah Allen, Compass GO Peer Participation Worker
This is Archie. He has ADHD and Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) also known as Dyspraxia. These are other Neurodevelopmental needs that are included in Autism in Schools.
His mum is a part of the Autism in Schools Parent Forum and was excited for him to share his first hand account of his SEND.
“I have ADHD and Dyspraxia. Sometimes this is all people see.”
– Archie, age 9
“I am someone who is kind, caring, and like to see and make people happy.”